Through 27 games, Wisconsin basketball has identified its undisputed offensive closer.
In his first season with the Badgers, star wing John Tonje is as collected in the clutch as any playmaker in college basketball. The North Omaha, Nebraska, native is responsible for 19.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 30.9 minutes per appearance for the Badgers in his first season in Madison. Performances in big wins over Arizona (41 points), Purdue (32 points) and Illinois (31 points) weight those impressive averages.
On Saturday, Tonje displayed his offensive prowess throughout the bulk of the first half vs. Oregon. The 6-foot-5 star scored 16 points in a six-minute stretch to propel Wisconsin to a 17-point edge ahead of intermission.
In the game’s final offensive sequence of regulation, however, Tonje did not receive an opportunity to display his game-clinching ability. After Oregon’s Jackson Shelstad nailed a three-point field goal to knot the contest at 66, UW head coach Greg Gard elected against calling a timeout and allowed the Badgers to orchestrate the final possession organically.
Veteran guard Max Klesmit, who went 3-of-9 from the field on Saturday, ended up taking the final shot of regulation — a step-back, mid-range jumper. His attempt hit the front rim. The Badgers would go on to lose in overtime.
After the contest, Gard justified his choice of enabling Klesmit to take the final shot instead of Tonje, who had scored 20 points up to that point. Here’s everything he said about that sequence:
“Tonje had it a lot,” Gard told media after the game. “And 20 shots is pretty inefficient. He took a lot of tough shots. I thought [JT] Bamba did a much better job on him in the second half. He was physical, wouldn’t let him get daylight. We tried to run some stuff and free him up off things, but Bamba was pretty well locked into him. And then when we did get to the rim you had Bittle in there too. That was a factor at the rim. Everybody can obviously second-guess it. But you know, John had 20 shots. So the key with John is he needed to get the free throw line more. He only shoots two, and those were obviously in the first half as all of ours were. I thought we settled for too many things at times and we had him taking tougher shots and then we got fours and fives that that are turning down shots. That puts the pressure back on John to have to take a tougher shot when the rest of us aren’t as aggressive as we need to be.”
Klesmit did hit the game-winner against Purdue in 2024’s Big Ten Tournament, but he hasn’t been the same offensive threat this season. Through 26 games, he’s shooting just 35.3% from the floor and 28.8% from deep in under 30 minutes per game. His two-way capabilities are valuable, but he has only scored over 15 points on four occasions this season.
Tonje, a much better shot creator, did get two looks off in overtime, but his inability to touch the ball before overtime proved detrimental for Gard’s group.
Wisconsin is back in action on Feb. 25 against Washington at the Kohl Center.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin basketball Oregon recap Greg Gard on John Tonje final shot
