- Wisconsin’s John Tonje led the Badgers to a 77-74 victory over Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal.
- Tonje scored 32 points, including the game-clinching block, and was praised by Michigan State coach Tom Izzo.
- Tonje has been a standout player for Wisconsin throughout the tournament, elevating his performance in each game.
- Wisconsin will face the Michigan Wolverines in the Big Ten Tournament championship game on Sunday.
This story was updated to add new information.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo had a front-row seat as Wisconsin wing John Tonje delivered yet another signature performance on Saturday afternoon.
That performance: 32 points, seven rebounds, two assists and a game-clinching block on 8-of-15 shooting, 4-of-10 from three and 12-of-14 from the free throw line, leading the Badgers to a dramatic 77-74 Big Ten Tournament semifinal victory over the Spartans.
Tonje was Wisconsin’s primary offense for the first 35 minutes of game time, scoring 21 of the team’s first 48 points, plus 14 of its first 20 in the second half. He also delivered the mentioned game-clinching block, as Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears Jr. hoisted a half-court shot at the buzzer, attempting to knot the game at 77.
Tonje’s performance continued to elevate his presence among the best players in the sport. The sixth-year senior was a First-Team All-Big Ten honoree earlier in the week. In three tournament games since then, Tonje has scored 18, 26 and 32 points, respectively. He is elevating his play as the games increase in importance. That is the perfect recipe for college basketball stardom.
Izzo began his postgame press conference with some praise for Tonje, who was by far the best player on the court during the Badgers’ win over the Spartans.
“You have to give some credit to Wisconsin,” Izzo began. “Tonje was definitely, he, along with [Braden] Smith, were the best players in the league [this year]. He played like one of them today. I thought we did a pretty good job on him for most of the way. Then he cut loose a little bit. That’s what great players do.”
Tonje struggled in Wisconsin’s March 2 loss to Michigan State, scoring just 11 points on 3-of-13 from the field. Saturday was a different story. Despite Michigan State boasting KenPom’s No. 5-ranked defense, the transfer wing had little trouble excelling from all three levels — at the rim, at the free-throw line and from long range.
Izzo continued to note that he thought his team played well defensively. That is, except for when Tonje took control of the game.
“In general, they shot 42%, we shot 40%,” Izzo continued. “We were good enough defensively most of the time, except when Tonje went off. We did not match that.”
The Michigan State head coach wasn’t alone. The entire Spartans team and coaching staff gave their props to the Wisconsin star in the postgame handshake line, audio courtesy of the Big Ten Conference.
Tonje, who is now drawing close to Wisconsin’s single-season scoring record, will lead the Badgers into the Big Ten Tournament championship game on Sunday afternoon against the Michigan Wolverines. Wisconsin fans hope to see more of the same from the breakout star. More importantly, this conference tournament run may be a sign of things to come in the NCAA Tournament.
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