Big Ten Daily (Jan. 24): Wisconsin Edges Out Minnesota, Greg Gard Gets 100th Big Ten Win

Greg Gard picked up his 100th Big Ten victory at Wisconsin Tuesday night, but it didn't come easy. The Badgers squeaked out a 61-59 win over Minnesota at Williams Arena, a game that came down to the final shot.

It might have come in stressful fashion, but Greg Gard recorded his 100th Big Ten victory on Tuesday night. No. 13 Wisconsin defeated Minnesota 61-59 at Williams Arena, maintaining its spot atop the conference standings.

The Badgers were in complete control of the game in the first half, building a 32-17 advantage and taking a 34-24 lead into halftime. But you can never count a team out in a rivalry game.

Minnesota came out of the locker room firing away. The Gophers started the second half on a 10-2 run, closing the gap to 36-34 in the first three minutes. Over the next 16 minutes, the two teams traded blows.

Trailing 61-58 with four seconds remaining, Minnesota's Mike Mitchell Jr. was fouled by Max Klesmit, preventing the Gophers from tying the game with a 3-pointer. But the strategy almost backfired.

Mitchell made the first free throw, missed the second and collected his own rebound. He missed a game-tying shot and Braeden Carrington couldn't connect after grabbing the offensive board. 

Wisconsin escaped and improved to 7-1 in Big Ten play.

"The second half I felt we got too lax, too soft on the ball at times, allowed them to get some confidence going, specifically from 3. They hit some tough shots," Gard said after the game. "We didn't have an edge to us defensively and they came out and made plays to start the half.

"But, life on the road is not easy in this league, so you find a way to get them done. You learn from what you did well and what you didn't do well and move on to the next one."

Tyler Wahl led the Badgers in scoring with 16 points while A.J. Storr posted a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. The Badgers defense held Minnesota to just 37.9% shooting from the floor.

Gard is in his ninth season with the Badgers and now owns a 100-62 record in Big Ten games. Overall, the coach is 179-97.

Wisconsin now enters a tough stretch of Big Ten competition. The Badgers host Michigan State on Friday (8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1), then travel to Nebraska next Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network). Gard's team then closes out the three-game stretch with a home contest against No. 2 Purdue on Sunday, Feb. 4 (1 p.m. ET, CBS).

Rienk Mast catches fire

Ohio State is going to have nightmares about Rienk Mast for the foreseeable future. The Nebraska big man torched the Buckeyes on Tuesday night, scoring 34 points in an 83-69 home win for the Huskers.

Mast didn't just put up a high point total, he was incredibly efficient shooting the ball. He connected on 13-of-17 shots while knocking down six-of-eight from long range.

The 6-foot-10 junior also posted a double-double, adding 10 rebounds to his big night.

It was Rienk Mast's night. 🤩

The Dutchman scored a career-high 34 points., and grabbed 10 rebounds, in @HuskerMBB's win over Ohio State.

Watch the scoring barrage. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/My9fiMa2Bl

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 24, 2024

"He obviously had one of those nights. It was really fun to see our guys really seek him out," Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said. "Simple as it was, we were really just running a ball-screen after a swing, throw the shake pass, get the ball to him in the post, and that's kinda what got him going.

"He looked like a different person the last couple days in practice. He had more lift. ... It was really fun to see our guys execute once he got it going."

Mast's 34 points were a career high. He also shook off tough performances in the previous two games, scoring just 12 total points in matchups against Northwestern and Rutgers.

Serah Williams records another double-double

Today, I'm bookending the Big Ten Daily with Wisconsin-Minnesota. This final section comes from Tuesday night's rivalry game on the women's side. 

Wisconsin picked up a huge 59-56 home win over Minnesota, thanks in large part to Serah Williams. The sophomore scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, posting her fifth consecutive double-double.

The Badgers picked up just their second Big Ten win on Tuesday and got back to .500 overall on the year (9-9).

Here are Williams' numbers from the last five games:

• Jan. 23 vs. Minnesota: 24 points, 15 rebounds
• Jan. 16 at Iowa: 19 points, 14 rebounds
• Jan. 13 at Michigan: 11 points, 11 rebounds
• Jan. 10 vs. Northwestern: 16 points, 10 rebounds
• Jan. 7 at Illinois: 27 points, 15 rebounds

Wisconsin coach Marisa Moseley was asked in a recent interview if she believed Williams was one of the top post players in college basketball. 

“I said absolutely,” Moseley said, per the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “She continues to show that and I think we’re just scratching the surface of what she is capable of doing."

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