Steven Crowl posted a double-double and Wisconsin’s defense smothered No. 24 Virginia in a 65-41 win Monday at the Fort Myers Tip-Off event in Florida.
Crowl posted 15 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth career double-double and the bigger Badgers (3-2) dominated the offensive glass, scoring 12 second-chance points on 20 offensive rebounds.
Wisconsin outrebounded the Cavaliers 48-21 and outscored them 30-14 in the paint. John Blackwell had 10 points off the bench, Tyler Wahl tallied nine points and 10 rebounds, and Max Klesmit added nine points.
The ice-cold Cavaliers (4-1) never had the lead. Virginia shot 32.6 percent (15 of 46) from the field and 28.6 percent (4 of 14) from 3-point distance.
Reece Beekman led Virginia with 17 points and seven assists. Isaac McKneely had nine points and Ryan Dunn added six points, six rebounds and five blocks.
Down 13 early in the second half, Virginia sliced the deficit to 40-35 on Beekman’s three-point play with 12:54 left.
Wisconsin answered the challenge and scored the next 11 points. Crowl’s dunk capped the run and made it 51-35 with 9:35 to play.
The Cavaliers never threatened again, and the Badgers’ lead ballooned to 65-41 on Blackwell’s corner 3-pointer with 3:21 remaining. That was the last basket of the game.
Wisconsin will play the West Virginia-SMU winner on Wednesday, with the loser meeting Virginia in the consolation game the same day.
The Badgers took control after the game was tied 2-2 and led the Cavaliers 28-18 at halftime.
Virginia didn’t reach double figures until Andrew Rohde’s 3-pointer nearly 12 minutes into the game.
The Cavaliers shot 23.8 percent (5 of 21) in the first half, with five players each contributing one field goal.
Badgers coach Greg Gard and Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett were both assistants on Bo Ryan’s staff at Wisconsin from 2001-03.
–Field Level Media