In case a 10-point win at Mackey Arena wasn't enough to instill confidence in Badger fans, Wisconsin went wire-to-wire over the Fighting Illini on Tuesday at the Kohl Center. It was the Badgers' first win against Illinois in 10 games and marked the team's seventh Quad 1 win of the season.
Here's my grades for each Wisconsin player:
John Tonje: A+
Tonje has been unstoppable since going scoreless at USC. Tuesday was his ninth straight 20-point game, and he notched his fourth 30-point game of the campaign. Plainly put, he was unstoppable in the second half, scoring 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He also took another step forward defensively, compiling four steals and being a nuisance in the passing lanes.
Crowl: A+
I didn’t have high expectations for Crowl even with Morez Johnson out and Tomislav Ivisic banged up. Yet he erupted for 20 points on 7-10 shooting and went right at Ivisic in the post with plenty of success. Crowl hasn’t needed to be an impactful scorer recently, but when he is, watch out.
Nolan Winter: A-
This had the makings of a monster Nolan Winter game early on, and while his stat line didn’t blow anybody away, Winter neared a double-double (seven points, eight rebounds) and didn’t commit a turnover.
Kamari McGee: B+
McGee didn’t do anything flashy against the Illini but chipped in with four points, four rebounds, and two assists. After getting ejected in the first half against Purdue, I’ll be a little nice and bump him up to a B+.
John Blackwell: B+
I’ve been high on Blackwell since the start of the season, so it only makes sense to be a little critical of him. I’d like to see him take better care of the basketball, but he had plenty of strong takes and dished out X assists. On defense, he had one or two mishaps but was important in shutting down Kasparas Jakucionis. His final stat line may be a little misleading, considering he poured in Z points in the final three minutes, but it was a strong game nonetheless
Jack Janicki: B+
After having a coming-out game against the Boilermakers, Janicki didn’t see the floor much until the final seven minutes. He made a positive impact and did everything that was asked of him when he was on the court, plus a little bit more.
Carter Gilmore: B
Maybe the legend of Gilly James has gotten to my head, but it felt like a rather pedestrian game for Gilmore. He knocked down some shots and had a block on defense.
Max Klesmit: B-
Klesmit didn’t do much Tuesday, nor did he need to. At times, it looked like Illinois emphasized stopping Klesmit’s dribble drive, an aspect of his game that has been rather impressive this season. He lead the charge on shutting down Jakucionis which is more than enough to offset a near-silent offensive game.
Amos: D+
Amos did hit a three and made a wide-open layup in transition, but he was otherwise substandard. Amos turned the ball over 2 times — and he should’ve had one more on an uncalled travel — and wasn’t great on the defensive end.