MADISON, Wis. – As the final seconds ticked off the clock, the faces of the University of Wisconsin’s roster were devoid of much jubilation. There were few smiles and the lap around the baseline giving high fives felt forced.

Call it disappointment, but after battling through a glorified scrimmage, it’s evident that Wisconsin is ready for games to start counting for real.

Cycling through 12 players in the final exhibition tune-up, the varying of lineups and combinations made Wisconsin work well into the second half before dispatching UW-River Falls, 78-62, on Wednesday night.

Superstition from the theater district says a bad dress rehearsal is usually a sign that the show will be a hit. The Badgers are hoping so because many clunky sequences need a good polish.

Graduate transfer John Tonje led UW in scoring with 15 points but needed 11 shots to get there. Starting guards Max Klesmit and John Blackwell combined to go 1-for-14. UW with its distinct size advantage scored only 26 points in the paint and 14 from the foul line. Steven Crowl was the only experienced returner with a solid stat line of 14 points, which was to be expected against an undersized roster.

The Badgers have spent most of the fall camp working out timing issues and building synergy with the eight new faces on the roster. It will be a process, evident by a reported 85-75 loss to Northern Iowa in a closed scrimmage in Platteville Saturday and the Badgers failing to properly put away the Falcons, who were thinking upset midway through the second half.

Led by 23 points from senior guard Zac Johnson, the Falcons’ used a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 47-45 with 12:55. They could get no closer. With Carter Gilmore promptly hitting a three-pointer on the next possession, Wisconsin delivered a 13-0 run to regain separation.

Even with the hodgepodge of lineups and heavily rotating players in and out of the lineup, the fabric of Wisconsin’s program was still there. The Badgers' starters committed only four of the team's 11 turnovers, kept the Falcons off the free throw line (11 attempts), and seemed to respond when pushed in the second half.

What it means: Wisconsin won its 51st straight exhibition game and improved to 21-0 all-time against the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Star of the game: Senior Markus Ilver shot 25 percent from three-point range his junior year and never scored more than five points, but he dropped eight points in a 1:37 stretch that broke open a one-point game at the first media timeout.

Stat of the game: Wisconsin went 11-for-32 from three-point range. UW made double-digit three-pointers in seven games last season and attempted more than 30 three-pointers twice.

Reason to be Concerned: Wisconsin’s three transfer additions didn’t impress. In addition to Tonje, Xavier Amos scored seven points in four minutes while Camren Hunter scored only three points in five minutes.

Don’t overlook: Only five Badgers didn’t make an appearance before the final media timeout – juniors Isaac Gard and Chris Hodges and freshmen Riccardo Greppi, Aidan Konop, and Jack Robison.

What’s next: Wisconsin opens its 127th season of men’s basketball, and the 10th year led by head coach Greg Gard, on Monday, November 4, against Holy Cross. The Crusaders are coming off a ninth-place finish in the Patriot League after going 10-23 overall. Caleb Kenney had a standout junior season in being named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year. He averaged 11.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.2 blocked shots per game for the Crusaders while connecting on 57.6 percent of his field goal attempts (174 of 302). This is the first meeting between the two programs.

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