If the Big Ten Tournament is a practice for the NCAA Tournament, as UCLA men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin said the other day, his Bruins will probably be running sprints home from Indianapolis.
Fourth-seeded UCLA fell behind by 10 halfway through the first half and never came any closer to catching fifth-seeded Wisconsin, getting blown out 86-70 in a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal game Friday.
The No. 18 Badgers (25-8) shot the lights out in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, connecting on 30 of 58 (51.7%) from the field and an unconscious 19 of 32 (59.4%) from 3-point range.
Badgers senior guard John Tonje led the charge, hitting all six of his 3-pointers and finishing with a game-high 26 points on 9-of-10 shooting.
UCLA (22-10), which was led by Sebastian Mack’s 18 points, shot 32.4% (22 of 68) and made just 9 of its 30 (30-.0%) 3-pointers.
By halftime, the Bruins trailed 48-29. The deficit ballooned to 80-53 after a Tonje layup with 6:09 to play. The final score was only as close as it was after UCLA went on a fruitless 11-0 run over the final 3:10.
Now the Bruins, after that poor showing, will await their NCAA Tournament fate on Selection Sunday.
Wisconsin will face top-seeded Michigan State, a 74-64 winner over eighth-seeded Oregon on Friday morning, in the semifinals Saturday.
More to come on this story.