John Tonje goes for 33 points to help the Badgers beat Pittsburgh, win The Greenbriar Tip-Off
No. 19 Wisconsin roared back from a 14-point deficit to beat Pittsburgh 81-75 and take home the championship at The Greenbriar Tip-Off on Sunday.
The Badgers struggled to find the bottom of the basket for much of the first half and trailed 25-11 with 7:29 left. But Wisconsin started to find its footing, outscoring Pitt 16-11 the rest of the way and then used an 8-0 early in the second half to tie it. The two sides went back-and-forth over the next 12 minutes with six lead changes until Kamari McGee drilled a 3-pointer to give the Badgers a 67-64 lead and they did not trail again.
John Tonje was doing John Tonje things much of the second half, scoring 25 of his game-high 33 points after the break as the Badgers scored 54 points as a team. That included a stretch where he scored 14 of Wisconsin’s 16 points as the team pushed its way into the lead.
It’s the second time he’s topped the 30-point mark this year and he’s now averaging 23 points per game. He also hit all 10 of his free throws to improve to 60-for-63 from the line this year. He also led the team with seven rebounds.
The Badgers went just 5-for-20 from beyond the arc, but McGee hit a couple big ones down the stretch to finish with 10 points, three rebounds and two assists. John Blackwell added 14 points and two steals, while Nolan Winter was also in double figures with 11 points.
Wisconsin improved to 7-0 for the first time since 2014-15. The team will get back in action next Saturday when Chicago State comes to Madison.