MADISON, Wis. – With Big Ten play on the horizon, Steven Crowl had trouble hiding his excitement.

Wisconsin was playing well last month, the Wisconsin sophomore was getting comfortable with his role on the floor, and he was anxious to put his growth and physicality to the test guarding some of the Big Ten's best forwards, including Ohio State’s E.J. Liddell.

As he walked out of Value City Arena in Columbus, the latest player brutalized by Liddell’s all-around aggression, Crowl became acutely aware that there was another level he needed to go to.

“The physicality he played with, I needed to match that and match that energy he played with that whole night,” Crowl said. “I don’t think I played physical enough. I let my team down a little bit in that aspect.”

It’s been a little over three weeks since that humbling afternoon, but it’s not a stretch to say Crowl has developed into a different player in that short of time, and No.13 Wisconsin (13-2, 4-1 Big Ten) is reaping the benefits from it.

Starting with a career-high 21 points against Illinois State, Crowl is averaging 11.5 points and 6.3 rebounds over the last four games, a significant uptick from his 7.7 points and 4.5 rebounds he was averaging a month ago. Entering tonight’s game against the 16th-ranked Buckeyes (10-3, 4-1), Crowl is fourth on the team in scoring and third in rebounding.

“He’s getting more comfortable,” UW assistant coach Dean Oliver said. “He knows what he’s supposed to be doing. He’s more comfortable with what’s about to happen. He can foresee some things. He’s starting to learn what we need from him and certainly being more aggressive. We want him to be more aggressive, and he’s learning his spots to do that.”

Getting nearly two weeks off for final exams and a COVID pause helped Crowl reset, allowing him to get in the gym to grow confidence with his shot. He also watched a lot of film that showed how he needed improvement with defending ball screens, taking better angles, and playing physical without fouling.

“I needed to look in the mirror to see where I could get better, what I can improve on, and where I’m being good,” Crowl said.

Crowl has grown tremendously since his humbling. He battled admirably against Zach Edey, despite giving up four inches of height on the Purdue center, before limiting the McCaffery brothers to a combined 4-for-10 shooting in last week's win against Iowa.

in Sunday's 70-69 win at Maryland, Crowl had nine points, eight rebounds, and hit a critical 3-pointer with four minutes left to put the Badgers ahead for good.

“I was proud of those games,” Crowl said. “Physicality was the big thing, especially that Purdue game. You had to be, or we would have gotten killed by a million. It’s about being physical right off the bat on both ends. Posting up hard, boxing out hard, getting rebounds, that sets the tone.”

The inability to make Liddell uncomfortable was one of many problems for Wisconsin in the first meeting. carved up Crowl and the Badgers, scoring 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting in a 73-55 victory on Dec.11. It was a performance that was problematic for UW on several fronts

*Liddell had more rebounds (9) than UW’s top three forwards of Crowl, center Steven Vogt, and forward Tyler Wahl did (5). The Badgers were outrebounded 49-28 and outscored, 11-2, in second-chance points.

*UW shot 33.8 percent from the field, a season-worst when sophomore Johnny Davis was in the starting lineup. The multitude of misses and lack of rebounding led to giving up 14 fast-break points.

*The Badgers attempted a season-low nine free throws, the only game where they attempted fewer than 15 free throws.

“They were getting a bunch of offensive rebounds, a bunch of defensive rebounds, and they kind of kicked our butt on the boards,” Wahl said. “We’ve got to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

While Wisconsin is a perfect 5-0 since the loss to the Buckeyes, Ohio State hasn’t been as fortunate. Shortly after beating the Badgers, the Buckeyes went on a COVID pause and saw games against Kentucky, Tennessee Martin, and New Orleans canceled. Ohio State went more than three weeks without playing before winning at last-place Nebraska in overtime.

While the Buckeyes throttled Northwestern – another struggling Big Ten team – Sunday, Ohio State was held to season-low points in a 67-53 loss at Indiana last Thursday. It served as a blueprint of how to be successful.

Indiana held Ohio State to 8-for-25 on 2-point field goals (32.0 percent), outrebounded them 11-5 on the offensive glass, and limited Liddell to 3-for-11 shooting.

Liddell is still a handful against the underprepared or the less talented. Against the Wildcats, he made his first six shots, which included five three-pointers, on his way to a career-high 34 points. He became the first Buckeye in program history to make five three-pointers and block five shots in the same game.

Liddell is currently the only player in the country averaging 20.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, and 2.5 assists per game.

But Ohio State is more than just Liddell, even though it mostly felt that way in Columbus. Freshman Malaki Branham – who was held scoreless on two shots earlier this season against the Badgers – is averaging 24 points over the last three games, a far cry from the 6.3 points he averaged in the first 10 games of the season.

Jamari Wheeler has done a little of everything for the Buckeyes, evident by his eight points, game-high eight rebounds, team-high six assists, and season-high five steals on Sunday. The Badgers will also have to account for forwards Zed Key (9.3 pts, 5.7 rbds), Meechie Johnson Jr. (8-for-13 from 3 last four games), and Cedric Russell (3-for-4 from three Sunday) coming off the bench.

“Our teams mirror each other in the lot in the way they play, and the roles certain guys have,” Oliver said. “Their role players are starting to find how to support what they do. Our hands are full now that they are figuring it out, but I know we have gotten better since then and I feel like it’s a great challenge for our guys. We’re going to see two much-improved teams from the last time we played.”

_________________________________________________

*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den

*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel

*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)

*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @JakeKoco, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45

*Like us on Facebook