MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin freshman Jonathan Davis has relished the opportunity to spark his teammates off the bench with his energy, aggressive play and confidence with his shot making. His value to the ninth-ranked team in the country grew exponentially Tuesday night.
Davis hit multiple of important shots in the first half to awaken a slumbering Badgers offense and Micah Potter helped bring things home for the Badgers in a 67-53 victory over Nebraska in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
It’s the ninth straight Big Ten victory for Wisconsin (7-1, 1-0) and the third straight season the Badgers have won its conference opener.
For the Huskers (4-4, 0-1), which have lost 18 straight games against Big Ten opponents.
We take a closer look at the game with the BadgerBlitz StatPack.
- Wisconsin put four players in double figures (Brad Davison 15, Aleem Ford 13, Nate Reuvers 10, Potter 10). Potter added 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
- The Badgers averaged 1.313 points per possession in the second half, shooting 50 percent from the floor
- Davis finished with seven points, all timely buckets in the first half. He hit a 3-pointer to get Wisconsin in the scoring column nearly five minutes into the game, floating in the air to hit a layup over an outstretched hand and delivered a high bank shot off the glass to tie the score with 2:31 left until halftime. His points get lost among the final stats but they were vital considering how much of a struggle it was offensively for his teammates.
- After scoring 25 points over the first 11 minutes against the Cardinals, the Badgers could only scratch out Davis’ 3-pointer over that same stretch Tuesday. UW was 1-for-15 from the floor (6.7 percent), 1-for-9 from 3-point range (11.1 percent) and had six turnovers through 20 possessions.
- The only saving grace for Wisconsin was its defense was passable, for a while. The Huskers entered eighth in the league in scoring at 81.6 points but were blocked off from high-percentage scoring chances in the paint and crashing the offensive glass.
- After scoring 11 points in the first 15:39 of the half, Wisconsin scored eight in 56 seconds that represented a momentum shift. Starting with Ford hitting a 3-pointer, Nebraska forward Teddy Allen missed two free throws. Potter hit a 3-pointer, Thorir Thorbjarnarson missed a 3-pointer and D’Mitrik Trice hit a runner in the lane, forcing Nebraska to burn a timeout.
- The Badgers kept pushing to halftime, reeling off a 14-3 run that gave Wisconsin a 25-24 lead at the break. UW scored 14 points in the final 4:21 and went 5-for-7 from the floor, improving its modest shooting percentage to 31.0 percent.
- Potter admitted to being ticked off in the first half against Louisville when he had to sit because of fouls. Imagine his frustration level was equally high after missing three of his four shots and sat with three points at halftime. He found a second gear in the second half. Following Trey McGowans’s 3-pointer to put Nebraska up 33-32, Potter scored or assisted on 13 consecutive points, including finishing through contact and converting the bucket, unleashing a scream that echoed in the empty arena. The run finished at 16-0 to give UW a 48-33 lead with 9:24 remaining.
- Scoring the last six points of the run helped Davison catch fire. Starting 1-for-7, Davison hit his next four shots (3-for-3 3FGs) to push the lead to as large as 18. Davison has scored in double figures in six of his seven career meetings against the Huskers.
- As the misses and the deficit increased, Nebraska wore down and didn’t start generating its offense until heaving up 3-pointers late. The Huskers shot 33.3 percent for the game.
- Wisconsin travels to No.12 Michigan State for a Christmas Day showdown Friday morning. Tip off is at 11:30 a.m. CT.
