Wisconsin basketball rolled past Chicago State 74-53 on Saturday to pick up its eighth victory of the 2024-25 season. As many predicted, it was all Badgers from start to finish.
UW wing John Tonje again captained Wisconsin’s offensive attack with 22 points off 5-of-12 from the field, 3-of-6 from deep and 9-of-10 from the free throw line in 29 minutes of action. The North Omaha, Nebraska native also added five rebounds and three assists in the 21-point blowout win.
Veteran center Steven Crowl logged nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks in 28 minutes, and sophomore center Nolan Winter added 12 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes as well.
Fresh off their Greenbrier Tip-Off win on Nov. 24, the Badgers set the tone early. UW built a 12-2 lead within the first five minutes of action courtesy of eight points from Tonje and a pair of layups from big men Crowl and Winter.
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Wisconsin maintained a relatively comfortable lead from that point forward. Fueled by 10 points from Winter, the Badgers piloted a 21-5 scoring spurt to stretch their lead to 53-32 by the 10:14-minute mark of the second half.
Greg Gard’s bench essentially put a bow on the second half scoring, and Wisconsin claimed its eighth straight win of the 2024-25 slate in dominant fashion.
It wasn’t necessarily pretty, but Wisconsin did exactly what it needed to do to snag the victory. As a unit, the Badgers shot an underwhelming 39% from the field and 33.3% from outside. The team shared the wealth with 17 assists, plus scored 19 points off Chicago State turnovers. The Badgers leaned on Winter and Crowl’s size against Cougars — UW out-rebounded Chicago State by eight in the effort.
With the win, Wisconsin starts the season 8-0 for the first time since 2013-14.
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The Badgers will now look to keep its undefeated start to the season alive when it hosts the Michigan Wolverines on Dec. 3.
Located in scenic Door County, Wisconsin, the town of Sister Bay is a waterfront town directly on Green Bay. Outdoor enthusiasts head to Sister Bay for its access to hiking trails, nature preserves, and water pursuits such as boating, fishing, and ice-skating during winter. The town hosts a number of seasonal festivals including a film fest, marina fest, outdoor concert series, and the Door County Festival of Fine Arts. The annual Roofing of the Goats Parade is a popular event tied to Al Johnson’s, a local restaurant known for goats that graze on its rooftop during summer months.
With the action-packed Wisconsin high school boys basketball regular season completed and March Madness beginning, it’s time to take a look at some of the outstanding players and cast your vote for the best.
We began by looking at the most prolific individual scoring threats, talented 3-point shooters,strong rebounders, and top free-throw shooters so now it’s time to take a look at the high-caliber guards from throughout the state.
There are hundreds of high-caliber boys basketball players in Wisconsin, and these lists are not intended to be comprehensive.
Voting remains open until March 9 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
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(Players are listed in alphabetical order and all nominees are leaders from the 2025-26 season as compiled by Bound.com, and WIAA; the poll is below the list of athletes)
Castillo is averaging 25.4 points per game with 5.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 steals for Greendale (18-6 overall record).
Collien is averaging 15 points per game with 4.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists for Oakfield (21-3 overall record).
Edwards is averaging 14.1 points per game with 7.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists for D.C. Everest (21-3 overall record).
Gray Jr. was averaging 24.3 points per game with 6.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.1 steals prior for West Allis Central (22-2 overall record).
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Hereford is averaging 36.4 points per game with 9.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 4.1 steals for Beloit Memorial (22-2 overall record).
Johnson is averaging 27.3 points per game with 8.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 3.6 steals for Milwaukee Juneau (22-1 overall record).
Jones is averaging 23.3 points per game with 5.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.6 steals for Germantown (15-9 overall record).
Kern is averaging 16 points per game with 6.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists for New Berlin West (21-3 overall record).
Kilgore is averaging 14.6 points per game with 7.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 3.0 steals for Kewaunee (24-0 overall record).
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Kohnen is averaging 16.3 points per game with 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.3 steals for Slinger (20-4 overall record).
Knueppel is averaging 17.4 points per game with 7.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.9 blocks, and 1.4 steals for Wisconsin Lutheran (24-0 overall record).
Loose is averaging 18.2 points per game with 5.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.3 steals for Port Washington (23-1 overall).
Manchester is averaging 35.8 points per game for Mount Horeb (19-5 overall record).
Platz is averaging 19.5 points per game with 7.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists, and 1.4 steals for Brookfield East (19-5 overall record).
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Prochnow is averaging 21.3 points per game with 11.1 assists, 4.8 assists, and 3.2 steals for Reedsville (21-3 overall record).
Resch is averaging 21.3 points per game with 3.3 assists and 2.0 steals for Arrowhead (18-6 overall record).
Schultz is averaging 27.4 points per game with 6.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.0 steals for Plymouth (17-7 overall record).
Schwalbach is averaging 15 points per game with 4.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds, and 1.7 steals for Kaukauna (21-3 overall).
Sweeney is averaging 15.5 points per game for Appleton North (20-4 overall record).
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Vandenberg is averaging 13 points per game with 2.3 assists and 2.0 rebounds for Freedom (23-1 overall).
About Our Player Poll Voting High School on SI voting polls are meant to be a fun, lighthearted way for fans to show support for their favorite athletes and teams. Our goal is to celebrate all of the players featured, regardless of the vote totals. Sometimes one athlete will receive a very large number of votes — even thousands — and that’s okay! The polls are open to everyone and are simply a way to build excitement and community around high school sports. Unless we specifically announce otherwise, there are no prizes or official awards for winning. The real purpose is to highlight the great performances of every athlete included in the poll.
