(5) Wisconsin 70, (13) Northwestern 63: Final shots

March 13, 2025
|In Badgers
|By Zach Heilprin

INDIANAPOLIS — Nolan Winter and John Tonje each had 18 points for fifth-seeded Wisconsin to help the Badgers beat 13th-seeded Northwestern 70-63 and advance to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.

Player of the Game: Nolan Winter

Knocked out of the loss to Penn State with a shoulder injury, the sophomore wasn’t positive he would play Thursday. He said the pain he felt last Saturday went throughout almost his whole body and there was concern it was something serious. But he got treatment throughout the week, woke up feeling good Thursday and put together one his best games of the season. He dropped 18 points, two points off his season high and the most since he also had 18 against Iowa on January 3.

“Nolan came to play today and it showed,” guard Kamari McGee said. “He’s not letting any minor injury hinder him at all. It’s beautiful to see. He’s fighting because he knows what we have in the locker room and he knows we’re better when we’re all together and not missing one piece.”

Winter, who spoke to reporters wearing an ice wrap on his shoulder, shot a season-high 10 free throws (9 makes), grabbed six rebounds and a couple steals in 26 minutes of action.

“It’s March,” Winter said. “I wanted to be out there as much as I could.”

The good: The return of Klesmit

Winter wasn’t the only one back on the floor for the Badgers. So, too, was Max Klesmit after missing three games with a lower leg injury. The stats aren’t overwhelming — nine points, two rebounds and two assists — but you could tell the lift he gave the team in his 23 minutes.

“It meant a lot. Max is one of our emotional leaders and we missed him,” McGee said. “Everybody missed him – us, the fans, the coaches, so that was big getting him back on both ends of the floor. He showed up and showed out today.”

Klesmit seemed to be moving well and even broke out a step-back 3-pointer that had him woofing at a couple Michigan State fans in the crowd after.

“I really do feel good,” Klesmit said. “I’m at 100-percent. I feel really good. My body feels good. And obviously everything is easier mentally when you’re out there playing with your homeboys.”

The not so good: 3-point shooting

Wisconsin still hasn’t regained its touch from the outside that has now reached six games, though the Badgers did shoot it a little better in the second half. They started 3-for-17 from beyond the arc, before hitting five of their final eight shots to 8-for-25. That included a couple makes from Tonje, who matched Winter with a team-high 18 points.

Stat of the Game: 17

That’s how many second-chance points the Badgers ended up with. Half of their first 24 points came off a missed shot, which allowed them to overcome some sloppiness to open the game, including four turnovers in their first 14 possessions.

In Case You Missed It

— Steven Crowl picked up the second technical of his career after blocking a Ty Berry shot in the second half.

While you can hear what Crowl said on the broadcast, he explained it in more detail after the game.

— Nick Martinelli, the game’s leading scorer with 22, was called for a flagrant foul after taking a hard shot on Carter Gilmore and then standing over him. It led Klesmit to jump out of his seat on the bench before being held back by the coaching staff.

“When I see my roommate go down, and I know the under 16 (timeout) is coming up, my first thought is go help one of my best friends up as quick as a I can,” Klesmit said. “I don’t know what kind of happened, what everyone was hot and bothered with, I was just trying to go pick up my teammate.”

— Tonje put down a couple vicious dunks

What’s next?

Wisconsin will face 4th-seeded UCLA on Friday. The Bruins topped the Badgers in LA 85-83 back on Jan. 21.