John Tonje, a senior transfer wing at Wisconsin, has been unanimously named a first-team All-Big Ten selection by coaches and media. This marks the first time a Badger has achieved this distinction since Johnny Davis in 2022 and the 16th all-time for the program since 1948.

Tonje led the team in scoring, averaging 18.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, contributing significantly to Wisconsin’s surprising fourth-place finish in the conference. He’s also received accolades such as Transfer of the Year and third-team All-American from various outlets. Wisconsin is set to commence postseason play in the Big Ten Tournament against the winner of Minnesota and Northwestern.

Tonje averaged 18.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in 31 starts.

He scored 22.5 points per game against top-50 ranked teams, shooting 43.2% from beyond the arc.

Tonje recorded four 30-point games this season, the most among major conference players.

Wisconsin tied for fourth in the Big Ten, far exceeding their preseason expectation of a 12th-place finish.

They are the No. 5 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, set to play Thursday in Indianapolis.

Wisconsin will face the winner of the game between No. 12 Minnesota and No. 13 Northwestern, with potential implications for NCAA tournament seeding depending on their performance.

Wisconsin basketball’s latest top transfer addition officially etched himself into program lore on Tuesday.

Following a remarkable regular-season slate, Badgers wing John Tonje earned a unanimous spot on the 2024-25 All-Big Ten First Team. He becomes the 12th Badger since 2000 to pocket a first-team distinction.

Tonje accompanied Nebraska’s Brice Williams, Maryland’s Derik Queen, Michigan’s Vladislav Goldin and Purdue’s Trey Kauffman-Renn and Braden Smith on the top group. He, Williams, Smith and Kauffman-Renn earned the honor unanimously.

The North Omaha, Nebraska, native put together one of the most impressive seasons by any player in the country. In 31 starts this season, the 6-foot-5 playmaker averaged 18.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 31 minutes per appearance. He did so off 46.0% shooting from the floor, 37.8% from outside and 91.6% from the charity stripe as his team’s undisputed offensive engine.

Outside of the statistical outputs, Tonje pocketed three Big Ten Player of the Week nods throughout the season, plus the 2024 Greenbrier Tip-Off Tournament MVP award. He scored at least 20 points on 12 occasions, including four games of at least 30.

Arguably Tonje’s most impressive game came against Arizona in mid-November, a team ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll at the time. He scored a season-best 41 points and poured in 21 free-throw attempts to lead Wisconsin to one of its best wins of the season.

Tonje remained UW’s most steady option for the remainder of the season, specifically propelling it to a November non-conference tournament victory at the Greenbrier Tip-Off and an impressive road win over Purdue on Feb. 15. Tonje’s emergence is arguably the primary factor for Wisconsin’s overachievement in a challenging 18-team Big Ten Conference.

Wisconsin will certainly require his brilliance when it plays the winner of Minnesota-Northwestern in the second round of the 2025 Big Ten Tournament on Thursday. He scored 27 points against the Wildcats on Feb. 1 and averaged 17 in two games against the Golden Gophers this season.

The Wisconsin Badgers decided to have their worst game of the season as their final regular season game. It was a brutal and frustrating loss in which Wisconsin looked lost and confused for half the game and couldn’t drop shots. They also added another injury to their report in Nolan Winter, who had something happen in his shoulder on a dunk. It was layers of frustration and disappointment.

The AP Top 25 also recognized it as a bad day for the Badgers, dropping them six spots from No. 12 to No. 18. The Badgers don’t look like the same team from February and hopefully getting Max Klesmit back from injury will make a huge difference and get the trajectory of the post season on the right track. The sky is the limit for this team, but they also know how to play in the basement.

Fans definitely feel the team deserved to be dropped in the polls, and some are frustrated enough to wonder how they are still ranked. However, the Badgers’ resume is still as strong as that of any top-15 team in the country. They only have one Quad-2 loss and six Quad-1 wins. That’s elite still even with a clunker to end the season against Penn State.

The Badgers are still projected to be a three-seed in the NCAA tournament, and they are currently in the five-seed spot for the Big Ten Tournament. While in years past, Big Ten Tournament games didn’t change a resume much, winning the whole thing would go a long way for the Wisconsin Badgers, not only for momentum into the NCAA Tournament but also for seeding.

