The No. 18 Wisconsin Badgers (16-4, 6-3 Big Ten) played host to rival Nebraska (12-8, 2-7) on Sunday, Jan. 26. Nebraska came into Madison riding a five-game losing streak, and it showed, as Wisconsin cashed 17 threes, cruising their way to a comfortable 83-55 victory – a statement after losing big to Nebraska in football this past season and coming off a tough loss to UCLA.
Undoubtedly, coming into this game, Wisconsin was supposed to win. Across Nebraska’s five-game losing streak, they’ve averaged 85 points per game against, while Wisconsin has averaged 82.5 points per game this season.
This showed right at the start of the game, as Wisconsin opened the game 5-for-6 from the field while Nebraska went 0-for-4. This run concluded with Wisconsin leading 13-2 early, as Cornhusker head coach Fred Hoiberg used a timeout 3.5 minutes into the game.
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Basketball is a game of runs, though, and after this timeout, Nebraska would eventually burst for a 10-0 run, where by the end, Wisconsin would shoot 1-for-9 after opening the game 7-for-8 from the field. Right as Nebraska pulled it to within three, freshman walk-on Jack Janicki provided a spark, throwing down a monster dunk and drawing a key foul on the defensive end, when Wisconsin responded with a run ending 8-0.
It has been a season of shooting 3-pointers for Wisconsin — a season of shooting never seen before in program history. Currently, Wisconsin averages 9.6 3-pointers per game as a team. The current program record is 8.7, which was set during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
Furthermore, Wisconsin’s average of 82.5 points per game would finish third in program history, with the current mark to beat being 85.3 points per game, which was set by the 1970-71 Badgers team.
The biggest issue for Nebraska was their zone defense, as they intended to double-team the post every time the ball got down low. This, in turn, means someone gets left open on the perimeter – which Wisconsin took full advantage of, making nine 3s in the first half alone and 17 across the game.
One of the most notable 3s was by John Tonje, with 42 seconds left in the first half. Tonje hit an and-1 three, firing the Badgers to a 12-point lead at halftime, bringing them to 40-28.
By the start of the second half, Nebraska had given the game away, starting the second half 4-for-17 from the field through the first 10 minutes, as Wisconsin’s John Blackwell and Kamari McGee were outscoring Nebraska on their own.
John Blackwell has been electric all year, especially during January, as he is fourth in the Big Ten and 38th in the country in scoring in January. At this rate, Madison is going to start calling it Johnuary from now on. As the second half started to wind down, Wisconsin cruised to a 28-point victory, bringing the score to 83-55.
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Looking at the season so far, Wisconsin started 8-0. They then lost three in a row to Marquette, Michigan and Illinois. Since the 0-3 stretch, Wisconsin has gone 8-1, with the sole loss by two points against UCLA. The Badgers are currently fourth in the Big Ten with their next game being against Maryland, which is fifth.
There is a lot of the season left, but the top four teams in the Big Ten will get a double-bye in the Big Ten tournament, so every game becomes increasingly important as January turns to February.
Wisconsin is on a great pace but with so many strong teams in the Big Ten and a tough stretch of games coming up — including four more ranked matchups — Wisconsin has to keep the ball rolling. That being said, an 83-55 thumping of Nebraska, especially coming off a loss, is great for team confidence and momentum.