The Wisconsin Badgers cruised to an 85-66 victory over the No. 14-seed Montana Grizzlies on Thursday in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Greg Gard’s group did so with one of its more balanced offensive attacks of the season. Six different playmakers registered at least eight points, including a game-best 19 from sophomore John Blackwell on 7-of-12 shooting, plus 18 from center Steven Crowl on an efficient 8-of-10 clip.
While Wisconsin’s top performers were somewhat predictable, bench forward Xavier Amos’ afternoon stat line certainly stood out. The first-year Badger scored 11 points, snared four boards and blocked two Montana shot attempts in just 13 minutes off the bench. He scored those 11 points off 5-of-9 shooting overall and 4-of-5 from inside the three-point line.
The former Northern Illinois forward made his presence felt early and often. In his first minute of action in the first half, Amos corralled several rebounds, blocked a shot and tipped in a miss. He would score four more points in the opening stanza to help UW build an eight-point edge entering halftime.
While his second half didn’t include as eye-popping a stat line as the first, Amos connected on both a key dunk and a three-point attempt as Wisconsin worked to extend its lead.
After the win, Gard addressed Amos’ big afternoon with the media.
“His line score jumps out,” Gard said. “It was the defensive plays he made. He blocked some shots in the first half, he covered up, he rotated. He brought some energy to us defensively that got us going a little bit in transition. That’s been a growing area for him, defensively. Understanding when you can help, how you help, what your assignment is, and then how you can help your team…I thought defensively he did some good things.”
As Wisconsin’s eighth or ninth man off the bench, Amos has showcased his two-way capabilities in a handful of games during the 2024-25 season. He dropped eight points in the Badgers’ Big Ten Tournament win over UCLA on March 14, 12 against Washington State on Feb. 25 and eight in the team’s early-season win over Arizona. Most of those tallies came from beyond the three-point line. Montana was the forward’s most well-rounded performance of the year, including a terrific showing on the defensive end.
Wisconsin could certainly use another boost from Amos off the bench when it faces BYU on Saturday evening.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin Basketball Montana game recap Greg Gard Xavier Amos comments
