Wisconsin (3-0) vs. Dayton (2-1)

Game: Wednesday, Nov. 23 inside Imperial Arena (Nassau, Bahamas)

Time: 1:30 P.M. CT

Watch: ESPN

Listen: 1310 WIBA AM and 101.5 FM (Matt Lepay and Mike Lucas on the call); stream online on iHeartRadio

Prediction: Wisconsin 69, Dayton 64

Follow Online: The Badgers' Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting line: Wisconsin - 3

The Badgers gear up for the Battle 4 Atlantis after one of their most lethargic showings in recent memory. Wisconsin slugged it out against Green Bay at the Kohl Center, and held on for a sloppy 56-45 win. The Badgers shot just 30.2% from the floor.

Against a rather small Green Bay squad, at least compared to the Stanford team the Badgers had to play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin's offensive struggles around the rim were troubling. They scored just 16 points in the paint, coupled with an alarming 4-of-19 on layups. It's not just the Badgers' bigs that have struggled to covert at the rim — even point guard Chucky Hepburn is struggling getting his high-percentage looks to fall.

What bailed Wisconsin out against the Phoenix? Another efficient night from long-range, as the Badgers shot 8-of-19 (42.1%) from deep. Jordan Davis hit three of those shots, and Max Klesmit hit two. Through three games, the Badgers are shooting 38.5% from three. They're also defending the three ball extremely well — opponents are shooting 11.1% against them, tops in the nation on defense.

Wisconsin is in desperate need of more fluidity on offense. Three-point shooting won't save them forever, and opponent's threes will start falling. There's no need to panic three games in; it's early yet. It also doesn't help when the the team's top two scorers, Hepburn and Tyler Wahl, shoot a combined 4-of-25 from the field. That's an outlier.

The Battle 4 Atlantis should be a great gauge for Wisconsin to see where they're at as a team early in the year. These early season tournaments can be revealing. Last season at the Maui Invitational, Wisconsin won three games in three days against Texas A&M, Houston and St. Marys to win the title. It also served as Johnny Davis' coming-out party: he averaged 24 points and dropped 30 on then No.12 Houston. The 2022 Battle 4 Atlantis is a stacked tournament, with multiple top-25 teams in Kansas and Tennessee. But the first order of business is the Dayton Flyers.

Dayton flies into the Bahamas at 2-1, with their one loss coming on the road against undefeated UNLV. Like Wisconsin, they've played some early season cupcakes like Lindenwood and Robert Morris. Regardless, they have the pieces to make some noise in the Atlantic 10 this season.

Dayton's top option is the big man, DaRon Holmes. Holmes is an absolute unit at 6-foot-10 and 231 pounds. He leads the Flyers in scoring with 13.3 points-per-game. His size can put a lot of pressure on teams, and Wisconsin will have to be much cleaner in the paint both offensively and defensively. Neither of Dayton's starting guards, Kobe Elvis or Malachi Smith, have shot particularly well to open the season, so expect the Flyers to work the post as much as possible until shots start falling.

Wisconsin, in the meantime, is just looking for balance. They've been taking what defenses give them this season, and so far defenses have been daring the Badgers to shoot threes. Wisconsin will likely have to take a little more than what's given in this tournament, though, especially if they make it to the second round where in all likelihood they'll face the No.3 Kansas Jayhawks.

Wisconsin basketball has only faced Dayton once before. In 1961 at Madison Square Garden, the Badgers topped Dayton in an absolute track meet, 105-93.

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