After having their seven-game win streak snapped during a two-game road trip, the Badgers returned to the Kohl Center on Sunday and never trailed during their 83-55 victory over the Cornhuskers. The victory moved Wisconsin up to 16-4 overall and 6-3 in conference play. Wisconsin never trailed and got 41 combined points from John Tonje and John Blackwell.
It was a homecoming game for Connor Essegian, who transferred out of Wisconsin last offseason after a pair of seasons in Madison. The sharpshooting guard was met with mixed reactions at the Kohl Center, but the Badgers didn't let Essegian get his revenge.
Wisconsin held Nebraska under 30 points in both halves while shooting 47.6 percent on the offensive end, highlighting the dominant two-way effort. Here are three immediate takeaways from the win.
Badgers bring hot shooting home
Wisconsin drilled 15 of its 30 three-point attempts in their loss at UCLA on Tuesday. Despite the nearly 2,000 miles that separate Madison and Los Angeles, it felt like the Badgers were back in California on Sunday. Wisconsin made five of its first six three-point attempts, with all makes touching nothing but nylon.
The shooting tear sparked a 19-2 run for the Badgers to open up the contest, and they finished the first half with nine made three-pointers, nearly matching their average made threes per game (9.6) on the year.
They didn't slow up in the second half, attempting 18 more three-pointers in the period and converting on eight of those attempts. Per the broadcast, their 17 made three-pointers were the third most in Badgers history.
Defense rises to the occasion
For as great as Wisconsin's offense has been this season, the Badgers' performance on the defensive end of the floor hasn't always been up to par. However, they were exceptionally stout Sunday, keeping the Huskers well under their season average of 76.4 points.
The Badgers neutralized Brice Williams, who entered the contest sixth in the conference in points per game (18.5) while shooting 47.8 percent from the field. Wisconsin held Williams to 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting and forced him to turn the ball over 4 times. But Williams was just the tip of the iceberg for Wisconsin's stellar defensive showing. Connor Essegian and Juwan Gary are the only other Cornhuskers players to average more than 10 points per game. The duo combined for 13 points on 5-of-22 shooting.
Wisconsin forced 12 turnovers and turned those mistakes into 17 points, and limited Nebraska to 33.9 percent shooting overall.
Tonje keeps rolling
John Tonje was met with some criticism after going scoreless at USC. He responded to the adversity with 24 points on 8-of-9 shooting -- including six three-pointers -- against UCLA and went one step further Sunday to silence the critics. Tonje knocked down five three-pointers en route to a game-high 27 points, marking his third-best scoring performance of the year. It also marked Tonje's first 25-point game since Nov. 24, when he scored 33 points against Pitt.
Before coming to Wisconsin, Tonje had made more than four three-pointers just once in 130 games. He's now hit that milestone in back-to-back games, further establishing himself as a potential All-Big 10 player.
He didn't just hit three-pointers Sunday, though, getting to the rim and collapsing the defense. Tonje made four two-point shots against Nebraska, something he hadn't done since Jan. 6 against Rutgers.