Wisconsin didn't crack double figures until the 7:25 mark of the first half. Yet, they wound up finishing just six points shy of their season average. They were unstoppable during the second half, knocking down 8 of their 14 three-point attempts and outscoring Northwestern by 12 points.
John Tonje led the charge, compiling 27 points on 8-18 shooting and three assists, while Max Klesmit, Nolan Winter, and Carter Gilmore joined Tonje in double figures. The Badgers committed merely one turnover in the second half after coughing the ball up nine times in the first 20 minutes.
While it's still a quality win for the Badgers, it's worth noting the Wildcats were without senior wing Brooks Barnhizer, who averages 17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.3 steals per game.
Here are my biggest takeaways from the 75-69 win.
Tonje Takeover Saves First Half Offense
Wisconsin had nothing going on the offensive end of the floor during the first 10 minutes of Saturday's contest. They started 2-for-16 from the field and committed five turnovers. The offensive situation turned even more bleak when Blackwell, who had accounted for Wisconsin's only made field goals, got called for a second foul and sent to the bench.
The Badgers would go scoreless for the next five minutes. Then, John Tonje awoke.
Tonje would make three-pointers on three consecutive possessions, and he also knocked down a pair of free throws from a technical foul on Northwestern guard Justin Mullins, which, per the TV broadcast, occurred when Mullins chirped back at Daniel Freitag on the Wisconsin bench.
In total, Tonje scored 16 straight points for Wisconsin, and he accounted for all but two of the Badgers' points over a 13:30 stretch to end the half and keep Wisconsin within striking distance.
Foul Trouble limits John Blackwell Once Again
In Wednesday's loss to Maryland, Blackwell committed his second foul with 9:06 left in the first half and remained on the bench until halftime. On Saturday, his second personal foul came at 10:17 in the first half, and he didn't retake the floor until the start of the second half.
While he evaded further foul trouble in the second half, Blackwell never seemed to get into a rhythm. He went scoreless on three field goal attempts after returning to the floor and managed merely one rebound and one assist across 18 minutes during the second period.
Badgers get offensive boost from unexpected sources
Depth has been a strength for Wisconsin all season and the second half of Saturday's game put a spotlight on the variety of options the Badgers have on offense.
Northwestern garnered a seven-point lead with 15:08 left in the game. Over the next seven minutes, Wisconsin would not only erase that deficit but grab a five-point lead on the backs of outstanding play from Carter Gilmore, Kamari McGee, and Max Klesmit.
Gilmore drilled back-to-back three-pointers -- including a contested one from several feet beyond the three -- as part of a 10-point burst that spanned roughly three and a half minutes. It was Gilmore's first career game scoring in double figures, and he wound up with XX points, all of which came in the second half.
McGee didn't flash in the scoring column, but he was lethal as a facilitator. McGee doled out 3 assists during the second half and was part of the tide-turning run midway through the period. He finished with four points in 22 minutes.
Max Klesmit, on the heels of a 1-of-8 shooting day against Maryland, went 3-for-7 on Saturday and scored all 11 of his points in the second half. Klesmit also had a pair of assists.