Wisconsin basketball continued its red-hot start to the 2024-25 season on Friday with a 86-70 win over UCF in the opening round of the Greenbrier Tip-Off.
The final score does not capture Wisconsin’s dominance throughout the contest. They built a 26-12 lead midway through the first half, extended the advantage to 46-31 at halftime, then led 81-58 before a late UCF run narrowed the final margin.
Related: Biggest takeaways from Wisconsin basketball’s big win over UCF
The stars of the game were reserve guard Kamari McGee (14 points on 5/6 shooting, 3/4 from three) and forward Nolan Winter (13 points and 10 rebounds on 5/8 shooting). Wisconsin got a balanced effort otherwise, with 17 points from John Blackwell, 15 from John Tonje, eight from Max Klesmit, six from Steven Crowl and 12 from non-McGee bench contributors.
In total, it’s yet another statement victory for Greg Gard’s team in the early stages of the 2024-25 season. UCF was receiving votes in the AP Poll after a 4-0 start, headlined by a win over then-No. 13 Texas A&M. The Badgers made the Knights look like a light mid-major opponent.
The win pushed the Badgers to 6-0 on the season, now with an average margin of victory of 16.8 points.
Fans were predictably excited after the score went final. Here are some of the best reactions:
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