Polzin: What I liked and didn’t like from Wisconsin’s upset win over No. 9 Arizona

Frank Kaminsky and other members of the Badgers’ 2014 and 2015 Final Four teams were recognized prior to tipoff. A Bo Ryan banner was raised to the rafters at halftime.

And Wisconsin somehow topped that in a 103-88 victory over No. 9 Arizona on Friday night at the Kohl Center.

Here are some of my thoughts on the game:

Wisconsin found something special in the transfer portal when it landed Tonje.

The senior wing threatened to break Kaminsky’s single-game scoring record at Wisconsin, finishing with 41 points in the upset win. Kaminsky had 43 points in a win over North Dakota on Nov. 19, 2013.

Tonje was in attack mode from the start against an aggressive Arizona defense. He bullied his way into the paint at times, used ball fakes to get the Wildcats in the air and did a great job of finishing or getting to the line.

His stat line: 8 of 14 from the field, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range, and 21 of 22 from the free throw line.

• Wisconsin continues to make a living at the line.

It wasn’t just Tonje, though he did the most damage. John Blackwell and Max Klesmit were a combined 13 of 14 from the line for Wisconsin, which went 41 of 47 as a team.

• Jack Janicki provided some really big minutes off the bench on a night when it had to be all hands on deck for Wisconsin.

The walk-on wing made a pair of 3-pointers and finished with nine points while providing some solid work on defense and in the hustle department.

We knew this already, but Wisconsin’s defense needs a lot of work.

To be fair, this likely will be one of the best offenses the Badgers will see all season. But Wisconsin gave up way too many easy looks at the rim and gave the Wildcats too many second chances.

Arizona finished with 42 points in the paint and had 24 offensive rebounds.

The Badgers’ defense has to get better, and I think it will. Until then, the offense is going to have to carry this team.

• There were 63 fouls called in this game.

It was a physical game. Both teams did a lot of reaching and slapping.

But there were way too many ticky-tack fouls called early in the game. The teams had combined for 15 fouls in the opening 8 minutes, 2 seconds.

Nobody wants to watch that.

This is win that will look good on Wisconsin’s resume for the rest of the season.

Greg Gard has produced some big wins during his time at Wisconsin. This one ranks up there in terms of being unexpected.