Less than 24 hours after their win over No. 12 Northwestern, the No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers faced their first real test of the Big Ten Tournament in the quarterfinals.

Against a No. 4 UCLA Bruin that had beaten them back in late January, the Badgers quickly caught fire. They hit 12 3-pointers in the first half and never looked back, riding the early wave to an 86-70 victory.

Here are my three big takeaways from Wisconsin’s win.

After the Penn State loss, coach Greg Gard complained about the team’s lack of “bite”.

“I thought they [Nittany Lions] were, specifically in the back part of the first half and whole 20 minutes of the second half, a much more aggressive team, much more physical team,” Gard said.

“We didn’t have enough grit, enough bite, in that second half.”

It was also lacking in the late choke-job against Oregon, and even in the final seven minutes against Michigan State.

Whatever they were missing in those losses, they had a lot of on Friday. This looked like a completely different team.

There were multiple factors, none seemingly more important than the return of Max Klesmit, who missed the final three games of the regular season. His defensive grit and outspoken leadership has a clear effect. He shot 1-for-7 from the field but still had a positive impact.

They held UCLA’s starters to 5-of-21 from the field in the first half. As a team, they finished the game shooting 32.4 percent (22-for-68) from the field and 30.0 (9-30) from distance.

“The job we did defensively was just as important, if not more important, in keeping them out of rhythm,” Gard said postgame Friday.

“Our perimeter did a really good job pressuring, getting into the ball, or the bigs did a good job of being able to help them and get reattached to their bigs.”

In the first game between these teams, back in late January, it was the other way around. Forward Sebastian Mack applied a level of defensive pressure on Tonje that he hadn’t seen all year. But they remembered that game from a month-and-a-half ago, and were able to punch back.

It’s the biggest trait they need heading into the rematch against Michigan State, whose intensity overwhelmed the Badgers less than two weeks ago.

“We're not satisfied because we still have more games to be played,” guard Kamari McGee said postgame.

“I feel like our defense could be better. We played good defense today but I feel like we can step it up a notch, too.”

Shooting droughts are common for any team. But the sheer duration of Wisconsin’s was becoming a real concern.

After nearly a full regular season as one of the best shooting teams in the Big Ten, they had fallen into a dry spell over the past few weeks, failing to surpass a 33.3 3-point percentage in each of the previous six games.

It would be an understatement to say that the Badgers bounced back on Friday. They made 19 3-pointers, tying a Big Ten Tournament record, at an absurd 59.4 percent clip.

On paper, it trails only the Iowa game — 21-for-31 — as the best shooting performance of Wisconsin’s season. But given UCLA’s defense, Wisconsin’s recent slump and the stakes of the game, Friday was arguably more impressive.

It was obvious, almost immediately, that we were in for a potentially special performance. The Badgers went 7-for-8 from distance in the first nine minutes. A short drought followed, then they made four in just two-and-a-half minutes near the end of the first half to take a 45-27 lead.

Their 12 3-pointers in the first half were the most a Big Ten team had made in a half since… Wisconsin, against Iowa in January.

The second half didn’t feature any crazy runs, but the Badgers maintained control, never going more than one miss without making the next.

It’s an encouraging result, one that should relieve the team and fans alike, but the Badgers can’t allow themselves to get too high. It’s not like they had a radically different shot selection on Friday compared to their recent games.

The shots were simply falling. Above all, it’s a sign that the Badgers are comfortable on this stage.

The Badgers are privileged to have two players who can play like No. 1 options on any given day. On Friday, both of them happened to play like No. 1 options.

Forward John Tonje led all scorers with 26 points on an absurd 9-for-10 shooting clip, even making 6-of-6 from distance. His running mate, Blackwell, wasn’t far behind with 18 on 6-of-11 shooting.

For as many fouls as UCLA committed (19), the pair shot just three free throws each. Friday was about as great of a shot-making exhibition as you’re gonna see from two teammates at this point in the season. Unbalanced 3-pointers, post fadeaways, tough layups — all part of Friday’s entertainment.

Tonje’s performance deserves special praise. He began the game as hot as could be — sinking his first four 3-pointers in the first nine minutes — and never slowed his intensity.

“I was just trying to be aggressive within the flow of the game, trying to figure out how they were guarding me, how I could adjust, and how I could be effective ... Having talented guys around me helped me make plays,” Tonje said.

UCLA head coach Mick Cronin even admitted postgame that he voted Tonje for Big Ten Player of the Year.

“That’s how good I think he is.”

For as good as these two players were, Wisconsin’s depth was also fully on display. Nine players logged 15+ minutes.

McGee’s 14 points were third behind Tonje and Blackwell. Xavier Amos finished with eight points and showed a level of comfort that’s been rare from him this season.

Against the top conference team in Michigan State, the Badgers will take contributions from anybody and everybody. The coaching staff should feel confident knowing they could comfortably rely on both their superstars and bench.

1 - The Badgers' 86 points Friday were the program's third-highest mark in a Big Ten Tournament game, one shy of the program record set from last year's tournament final and second-round game.

7 - Tonje tallied his seventh game with at least 25 points, joining Johnny Davis (10 in 2021-22) and Alando Tucker (7 in 2006-07) for the most by a Badger since 2004-05.

32.4 - Wisconsin held UCLA to just 22-of-68 (32.4 percent) from the field. The last time UW held a team to a lower shooting percentage from the floor in the Big Ten Tournament was in 2008 against Michigan (10-50, 20.0 percent).

59.4 - Wisconsin went 19-for-32 (59.4 percent) from 3-point range, tying the Big Ten Tournament record for most 3-pointers in a game.

76 - Wisconsin posted its largest-ever win over UCLA and first since 1949. The Badgers improved to 3-6 all-time and snapped a string of six consecutive losses to the Bruins.

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