MADISON, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin has constructed one of its smallest rosters in the Greg Gard era, a team that includes only five forwards and minimal depth. But the offset is that the Badgers have shooters – a lot of them – who aren’t afraid to pass up an open shot.
It’s a recipe that was good enough in the 2022-23 season opener, as Wisconsin’s perimeter shooting and balanced scoring pushed the Badgers to an 85-59 victory over South Dakota at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin hit 12 three-pointers in the wire-to-wire triumph, nine of which came in the first half and fell off the hands of seven different players.
What it means: Wisconsin won for the 24th time in the last 25 home openers, including improving to 7-0 in home opener under Gard. The Badgers have won those games by an average margin of 23.0 ppg. The Badgers are 6-1 in season openers under Gard.
Star of the game: Tyler Wahl had a quiet scoring first half with only two points but was a team-best plus-15 because he added seven rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block. He found his offense in the second half and finished with a double-double (19 points and 10 rebounds), going 9-for-10 from the free-throw line in the second half.
Chucky Hepburn (14 points), Steven Crowl (12), and Max Klesmit (11) also reached double figures for the Badgers, which got scoring from 11 players.
Stat of the game: After going 4-for-13 on two-point shots in the first half, Wisconsin went 12-for-16 inside the arc in the second half, including 14-for-18 from the free throw line.
Reason to be Concerned: Kruz Perrott-Hunt was South Dakota's leading scorer last season at 15.8 ppg. He was up to 12 points after the first 11 minutes, 31 seconds of the first half, including all the Coyotes' field goals to that point. Perrott-Hunt finished with 21 points.
Don’t overlook: Wisconsin’s defense on players other than Perrott-Hunt. The Badgers held the other Coyotes who saw the floor to 13-for-33 shooting and the team to just 2-for-15 from 3-point range.
What’s next: Wisconsin will participate in one of its more unique events when the Badgers host Stanford in the Brew City Battle at Milwaukee’s American Family Field Friday. An event Gard has been trying to put together for years, the Badgers will be the nightcap of a doubleheader that begins with the Wisconsin women hosting Kansas State.
Stanford received one first-place vote and was picked fifth in the preseason Pac-12 poll. The Cardinal won its Monday opener, 88-78, over Pacific by shooting 60 percent from the field. Graduate transfer Michael Jones scored a career-high 31 points, and Maxime Raynaud had 22 points (9-for-11) and nine rebounds. The Cardinal returns eight of its top nine rotation players, including top scorer Spencer Jones (12.0), who missed the opener with a lower-body injury and is considered day-to-day.
Stanford leads the all-time series, 6-4, but Wisconsin won the last meeting in the opening round of the 2018 Paradise Island Invitational in the Bahamas.
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