The Wisconsin Badgers’ first game (second round) in the Big Ten Tournament is Thursday, March 13, against the winner of the No. 12 Minnesota Golden Gophers and the No. 13 Northwestern Wildcats.

As a disappointed University of Wisconsin’ men’s basketball team was leaving the court Saturday afternoon — and an equally frustrated crowd was filing to the exits as well — public-address announcer Mike Mahnke delivered some announcements.

Mahnke thanked fans for packing the Kohl Center this season, ending that thought with a dose of optimism. “We have a lot of season left,” Mahnke said.

Mahnke is a jovial man who was just doing his job.

There’s no reason to scrap the plan of letting people know that tickets are still available for the upcoming Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.

But pardon any skeptical ears in the house following the No. 12 Badgers’ 86-75 loss to Penn State.

After that performance, it was fair to question whether Wisconsin actually does have a lot of season remaining in front of it.

Even Badgers coach Greg Gard admitted as much following a stunning defeat that sticks out like a blemish on an otherwise glowing resume for his team.

“Like I told them, we’re lucky. We get to play again,” Gard said.

“But from here on out, if you play like this, you won’t play long.”

The season for Penn State may be over. Coach Mike Rhoades was more focused on enjoying his team’s season-best victory than wondering if Penn State would be invited to one of the lower-tier postseason tournaments later this month.

The Nittany Lions (16-15, 6-14) will not be able to make it to the Big Ten tournament.

Despite manufacturing a productive 2024-25 campaign, Wisconsin transfer guard Connor Essegian was quiet as Nebraska suffered a season-ending loss to Iowa on Sunday.

The former Badger went 0-for-11 from the field and 0-of-8 from beyond the arc in 24 minutes of action. He scored two points from the charity stripe and grabbed four rebounds in Cornhuskers’ 83-68 loss.

To make matters even worse for Nebraska fans, the loss eliminated the team from the 2025 Big Ten Tournament. Entering Sunday, Nebraska held a three-way tie for 11th place in the conference with Minnesota and Rutgers (7-12). Its contest against Iowa, the Big Ten’s 16th place team at 6-13, was a win-and-in scenario for both teams, with the loser to drop out of the field.

The result capped off what has become a late-season collapse from the Cornhuskers. The team was 17-9 (7-8 Big Ten) after a win over Northwestern on Feb. 16. Since then, Nebraska dropped five straight Big Ten games to Penn State, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State and Iowa, respectively. It dropped from a likely NCAA Tournament team to missing the conference tournament entirely.

Essegian did score 20 points in the Cornhuskers’ 17-point loss to the Nittany Lions on Feb. 19, 11 in their buzzer-beater loss to Minnesota and 16 in a 2OT loss to Buckeyes. However, he mustered only two points against the Wolverines and two, on 0-of-11 shooting, against the Hawkeyes. That quiet outing against Iowa included the most three-point attempts and third-most shot attempts on the team.

While discouraging, Essegian did enjoy success in his first year in Lincoln. In 31 games, he averaged 10.4 points off 37.6% shooting from outside and 84.3% from the free throw line in over 22 minutes per appearance. He scored at least 20 points on four occasions as one of the nation’s most dangerous shooting options off the bench.

During his pair of seasons in Madison, he accounted for 7.6 points and 2.3 rebounds off 40% from the field and 34.5% from deep. As a freshman, he burst onto the scene with an 11.7-point, 3.7-rebound season that netted him 2023 Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors.

Essegian and Nebraska will enter 2025-26 looking to avoid a repeat of this year’s disappointing finish.

There was 1500m delight for Revee Walcott-Nolan (Thomas Dreissigacker, Luton) as she clinched a memorable European bronze medal on night two at the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.

In a superb effort and huge lean for the line, Walcott-Nolan secured her first major international medal just one day after she celebrated her 30th birthday, whilst team-mate and European leader Georgia Hunter Bell (Trevor Painter) finished in fourth place after a tough final 100m.

