Wisconsin Badgers
UCLA
Starting Five: UW goes for California-sweep vs. UCLA
January 19, 2025 | Men's Basketball
Wisconsin looks for sixth straight conference win
MADISON, Wis. — Beginning its California road trip with a 84-69 win over USC, the Wisconsin men’s basketball team looks to secure the SoCal sweep against UCLA on Tuesday, January 21.
Tip on Tuesday is set for 8:30 p.m. (CT) on Peacock. Fans can also listen to the action on the Badger Sports Network.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW:
1. LAST TIME OUT
Wisconsin collected its fifth-straight conference win against USC, taking down the Trojans 84-69. After a 15-point halftime lead, USC cut the deficit to just four points in the final frame, before Max Klesmit’s 13-second half points helped the Badgers rebuild their lead and take the victory.
Klesmit finished the game with 18 points, the second highest scoring mark on the team behind John Blackwell. Blackwell finished with 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting. Sophomore Nolan Winter added 13 points with a career-high three assists. And Kamari McGee scored 10 points with four assists and two steals off the bench
Wisconsin once again got it done from the free throw line, going 13-for-15 in the game. The team’s 85.5% shooting clip from the charity stripe leads all teams in the country, and is on pace to be the best free throw shooting mark in Men’s Division I history. The offense as a whole went 31-for-55 from the field.
2. JOHN-UARY
John Blackwell’s 28-point performance is nothing new to the sophomore, as it was his third time this season that he’s reached that mark, having done so against both Iowa and UTRGV. Blackwell and Nebraska’s Brice Williams are the only Big Ten players with three such performances this season.
JB has especially turned it up during the new year, scoring 20+ points in three-of-five games that the Badgers have played in January. His 21.0 points per game in the month ranks second in the conference to Rutger’s Ace Bailey.
Blackwell has only gotten better since first joining Wisconsin last season. He appeared in 34 games as a freshman last year, and earned his first start during the conference tournament. This season, he has started in every game and doubled his scoring average. He’s only one of five Big Ten underclassmen averaging over 16.0 points per game.
3. A LOOK AT THE STANDINGS
Despite an expanded 18-team field, Wisconsin still stands amongst the top teams in the Big Ten conference. The Badger’s 5-2 conference record is the fourth best mark in the league, just behind Michigan (6-2), Purdue (6-1) and Michigan State (7-0). In terms of overall record, Wisconsin’s 15-3 mark is behind only Michigan State (16-2) in terms of winning percentage.
Wisconsin’s offense continues to separate itself from the rest of the pack, ranking sixth in points per game (82.4) and in the top three in offensive rating (118.2). The Badgers offense comes from a balanced attack, with five players averaging over double-figures.
The Badgers are not only on a five-game conference win streak, but have done so in dominant fashion. Wisconsin has beaten its opponent by an average margin of 16.2 points. This excelled-conference play has gained notoriety across the country, as the No. 18 Badgers are one of six Big Ten teams in the AP rankings.
4. A BOOKING WITH THE BRUINS
UW only has to travel 12 miles to face its next opponent, the UCLA Bruins. UCLA is 12-6 overall this season, with a 3-4 record in conference play. After starting off 2-0 against Big Ten teams, the Bruins dropped four straight conference games in January to Nebraska, Michigan, Maryland, and Rutgers. The team rebounded last Friday, however, with a 94-70 win over Iowa.
Head coach Mike Cronin is in his sixth season with the team, sporting a 127-59 overall record with the Bruins. He led the team to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2020-21 to 2022-23, including a trip to the Final Four in 2020-21.
UCLA this season is one of the Big Ten’s best defensive teams, holding opponents to a conference best 63.7 points per game. USC transfer and Wisconsin-native, Kobe Johnson, is a big part of that defense, leading the team in rebounds (5.8) and steals per game (1.9). Tyler Bilodeau and Eric Dailey Jr lead the team in scoring at 14.6 and 12.2 points per game respectively.
5. SERIES HISTORY
Just like USC, this will be the first time that Wisconsin and UCLA will face off since UCLA joined the Big Ten Conference along with USC, Washington and Oregon. Before then, matchups between the west coast and the midwest were rare, with the two teams only facing off in seven total matchups.
UCLA leads Wisconsin in the all-time series 5-2. After Wisconsin earned the first two wins in the series in 1948 and 1949, UCLA has won five straight. The last time the teams went against each other in Los Angeles was a UCLA victory in 1972.
Since then, the teams have only faced each other twice, both in regular season, neutral-site tournaments. The most recent of which was in 2017, when UCLA scored a game-winning lay-up just before the buzzer in a 72-70 victory during the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City. Ethan Happ led the Badgers in that game with 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
