Tonje scores 41 as Wisconsin topples No

Nov 16, 2024, 02:00 AM ET MADISON, Wis.– John Tonje still has a bit to learn about his brand-new school.Tonje was going over Wisconsin’s 103-88 success over No. 9 Arizona on Friday night when the former Colorado State and Missouri guard discussed the pregame ceremony honoring the Badgers ‘2014 and 2015 teams.”We celebrated some of the guys from the Sweet 16 groups,”Tonje kept in mind before his new teammates reminded him that Wisconsin actually reached the Last 4 in both of those seasons.Forgive Tonje if he does not yet know quite as much as the average Wisconsin fan about the Badgers’basketball history. He has actually been too hectic making history himself.Tonje had among the nation’s most remarkable specific efficiencies of the young season Friday night by scoring 41 points– 2 shy of

the Wisconsin record. He is balancing 23.5 points while shooting 55.8 %(24 of 43) from the field.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated Much of the attention surrounding Wisconsin (4-0)after last season focused on the players who had left for other Department I programs, with

leading scorer AJ Storr bolting to Kansas

and three-year beginning point player Chucky Hepburn heading to Louisville.It ends up that adding Tonje from the transfer portal could surpass any of those losses.”He listens,”Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said.”He’s extremely mindful. He asks terrific questions. He’s really fully grown.

All those things assist make him the player he is.”Tonje’s marksmanship from the nasty line– he’s 37 of 39 this season– proved critical versus Arizona in a game that included a combined 63 fouls(32 by the Wildcats) and 87 free throw attempts.The 87 totally free throws matched the highest total for

any game considering that the start of the 2023-24 season, according to Sportradar. There also were 87 combined complimentary tosses in UNC Wilmington’s 92-84 triumph over Georgia Southern on Nov. 8.

Tonje required just 14 field-goal attempts to score 41 points Friday. He went 8-of-14 from the field, 4-of-6 from 3-point variety and 21-of-22 on complimentary throws. His 21 made free throws set a school record.According to Sportradar, Tonje was the very first Division I player to score a minimum of 40 points on fewer than 15 field-goal efforts since Fresno State’s Jemarl Baker Jr. had 43 points and 14 field goal efforts in a 108-72 blowout of Chicago State on March 4, 2023. Tonje just missed the school scoring record held by Frank Kaminsky, who attended Friday’s game as part of the 2014-15 event. Kaminsky scored 43 points versus North Dakota on Nov. 19, 2013.”He’s strong,”Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said about Tonje.” He’s a downhill guy. He made threes. He’s knowledgeable, and I make certain he’s hungry.” That hunger originates from remaining most of last season. Wisconsin’s John Tonje shot 21-of-22 from the free throw line Friday night, setting a school record. John Fisher/Getty Images Tonje played just 8 games for Missouri before a foot injury knocked him out for the rest of 2023-24. He spent only one season at Missouri after playing four seasons at Colorado State, balancing 14.6 points his last one there.He states he thinks he gained from his abbreviated season.”I ‘d never ever had time to just take a seat and type of reflect on my game and what I wished to be and where I can enhance,”Tonje stated.”I believe it was best for me to simply discover the game, take hours of film and self-reflection, determining what I wish to improve at and where I see myself going.”Gard says a fast research study of Tonje’s work at Colorado State made it apparent the 6-foot-5 guard deserved pursuing.”Simply seeing glimpses of what he was doing there informed me enough in the five minutes of movie I watched, since undoubtedly in the portal, it’s speed dating [and] we’re making quick choices, “Gard stated. “He showed me some things there that I felt there was a lot there to deal with, and he was willing to learn and listen.

“Tonje’s efficiency Friday assisted Wisconsin provide its most lopsided triumph over a top-10 team since a 67-49

accomplishment over No. 5 Michigan State on Feb. 2, 2010, and its very first triple-digit scoring outburst against a ranked opponent because a 119-100 loss to No. 14 Iowa on Feb. 10, 1970. The stirring win led to a postgame court storming, producing the kind of scene Tonje imagined when he selected Wisconsin.”I wanted to belong of a night like this,”

he said.