MADISON, Wis. – On a night when Wisconsin was honoring its 2014 and 2015 Final Four teams, the Badgers recreated one of their favorite memories of that era.
That is, in a 103-88 win over Arizona on Friday at the Kohl Center, they drowned the Wildcats in 3-pointers once again. The 2014 and 2015 Wisconsin teams both beat Arizona in the Elite Eight to reach their Final Fours, hitting 12 of 18 3s in a seven-point win in the 2015 edition.
On Friday, Wisconsin had 12 made 3s midway through the second half, finishing with 12 of 27. This time, the Badgers also added a twist, drawing 31 UA fouls and sinking 41 of 47 resulting free throws.
Sixth year forward John Tonje, a two-time up-transfer from Colorado State and Missouri, was at the axis of all this. While Wisconsin forward Sam Dekker hit 5 of 6 3-pointers in that 2015 Elite Eight game, it Tonje who starred in the Wildcats' nightmare this time by racking up a game-high 41 points, hitting 4 of 5 3-pointers and making 21 of 22 free throws.
"He's strong, he's a downhill guy and he made 3s," UA coach Tommy Lloyd said of Tonje. "He's experienced, I'm sure he's hungry and he was awesome.
"The dude scores 40 on you, you tip your hat to him."
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd reacts to a foul call during the first half against Wisconsin on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
That Tonje scored over half of his 41 points at the line was symbolic of the Wildcats' other big problem Monday: In a game with 63 total fouls, Wisconsin took seven more free throws than Arizona -- and hit 41 of 47 of them.
The Wildcats shot 40 free throws but hit only 28, giving Wisconsin 13 more points at the line. The Badgers combined that with 48.1% overall field goal shooting and, of course, their 3-point shooting to make sure UA never took a lead, though the Wildcats briefly tied it early in the second half.
"I'll give them credit -- their role players who had made shots made a few shots and that happens sometimes when you play at home," Lloyd said. "It's a big game, a big night, and Wisconsin's obviously a tradition-rich program."
For Arizona, Jaden Bradley had 22 points and six rebounds. KJ Lewis added 15 points and four rebounds while Trey Townsend had 17 points but preseason all-American guard Caleb Love had a particularly rough night: He had just six points while making 2 of 13 field goals – missing all six 3s he tried – and fouled out with 4:57 left.
While Love wasn't available for comment, his uncharacteristic stat line suggested he may have been adversely affected by an early technical foul he picked up. Just over four minutes into the game, Love was called for a shooting foul against Wisconsin's John Blackwell, and the two appeared to exchange words afterward.
Then, when Love tapped a hand on Blackwell, he was whistled for a technical foul, giving him two early fouls at a time when UA had just begun to show signs of life.
The Wildcats fell behind 7-0 early while missing their first five shots and turning the ball over twice in the first three-plus minutes. It wasn’t until Love drove inside for a contested layup with 17:44 left that the Wildcats were on the scoreboard.
UA managed to pull within 9-8 after a 3-pointer from Bradley with 15:35 to go, but after Love's fouls, Blackwell hit both ensuing free throws and the Wildcats fell further behind from there until the second half.
Wisconsin guard Kamari McGee (4) reacts to three point basket scored by Wisconsin guard Max Klesmit (11) during the first half against the Arizona Wildcats Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
Love, meanwhile, never really recovered.
"Caleb can't put himself in a position where early in the game he gets a technical foul," Lloyd said. "He can't get baited into anything. I haven't seen the clip so I have no idea what happened but if it was justified -- and I'm sure it was, since the officials called it -- you just can't put yourself in that position to pick up two fouls early in the game."
No doubt, upcoming opponents may try to prod him to do just that, especially after they see the game video from Friday. Love is a preseason all-American, after all, normally a prolific shooter and scorer.
"That was probably (Wisconsin's) game plan, take him out of the game early," Bradley said. "He's such a good player. But Caleb has been in these situations, college basketball, a lot and he's definitely going to bounce back.
While Love had the only technical of the game, he was hardly the only one in foul trouble. The Wildcats' entire rotation had three fouls or more, except Bradley, who played over 35 minutes at point guard.
Down 55-44 at halftime thanks to Wisconsin’s 50-percent first-half shooting, the Wildcats ran into similar trouble in the second half. They managed to briefly tie the game at 65 when Lewis hit a layup with 14:12 to go, but 3-pointers from Xavier Amos and Tonje over the next three minutes gave the Badgers a 75-68 lead.
Similarly, after Bradley pulled up for a short jumper to cut Wisconsin’s lead to 77-72, the Badgers had another 3 from Tonje that helped them take a 82-72 lead with 9:16 to go. The Badgers maintained double digit leads most of the rest of the way.
Wisconsin guard John Tonje (9) dribbles the ball against Arizona during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
Lewis said poor communication led to breakdowns in switching defensively against the Badgers while Lloyd said both the Wildcats' defensive problems and the foul issues bothered him the same.
"We battled back but we just didn't play smart enough," Lloyd said. "We didn't have the discipline. I don't know how many times our guards drove into their chest and, listen, those are vertical contests. They're probably not going to call them fouls. And they were calling fouls on us out on the perimeter, those little hip checks, and those are fouls.
"I don't love how the game's being called but that's how the game's being called. Wisconsin was definitely much smarter in how they approached attacking the game, and their players adjusted to the new rules better than we did."
The loss dropped Arizona to 2-1 while Wisconsin improved to 4-0 with a good chance of entering the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday. It was also Arizona’s first in November in three-plus seasons under Lloyd, after the Wildcats won the first 20, including a memorable 78-73 win at Duke early last season.
The Wildcats will have a week to recover before hosting Duke next Friday at McKale Center in a rematch of that game.
"That's the great thing about basketball," Bradley said. "Tough loss but you're back at it in a week or less than a week. We're gonna learn from this."
