Heading into its second week of action, No. 4 Wisconsin is entering a two-game slate against in-state universities UW-Green Bay and Marquette. The game couldn't be put together because of scheduling, but the Badgers also tried to work in a contest with UW-Milwaukee and had an exhibition game with UW-Whitewater lined up.

A game with UW-Milwaukee can still happen. Head coach Greg Gard revealed the Panthers are one of the schools UW has reached out to as a back-up plan in case their season doesn't run smoothly. With postponements or cancelations across the country, the staff is staying prepared.

"In-state games are good for the sport," Gard told reporters. "Any time you can draw attention to the sport, it's a good thing... It's good to promote basketball within the state."

As a four-star recruit coming out of high school, expectations were through the roof for Johnny Davis. And through two games, the true freshman has lived up to the hype.

The Wisconsin native hasn't been afraid to let it fly on the offensive end. Through two games, Davis has put up 17 shots on his way to averaging 8.5 points a contest, and he hasn't been shy about attacking in the open floor or in the half-court.

"I’d rather have guys be more aggressive. It's a lot easier to bring guys back than to rev them up," Gard said when asked if he's liked his aggressiveness to start the year. "There have been some that I’m sure, given the situation, he would make a different decision, but that’s how you learn."

Gard tries not to ask too much of freshmen coming in but said he can see Davis' role expanding in the future.

"Always tried with freshmen not to overload them mentally," Gard said. "I think one day in practice we had teams mixed and he (Davis) said he hadn’t played there since junior high. I try not to assign too many position responsibilities because they’re trying to take on a lot as it is.

"But I can see it. His feel, his shiftiness with the ball, but right now just trying to keep things as simple as possible for him, Ben (Carlson), Steven (Crowl), the freshmen. It allows them to play a little free when we don’t try to overload them with information."

The usual suspects are leading the way for Wisconsin in scoring - Nate Reuvers, Micah Potter and D'Mitrik Trice are at the top through two games. But the fourth and fifth leading scorers would be a surprise coming into the season.

It's not Aleem Ford or Brad Davison behind the trio. Rather, it's freshmen Ben Carlson and Johnny Davis, both of whom have quickly found a spot in the rotation.

"I have liked (Johnny) and Ben, just how comfortable they've felt," Gard said about what's stood about the pair of freshmen. "They compliment us, which is what you like from your bench. They’ve both contributed in good ways."

The pair, along with sophomore Tyler Wahl, has become one of the first Gard calls on off the bench. Davis and Carlson are averaging 19.5 and 16.5 minutes per game, respectively.

"One thing that stands out is just their comfort level, specifically with Johnny and Ben. I didn’t ask about the butterfly poll in the second game like I did the first game but I think just the calmness showed," Gard said. "The one thing I’ve really been happy with is neither one of them seem to overwhelmed by the moment, which is important and really shows their maturity."

Monday morning it was announced that senior Nate Reuvers was one of 50 players named to the Wooden Preseason Award watch list. Reuvers joined Ethan Happ (2017, 2018, 2019), Nigel Hayes (2017), Bronson Koenig (2017), Frank Kaminsky (2015), and Sam Dekker (2014) as the sixth Badger to be named to the preseason watch list over the last handful of years.

The Minnesota native is currently averaging 16.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and three blocks per game. Reuvers is just 147 points away from reaching 1,000 point milestone and five blocks short of the school record currently held by Happ, who had 154 blocks in his career.