STAT PACK: Wisconsin Falls to Providence in Gavitt Games

MADISON, Wis. – After beating up on two teams just as young as they are, the University of Wisconsin got its first taste of an experienced, upperclassmen-laden roster like the ones they’ll face in the months to come. It didn’t go well.

Foul trouble and poor shooting limited Wisconsin’s personnel in the first half, allowing Providence to take firm command and hold on for a 63-58 victory at the Kohl Center Monday.

The Badgers (2-1) were looking for their third 3-0 start in the last four seasons but struggled to find the same open alleys that were there in the first two games of the season, as the veteran Friars (3-0) and their battled-tested lineup made the critical plays.

We take a closer look at tonight’s game in the BadgerBlitz.com StatPack

- In addition to junior guard Jahcobi Neath (lower-body injury) missing his second straight game, starting guard Johnny Davis was ruled out prior to tip with his own lower-body injury. Davis entered the night as UW’s leading scorer at 15.0 ppg, as well as having seven assists and no turnovers.

-Without Davis, Wisconsin got most of its production from senior Brad Davison (25 points) and Tyler Wahl (16). The rest of UW's lineup combined for 17 points.

- The Badgers shot a season-low 32.8 percent, including 5-for-27 from 3-point range. Wisconsin missed 12 of its 14 attempted 3-pointers in the second half.

- With Davis out the starting five tonight was Davison, Wahl, Chucky Hepburn, Ben Carlson (first career start), and Steven Crowl. The group had a combined 153 starts, significantly less than the 354 combined starts of Providence’s starting five (three graduate seniors, one senior, one fourth-year junior).

- The Friars shot 40.7 percent, including 45.5 percent in the second half (10-for-22).

- Providence outrebounded Wisconsin (44-35). The Friars got one more offensive rebound than Wisconsin (12-11) but outscored them, 19-6, in second-chance points.

- Nate Watson – a 6-10, 260-pound graduate center – took advantage of his experience and size during the early possessions. With Crowl out of position or caught overhelping, Watson’s teammates found him rolling to the hoop for two easy buckets and a free throw. He led the Friars with 24 points.

- Wahl scored on UW’s first possession but the Badgers missed their next seven shots, generating two offensive rebounds and committing one offensive foul.

- Davison helped lift the lid on the basket by hitting two 3-pointers in a three-possession span, which suddenly put UW in the lead after going scoreless for 5:18.

- UW’s frontcourt quickly thinned over a two-minute stretch leading into the under 8 timeout. Crowl picked up his second foul and was subbed out for Chris Vogt. On consecutive possessions, Vogt was whistled for a foul on bang-bang plays to get him three fouls in the first half. After the timeout, UW went with Hepurn, Davison, Wahl, Carlson, and Carter Gilmore.

- The fouls, and lack of size/experience inside, gave Providence an opening for a 18-3 run, including 10 straight points in one section, to take a 30-21 lead into the last media timeout. Davison’s steal and layup ended that run and cut the lead to two, but the Friars hit a driving layup on the next possession and followed that with a second-chance 3-pointer to force a UW timeout.

- Hepburn’s 3-pointer was well off the mark on UW’s final possession of the half, as the Badgers went into the locker room down 34-23. The Badgers shot 25.9 percent in the first half (7-for-27) but players not named Davison went 3-for-20.

- With the starting lineup back on the floor, the two teams traded buckets over the first three minutes until UW went into low-post attack more. After getting outscored 14-6 in the paint in the first half, UW scored 10 of its first 12 points in the lane to cut the lead to 41-35 by the first media timeout.

- The momentum disappeared after the break, as UW made only one field goal over the next 10 minutes and scored just seven points. Providence found its offense, as Aljami Duham (13 points) scored five straight points to increase the lead to 10 and the Friars hit three of their eight 3-pointers over that stretch to build a 55-42 lead with 6:13 remaining.

- UW’s last gasp came before the last media timeout, when UW got four consecutive empty possessions because of its defense and Davison/Wahl scored eight straight points to cut the lead to 55-50 with 3:43 remaining.

- The Badgers had a chance to inch closer, but Durham delivered a haymaker, a 3-pointer from the top of the key off an offensive rebound. Hepburn defended but Durham had enough room to get the shot off.

- Davison went on a 7-1 run to cut the lead to 59-55 with 13 seconds left, but Durham hit two free throws to effectively ice the game. Durham scored 10 of his points in the second half.

- After playing three games in the first seven days of the season, Wisconsin is off until it takes on Texas A&M on November 22 in the Maui Invitational, hosted this year in Las Vegas. The game will be at 1 p.m. and televised on ESPN/2.

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