Fresh from an assured victory in her heat just yesterday evening, Hunter Bell took to the track in the form of her life having returned to the sport full-time just last year. Jointed by Walcott-Nolan, who too looked assured and comfortable in coming through yesterday’s qualifying, the British duo toed the line as part of a strong field of nine.

The same nine showed some apprehension on both pace and a designated front-runner over the opening 400m, with both Hunter Bell and Walcott-Nolan tucking into second and third place behind somewhat reluctant early leader Guillemot (FRA).

With both Britons still in the medal positions through 700m, the pace then began to wind up a little through Hunter Bell’s work out in front. Intent on putting some pressure on those behind her, Hunter Bell continued to lead with 600m to go, shadowed by Walcott-Nolan all the way.

The pace lifted again and Guillemot struck for the front and the inside line, but Hunter Bell was alive to the threat and not allowing a gap to open on the inside. The attack came again, however, with the Frenchwoman surging once more around the final bend before streaking away for gold in a fast finish, with Afonso (POR) also coming by for silver.

The fight for bronze then went to the wire, with Hunter Bell and Walcott-Nolan neck and neck for the final step of the podium, Walcott-Nolan’s lean edging out Hunter Bell as the duo shared the same finishing time – 4:08.45 – only separated by thousandths of a second to split bronze and fourth place.

An elated Walcott-Nolan said: “I am so happy! Obviously silver or gold would have been nicer, but to come away with a bronze today from a couple of weeks ago when I didn’t think I would be racing indoors at all, I am really proud of myself.

“My coach told me to get up the front in the top two, and stay there. So that is what I was trying to do the whole race: stick to the plan for as long as I can. If I die, I die, but at least I know I have given it a go, and it paid off.

“I will be celebrating with my friends for my birthday and then this, I have double celebrations now with this medal! It means a lot, just knowing the hard work I have put in, my coach has put in and everyone around me has put into supporting me to get here; it means a lot that I can finally show that it is all worth it.”

Reflecting on her own race, Hunter Bell commented: “I don’t really know what happened, I felt really good yesterday I felt really smooth and thought I would win today, I didn’t think I would come fourth. I really locked up there at the end, I am not sure what happened there. I executed the whole plan until the last bit, I will have to go away and see.

“Last year when I came fourth at world indoors that really fuelled me for the summer so when I am done being sad about this, maybe I can take some positives from it, I am going to let myself be sad for tonight.”

On track just after the women’s race took centre stage, Neil Gourley (Stephen Haas, Giffnock North) went in search of another European indoor medal having won silver at these same championships two years ago.

Victorious in his heat yesterday and admittedly buoyed by the prospect of competing again so soon, Gourley channelled his energy and enthusiasm smartly, setting out by straddling lane two while keeping close attention with those occupying the top three.

After Frenchman Habz took the field through 400m in just north of a minute, Ingebrigtsen came round from last place to first to spark some panic and jostling through the field, with Gourley then finding himself riding elbows and placed down in sixth with 600m to run.

With the Norwegian turning the screw out in front and ticking off successively quicker 200m splits, the field began to noticeably string out as many found the going tough. Attempting to take closer order of his own race as they came round for 400m to run, Gourley looked to use the outside lanes to bring himself out and round into medal contention.

Ultimately Ingebrigtsen’s charge for the line took both the fast-finishing Habz (FRA) and Nader (POR) with him to complete the podium, with Gourley’s resolve over the final 100m seeing him cross over in 3:38.29 for fourth place.

“Sometimes you make your own luck in races, and I maybe didn’t put myself in the best spot to deal with all the carnage – such is the event,” Gourley reflected.

“I was happy with how I felt early on in the race I was full of running, ready to move when the race kicked off. Unfortunately, when it kicked off, everybody was diving on top of each other. I’ll put myself in better positions in the future – that one I just got a bit wrong today.”

In earlier sprints action, and having come through the women’s 400m heats as a non-automatic fastest qualifier, Ama Pipi (Tony Lester, Enfield & Haringey) went in search of making a first international final as she lined up in the first of two semi-finals.

