John Tonje has Wisconsin on the rise. (Wisconsin Badgers)
This week, Auburn solidified its hold on the No. 1 ranking in the country; Duke lost a key backup when Maliq Brown dislocated his shoulder; and Illinois lost one its top rebounders when Morez Johnson Jr. suffered a broken wrist. Some other college basketball stories we’re following include…
John Tonje Tearing Up Big Ten
Since missing the NCAA Tourney two seasons ago with a disappointing 20-15 record, the Wisconsin Badgers have been on the rise. They returned to the dance last season on the strength of a 22-win campaign, although they did get knocked out in the first round.
This season, they are clearly on a mission for a deeper run, currently ranked 11th (some have them inside the top 10); they’re on a four-game win streak to improve to 20-5 and have an impressive 10-4 mark to sit in fourth place in the Big Ten.
Leading the way is sixth-year senior guard John Tonje, who has been tearing it up the last couple of games. In Saturday’s upset win over Purdue, he went off for 32 points, with 22 of them coming in the second half – including a run of 10 straight Badger points. Hell, Tonje even had a key four-point play early in the second half that gave Wisconsin its first lead since a 16-14 edge in the first half.
Tonje now has at least 22 points in back-to-back games while adding plenty of boards, assists and even a block in both contests — numbers that earned him Big Ten Player of the Week honours. A transfer from Missouri this season, he’s returned to being a full-time starter for the first time since his final campaign at Colorado State in 2022-23, and is enjoying his finest season.
The best part about Tonje’s effort Saturday? He was efficient, nailing 10-of-15, and that was a welcome sight considering he hasn’t shot it quite as well this season. Still, he remains a decent shooter overall, and while it’s somewhat possible he could sneak into the second round of the draft, he will more likely go undrafted and have to play the long game to get into the NBA.
Tonje’s scoring prowess, combined with decent across the board skills (including the ability to play big — see video below), should at least have him on scouts’ radar, and a big show down the stretch and in the Big Ten and NCAA tourneys would help.
Maryland’s Balanced Attack
Still in the Big Ten, right behind Wisconsin is the Maryland Terrapins, currently ranked 20th at 20-6 including 10-5 in conference play.
Maryland fell out of the tourney last season thanks to a disappointing 16-win effort, but is now enjoying its best season since 2019-20 as the team seeks a return to the big dance. As for bigger aspirations, FanDuel has the school at +5000 to win the National Championship.
The Terrapins’ current three-game win streak has allowed them to keep the pressure on the Badgers, and in its most recent victory – a 101-75 pummeling of Iowa – leading assist and steal man Ja’Kobi Gillespie was a monster. Not only did he rack up the dimes (seven) and steals (three) as usual, but how about 26 points, five boards and four treys as well?
Not too shabby for the junior guard, who has now put up at least 15 points, seven assists, three treys and three boards in back-to-back games, while shooting extremely well.
In his first season for Maryland after transferring from Belmont, Gillespie has a slightly smaller role, but has never shot it better from downtown or the charity stripe and he continues to improve as a distributor – while taking better care of the rock.
This kid can score off the dribble well, but is not much of a rebounder, which isn’t shocking at 6’1”. Gillespie is an efficient player, but will likely top out as a PG3 on an NBA team, so is unlikely to be drafted this year.
Still, Maryland’s balanced lineup is going to be tough to contain in the tourneys, so perhaps we’ll get a chance to see the Gillespie go on a nice run. Consider that on Saturday, every starter scored at least 15 points – a feat not accomplished in a Big Ten game over the last two decades.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
Cops ‘n’ Robbers was an English mid-‘60s beat band. In 1964, they released a fine cover of Cab Calloway’s “St. James Infirmary,’ but it did not do well commercially. Still, the track wound up on a 1988 various artists compilation album called The Sixties Explosion – Volume One 1961-1967.