Bruins Must Limit Depth of Talent Badgers Squad

The UCLA Bruins are coming off a dominant win and will seek to maintain the momentum as they host the Wisconsin Badges on Tuesday night. The biggest key for the Bruins will be their ability to slow down the abundance of elite scorers the Badgers possess.

Wisconsin guard John Tonje (9) drives past Michigan guard Nimari Burnett (4) during the second half of their game Tuesday, December 3, 2024, at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Michigan beat Wisconsin 67-64. | Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins (12-6, 3-4 ) are getting set to take on another ranked opponent as the No. 24 Wisconsin Badgers (15-3, 5-2) come to Pauley Pavilion on Tuesday night. If the Bruins want to continue their winning ways, they must find a way to shut down a dangerous starting five.

The Badgers are winners of seven straight, including five-consecutive Big Ten games. Their roster is loaded with five different guys that are averaging 10 or more points. This will be another tall task for the Bruins' as they will face the sixth-best scoring offense in the Big Ten at 82.4 points per game.

Senior guard John Tonje leads the way for Wisconsin, averaging 17.2 points per game, shooting the ball just under 45% from the field. Sophomore guard John Blackwell has been equally effective, pouring in 16.1 points per game. Both guys are averaging just under five rebounds a contest.

The remainder of their starting lineup is also posting impressive numbers this season. Forwards Nolan Winter, Steven Crowl, and guard Max Klesmit are all averaging a tick over 10 points per game. Winter leads the team in rebounds per game (6.1) and Klesmit in assists (2.9) and steals (1.1)

One major key for this Bruins team is going to be their ability to get any of these five guys in foul trouble. Based on season averages, their starting lineup plays a large majority of the contest and a few early fouls on a couple Badgers could change their game plan and the course of the contest.

In last week's 24-point win over the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Bruins played some of their best defense of the season. They held the number one scoring team in the conference to nearly 20 points under their average and forced 15 turnovers that forced the Hawkeyes to take 11 less shots than UCLA.

If any team is able to snap this Badger win streak by limiting their top scorers, it's the Bruins. They continue to maintain the number one defense in the Big Ten in terms of allowed points per game (63.7) and turnovers per game (17).

The Badgers will be on the back end of their West Coast trip as they defeated the USC Trojans (11-7, 3-4) by double-digits last Saturday. It will be up to the UCLA defense to catch this team a bit tired from the long road trip and take advantage of a potential slow offensive start from Wisconsin.

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @UCLAInsideronSI and @tcav30 and never miss another breaking news story again.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.