'Shock the world': Fans relish Wisconsin men's basketball's upset of No. 9 Arizona
A court-storming, electric environment and a physical, no-quit team led by a transfer portal star to match fans' energy made for a celebratory Friday night.
Can you shock the world on Peacock?
Badgers shocked the world with their Hall of Fame coach watching. Bo was the coach that took the Badgers to Final Fours. That is missed. Tonje is amazing . Last year he only averaged 2.6 points a game.
— Drgradinjan (@drgradinjan) November 16, 2024
A fair assessment
Just wow, I don’t know how many saw that coming. That Gard and the staff put this team together and played at a high level against a top 10 team is amazing.
— Kurt (@ksagendo) November 16, 2024
You don't say?
This Tonje guy is good.
— Ryan Pohle (@RyanPohle) November 16, 2024
A feeling worth bottling up
Hands down one of the best games all around that I’ve seen in a long time from a #Badgers basketball team! GG - he has put together an amazing team and staff. Arizona is a good team - Steven Crowl, dang did he grow up! Tonje, Blackwell, klesmit… you can keep going on!!
— Jonny (@jon_jandrin) November 16, 2024
Quite the compliment
I mean this in the best possible way: this is a team of punks.
— Craig Smith (@smithcp1) November 16, 2024
They are scared of no one. And they didn't fold when Arizona fought back into the game. This is gonna be a fun season.
Early results seem solid
Tonje is the real deal. Gard’s willingness to adapt while staying true to his core principles has this team in a good spot. Still lots of season to go.
— Tyler Thrune (@tylerthrune) November 16, 2024
Plenty to Love
John Tonje, All-American.
— Joe M. (@J_Michaels25) November 16, 2024
Max Klesmit made a man cry.
Greg Gard haters are in shambles.
1 million reasons why, or something like that
You don’t have to be good at math to understand Tonje > Storr
— Randall Kohl (@crandallkohl) November 16, 2024
A wild weekend starts early
Another top 10 win for Gard.
— Más Tequila (@JoRy_MaMa) November 16, 2024
Fire Gard.
Couldn't have scripted it better
To beat Arizona in front of the final four teams!! That’s special. Fun night in Madison.
— WISkeylover54 (@WISkeylover54) November 16, 2024
Badgers dug deep after blowing that lead
Tonje...wow. What a performance, but a whole team gritty win after blowing an 18 point lead only to build most of it back. Just an outstanding win! #Badgers
— WSRanter (@WSRanter) November 16, 2024
Janicki probably earned more minutes moving forward, agreed
That was super fun. Somehow Badgers upgraded in Tonje over Storr. *Really* impressive that they hung tough and pulled it out after AZ tied it up.
— Nick P Bassill (@NickPBassill) November 16, 2024
Also, really interesting Janicki was getting clutch minutes to end the game.
This is a cool setup
Like the look of Tonje! pic.twitter.com/8lQkGh1SaQ
— Ben Bromley (@ben_bromley) November 16, 2024
Sure answered the physicality question
Enjoy watching the more physical athletic play. Tonje is a great fit, smart player. Way to keep punching after AZ tied it up. 103 Points! What a night!
— Laura (@DieselAndMe) November 16, 2024
Big ref and Bucky
2 good teams in a horribly officiated game. . Incredible showing by Big Red.
— Rob F (@RobFinley27) November 16, 2024
Scored 101 against Northwestern on Feb. 3, 1993
When was the last time we scored over 100 on a power 5??????
— Ziaire Williams Fan Club (@ZiaireWillFan) November 16, 2024
Can we do this on Blue Sky?
coming back to Twitter just to say good W
— Ken Chia, some guy offline (@kcchia80) November 16, 2024
Playing with swagger sure is fun
Players have such a swagger to them. If they play like this all year gard is the coach of the year. With all the changes he upgraded the team with tough players.
— Badger (@uwbadgers0) November 16, 2024
I guess we'll never know
I love how all the talk is about Tonje and Storr but no one cares about the loss of Chucky! Chucky could have made this really good team, great.
— Jake Morrow (@j_morrow3) November 16, 2024
Win, dance, repeat
— BadgerDrew92 (@BadgerDrew92) November 16, 2024
Embarrassing statement, I like the ring of that
We embarrassed em. It was an absolute statement win. Keep doubting us. I think this year's team proves Chucky and Storr were the problems
— Beer Cheese Benny (@BeerCheeseBenny) November 16, 2024
Free throws are free!
Shocking. When you make FTs. Good things happen
— Sconnie1 (@LanceHudgens) November 16, 2024
Shout out Kirk Penney and Co.
Never thought I’d ever see a Badger team score 100+ on a top 10 opponent EVER
— Coach Eddie (@EddieAndrist1) November 16, 2024
The transfer portal taketh and giveth
This one was fun! Fun! Fun!!! Maybe this transfer portal isn’t so bad after all!! Props all around!! Badgers didn’t flinch!! Over 100 points!! Say what??
— Mary Korn Erickson (@sixtiesfan) November 16, 2024
*whispers* he never was
Luke Fickell is off the hot seat. Badger Nation needed a big W
— matt, at home: Volume 3 (@mtthffmn) November 16, 2024
That's quite the stat
Badgers made 25 shots and scored 103 points. We all know why but it's still quite a stat.
— Steve Gantz (@greatlakesswim) November 16, 2024
The ball went through ... a lot
- Dropping 103 against a top 10 team. 👀
— Madtown Alum (@madtownalum) November 16, 2024
- Showed a lot of grit to pull away after AZ tied it up.
- This team can shoot, both from the line and behind the arc.
- Tonje is legit
Don't stop
#makeembelieve pic.twitter.com/otzep1dsNn
— StreamingRadarDaily🖥 | 5 Star Marketing Advisors (@badgerhugh) November 16, 2024
Passing the torch?
Make em’ Believe 2.0?
— Trent Probst (@coachprobst) November 16, 2024
If there was a night to go all in and enjoy it, I'd recommend tonight
Cautiously optimistic. 30+ game season still ahead, but a helluva start!
— GoFick(ell)Yourself (@GoFickOff) November 16, 2024
A star took over in one of the biggest early season wins in Badgers history Friday. Here's what we learned.
A big win, an unexpected one at that, a lot of points and way too many fouls were part of a court-storming kind of Friday night.
The Badgers could have crumbled in a critical moment, but they instead flashed potential that could be greater than any preseason projection.
A 41-point outburst not only helped the Badgers knock off No. 9 Arizona, it came in front of the man whose scoring record Wisconsin's star transfer nearly topped.