Drawn in lane one and therefore facing a difficult task from the off, Pipi attacked the opening 150m aggressively in a bid to take the stagger out of Peeters (NED) inside her. Whipping round for the bell in fifth place, but with Spain’s Sevilla leading a front pack of four through 200m in a swift 23.7 seconds, Pipi had it all to do to run herself into one of the three qualifying spots.

Working incredibly hard down the backstraight while trying to keep something for the final 50m, Pipi closed the gap to the front four and was rapidly gaining on eventual fourth-placer Brossier (FRA), but sadly ran out of track to catch those out in front, clocking 52.29 for fifth.

Post-race, she reflected: “I did the best I could from lane one, I feel I am getting stronger and stronger each time I run the 400m so I am definitely coming into my own. It is taking a bit of time, but I am trusting the process.”

Great Britain & Northern Ireland have won two medals at the European Indoor Athletics Championships:

Revee Walcott Nolan, Women’s 1500m

All results from the European Indoor Athletics Championships can be viewed

here, along with the event timetable.

Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard is shown during the first half of their game against Indiana Tuesday, February 4, 2025 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin basketball team has not only been one of the better teams in the country, but also a deadly team from the line.

Wisconsin completed the regular season sweep of the Minnesota Golden Gophers last night with a 74-67 win that saw the Badgers nail 22 free-throws. The Badgers entered the season with a new dedication to shooting the ball from outside the three-point line more, but the team has surprised many from the foul line.

Wisconsin Basketball Flourishing While Utilizing Foul Opportunities

Wisconsin Badgers coach Greg Gard

Feb 8, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Greg Gard watches from the bench during the first half against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Wisconsin currently leads the NCAA with a free-throw percentage of 83.44%, nearly three-points higher than the second ranked Villanova Wildcats.

The Badgers have been an extremely accurate team, making the most of the chances given at the line while not even sitting in the top 40 schools in terms of free-throws attempted per game. Wisconsin currently averages 16.6 made free-throws per game, which ranks 30th in the NCAA, and has largely been able to put teams away this season due to the success multiple players have had at the line in particular.

Star guard John Tonje has 194 free-throw attempts this season which is tied for 30th in the nation while also being tied for fifth with 178 points from the line. Both Max Klesmit and Kamari McGee have also been successful from the line for the Wisconsin basketball team, with both guards shooting over 84% when at the foul line this season.

John Blackwell has also quietly been a developing force at the line as the guard continues to learn how to use his body and work his way into contact in the paint. Blackwell currently shoots 80.7% from the line with 92 makes on the season, which is over 30 more than Klesmit or McGee this season.

How has the Wisconsin Badgers Basketball Team Improved Offensively?

Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin guard John Tonje (9) listens to head coach Greg Gard during the second half of their game Saturday, February 22, 2025 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Oregon beat Wisconsin 77-73 in overtime.

A big key to the success of Wisconsin basketball this season has not just been the emergence of Tonje or the barrage of three-point shots, but rather the improvements the team has made at the foul line.

A season ago, the best free-throw shooter in the starting lineup for the Badgers was Klesmit, who shot 82.4% and made less than 70 shots from the line. Guard AJ Storr was the premier free-throw shooter for Wisconsin making 125 shots, but Storr only shot 81.2% from the line which made a productive trip to the line less than likely at times.

Adding a sure-bet at the line like Tonje has done wonders for the Wisconsin basketball team this season, and likely will become a deciding factor in games as the competition begins to intensify. Converting shots from the foul line is an amazing thing when a team can master it, but there is more to utilizing fouls than hitting shots.

Aside from the success of Tonje, Blackwell, Klesmit, and McGee have all improved at making it to the foul line more this season, which has provided the Wisconsin basketball team with more free point opportunities. The Wisconsin basketball team is learning how to use physicality to draw fouls this season, and hitting the shots has allowed for the Badgers to become a tough team to put away late in games.

Wisconsin closes out the regular season against the Penn State Nittany Lions, who have shown flashes of what could have been in the latter part of the season.

Wisconsin basketball guard John Tonje (9) slashes past Michigan State Spartans forward Jaxon Kohler (0)

Mar 2, 2025; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard John Tonje (9) slashes past Michigan State Spartans forward Jaxon Kohler (0) during the first half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center.