STAT PACK: Wisconsin Rolls In Season Opener Over St. Francis Brooklyn
MADISON, Wis. – A new college basketball season began with a familiar result for the University of Wisconsin on its home court.
Six players made their Badgers debut and Wisconsin played 15 of its players in an 81-58 victory over St. Francis Brooklyn in Tuesday’s season opener at the Kohl Center.
The Badgers improved to 6-0 in home openers under Greg Gard, winning by an average margin of 22.5 points, and led by as many as 32 points against the Terriers.
We take a closer look at the game in the BadgerBlitz Stat Pack.
- With six seniors having departed the program since March, including four starters, the Badgers new-look starting lineup included senior Brad Davison, junior Tyler Wahl, sophomores Steven Crowl and Johnny Davis, and true freshman Chucky Hepburn. The start for Hepburn was noteworthy, as he became the fourth freshman to start a season opener for UW and the first true freshman to do so since Devin Harris in 2001.
- Davis led Wisconsin in scoring with 15 points but he had plenty of company. Twelve Badgers scored in the season opener, including Hepburn (13), Lorne Bowman (nine), and Markus Ilver (two) getting their first college points, and Jahcobi Neath (four) and Chris Vogt (two) scoring their first points as a Badger.
- Crowl had a career-high 11 points and led the team with eight rebounds. Davison finished with eight points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
- Wisconsin finished 29-for-66 from the floor (43.9 percent) and dominated each stat category. UW had a sizeable advantage in free throws (13-for-18 to 3-for-4), rebounds (48-31), fast-break points (13-1), and assists (12-5).
- St. Francis Brooklyn shot 39.7 percent overall, including 9-for-31 (29 percent) in the first half.
-Wisconsin started 0-for-6 from the floor, but Davis scored on consecutive trips down the floor and outlet a pass to Hepburn for a transition layup. That started a 12-0 run for UW when Hepburn and Lorne Bowman added 3-pointers.
- Mixing and matching players and lineups, Gard had nine different players on the floor by the second media timeout.
- Wisconsin was leading 16-9 when Gard subbed in Davis, Crowl, Wahl, and Hepburn to join Davison on the floor. His starting five flourished with a 16-3 run, including 13 in a row, to put the Badgers up 32-12 with 7:45 remaining in the first half. The run was a mixture of 3-point makes (two from Davison), paint touches, free throws, and a couple of monster dunks from Crowl and Davis.
- The Badgers shot 46.9 percent in the first half (15-for-32) and averaged 1.2 points per possession. All 10 players who saw minutes scored.
- Crowl was the dominant force to begin the second half, scoring five of UW’s seven points leading into the first media timeout. As a true freshman, Crowl scored a total of eight points last season.
- Much like he did in the first half, Davis’s athleticism created a quick strike for the offense. Leading 49-31 with 16:04 remaining, Davis scored the game’s next nine points over a 2 minute, 33 second stretch, doing so from the free-throw line, the paint, and the 3-point line.
- Wisconsin improved to 3-0 when facing opponents from the Northeast Conference. UW also beat Central Connecticut State, 80-54, back in 1991 and LIU Brooklyn, 73-68 during the 1978 season.
- Wisconsin continues its three-game homestand to open the season when it plays Green Bay Friday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be televised by BTN+. UW will honor former head coach Bo Ryan at halftime.
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