AJ Storr reflects on 30-point outburst as Wisconsin advances to Big Ten Tournament semifinals

Wisconsin sophomore guard AJ Storr exploded for 30 points in a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal win for the Badgers on Friday afternoon in Minneapolis. And it was all a matter of getting under control.

Speaking on Big Ten Network briefly after the game, both Storr and his head coach, Greg Gard, said the guard started to dominate when he was getting into the paint and playing “on two feet” on offense. When that switch flipped early in the first half, Storr started to score in droves.

“Because I started off attacking the rim, got to the free throw line a little bit. Got my rhythm. Got my feet underneath me then it’s over from there,” Storr said.

Storr finished 10-of-16 from the field and made 3-of-5 from 3. He also was near perfect from the free throw line, making 7-of-8.

“He started playing under control around the rim,” Gard said. “The first couple in the first half, I thought he went in out of control and he started playing off two feet. When he gets a crack of daylight, he’s pretty hard to stop.”

The Badgers needed a big outing from Storr as their opponent, Northwestern, was keyed in by a 29 point showing from star guard Boo Buie.

And additional offensive contributions from other Badgers — 19 points from Steven Crowl and 10 from Max Klesmit — made sure that Storr’s stellar day wouldn’t go to waste. Crowl, a big man, opens up the defense by commanding a double and drawing defenders away from shooters, like Klesmit.

On Friday, Klesmit went 3-of-8 from 3-point range.

“When he hot, he a problem. I see it. He hits a couple 3s in a row, it’s like he’s going to hit the next five. That’s big for us,” Storr said. 

With the quarterfinal win over the Wildcats, Wisconsin moves on to face top seeded Purdue, a near-guaranteed No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers defeated Wisconsin twice in 2023-24, including during the final week of the regular season.

When asked about the challenge coming in the semifinal, Gard paused for a second. It was evident the enormity of the challenge — both figuratively and literally, considering massive center Zach Edey — was hitting Gard.

“Enjoy this one for a couple hours then,” Gard said, finally breaking the pregnant pause, “we just played them like seven days ago so I think we’ll enjoy it and get ready. “