MADISON, Wis. – After two weeks of waiting, the University of Wisconsin reminded onlookers how good it can be when it adheres to its principles.

A wire-to-wire win had a few tense moments in the second part of the first half, but the 15th-ranked Badgers found a rhythm with their inside-outside game after halftime to pull away from Western Michigan, 76-66, at the Kohl Center in the final tune-up before Big Ten play resumes next week.

Picked ninth in the preseason poll, the Badgers (10-2) have won five straight and possess an eight-man rotation that has shown to be formidable when it couples an offensive rhythm with the program’s typical stingy defensive mindset.

Here are my takeaways from Wisconsin’s final game of 2022.

The paint is a good thing.

That may or may not have been the message Steven Crowl received from his coaching staff and teammates at halftime Friday night. Not only were the Badgers holding a slim 29-27 lead, Crowl had only five points and had taken just three shots. He was significantly better in the final 20 minutes.

Although he started his half with a made three-pointer on Wisconsin’s first possession, Crowl’s eight makes on 10 attempts in the second half mostly came on layups, dunks, and finishing mid-range shots through contact. Crowl’s career-high 25 points came on 13 shots (8-for-10 from two, 3-for-4 from three), an efficient night.

After all, head coach Greg Gard was apparently mentioning attacking the paint before, after, and during most of the timeouts. UW finished with 32 points in the paint, eight from Crowl in the second half.

“We got away from touching the post, so in the second half we put more of an emphasis on getting the ball down the low,” Crowl said. “Once we do get it down there, it’s about finishing it in the paint, too.”

A big reason for Crowl’s Friday success was point guard Chucky Hepburn, who had an efficient 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting with five rebounds and five assists. Four of those helpers went to Crowl, as the sophomore assisted on Crowl’s first two buckets of the second half and again on a pair of dunks between 8:13 and 6:21.

As Gard mentioned, Hepburn has done a better job of finding Crowl at the right time for the junior to make a play with the ball in his hands compared to the timing being a tough off at the beginning of the year.

“When you got a big who can shoot it like he can and a guard who can make plays like Chucky can, it’s a pretty good one-two punch,” Gard said.

Crowl has been steady this season in averaging 10.3 points and 3.5 assists per game but going off on a scoring binge like he did Friday opens driving lanes for Hepburn and the guards and open shooters on the perimeter. And considering how good of a passer he is, Crowl makes teams gamble whether it's safe to double him with his ability to find open shooters.

“You’re seeing a player grow up in front of your eyes in terms of maturity and understanding how good he can be,” Gard said of Crowl. “… He finished plays. He’s playing more physical, more confident, just growing into what I think he can be.”

Wisconsin hadn’t faced Western Michigan in over 68 years, but the Broncos had a familiar feel to it since Dwayne Stephens took over in April. Spending the last 19 seasons as either Tom Izzo’s assistant or associate head coach, the Broncos have tried to copy a lot of what has made the Spartans successful: transition opportunities and physical in the post.

It was a good reference point, considering the Broncos led the MAC in rebounding (39.4/game), rebounding margin (+10.1), and offensive rebounding (13.1) and were averaging 8.3 fast-break points per game.

UW won each of those categories by limiting Western Michigan to 32 rebounds, nine offensive boards, getting outrebounded by only four, and giving up just six fast-break points.

Gard commented that Wisconsin – despite 15 days without a game – had few defensive breakdowns, holding Lamar Norman Jr. to 12 points (7.8 under his average) and forcing multiple tough shots. Just as important was the physicality Western Michigan played with and the Badgers only being whistled for 11 fouls and committing four turnovers.

Wisconsin forced seven turnovers, including just one in the second half, but built an early 11-point lead in part by forcing three shot clock violations in the first 16 possessions.

Last season, the Badgers won the Big Ten despite shooting a conference-low 30.6 percent from 3-point range. Following Friday, Wisconsin has four rotation players shooting at least 34.0 percent from the perimeter and five of UW’s top six scorers have at least 11 three-pointers.

By going 12-for-27 from the perimeter Friday, including 8-for-13 in the second half, Wisconsin’s season average of 38.1 percent is three-tenths behind Penn State for first in the Big Ten conference.

“This offseason we all worked super hard on our shot,” said Crowl, who tied his career high with three three-point makes. “We all were in the gym early and stayed after practice. Getting guys like Jordan (Davis) and Max (Klesmit), I consider them snipers, and Connor (Essegian) obviously. We all know he’s a sniper. Getting guys like that who come in here and play and knock down those threes, it’s shown this season.”

After hitting at least 12 three-pointers in a game once last season, Wisconsin has done it four times in 12 games this year.

0 – Turnovers in the second half for Wisconsin, which finished the game with four.

15 – Years it’s been since Western Michigan has beaten a ranked opponent. The Broncos knocked off Stephen Curry and No.25 Davison in Kalamazoo in November 2007.

8 – UW recorded eight nonconference wins in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2015-16 and 2016-17.

1.382 – Wisconsin’s points per possession, as the Badgers scored on 58.2 percent of their possessions

63 – Points from Wisconsin’s starting lineup, tying a season-high.

42.6 – Percentage of the second-half points scored by Crowl, who was the only UW player to score more than six points after halftime.

2-5 - Western Michigan's totals from the free throw line, the second straight UW opponent to make two free throws.

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