MADISON, Wis. – There are no such things as ugly wins, especially in the early parts of the season with a young team. It’s a theory Wisconsin players subscribed to Tuesday night after surviving a deeply flawed performance.

Outplayed in stretches by a winless mid-major and having struggles on both ends of the floor impact one another, Wisconsin was fortunate to remain unbeaten with a 56-45 victory over Green Bay Tuesday.

“A win is a win,” said junior Jordan Davis, Wisconsin’s leading scorer with 11 points. “Sometimes it’s not going to be your night, but you got to rally together as a team, trust each other, and trust the work we put in.”

Here are my takeaways from the Kohl Center.

The glass half empty approach: Wisconsin appeared to sleepwalk through most of Tuesday’s win, shooting 30.2 percent from the field for its second straight game

The glass half full approach: The Badgers won despite Chucky Hepburn and Tyler Wahl finishing with more turnovers (six) than field goals (4-for-25 from the floor).

“Each game has something you can take away from it,” forward Carter Gilmore said. “Luckily enough, when Tyler and Chucky weren’t making as much shots as they normally do, we found a different way to win. We’re going to have improve on that as we go forward here, but it definitely showed what it’s going to take if Chucky doesn’t have a great game (and) what’s it going to take when Tyler doesn’t have a great game … That’s why basketball is a team sport.”

The Phoenix had been outscored in the second half by a combined 61 points in road losses to Indiana State and Georgetown, but Green Bay went on a 14-1 run early in the second half by attacking the paint. After going 5-for-24 in the first half, the Phoenix made six baskets in the first 6:47, all coming at or near the rim.

When Cade Meyer delivered his third layup in four possessions, the Phoenix had trimmed a 17-point deficit down to 35-29 with 13:06 remaining.

“I challenged guys at halftime,” Green Bay coach Will Ryan said. “The last couple games we have not played well in the second half (outscored by 56 points). They were pretty resilient. They fought. They scrapped. They clawed.”

UW had 12 offensive rebounds in the first half but only three in the second half. The Badgers were also outscored, 22-16, in point in the paint by a Green Bay team that isn’t towering over many teams. UW did outscore Green Bay, 17-2, in second-chance points but not dominating the lane the final 20 minutes made the game closer than it needed to be.

The Badgers finished with a season-high 14 turnovers, went 2-for-8 from three-point range in the second half, and both Hepburn and Wahl battled foul trouble in addition to their poor shooting. With Hepburn having to sit, UW used four players at point guard with mixed results.

“Other than one little stretch in the first half, I didn’t think we were in sync,” head coach Greg Gard said. “That happens when you don’t make shots. This group has to learn to not let them affect them emotionally, mentally, and let it bleed to other parts of their game.”

Gard continues to shuffle through combinations to find a spark and dabble with a three-forward lineup with Wahl at the three for a stretch, something UW hasn't utilized to this point. When UW started to separate in the second half, Isaac Lindsey was at the point guard spot.

'We'll take it from whoever can provide it," Gard said. "It's our job to continue to find it."

With foul trouble delivering him a 0-fer in 17 minutes Friday night, Max Klesmit stayed off the bench and finished with nine points, five rebounds, two steals, and an assist in a team-high 36 minutes on the court.

Klesmit has areas that need to be cleaned up in the long run (he had 60 assists to 66 turnovers at Wofford last season) but brings in a pedigree as a solid shooter. As a freshman and sophomore, Klesmit shot over 44 percent from the floor, 34 percent from three-point range, and 83 percent from the free throw line.

Although he has gone deep into his bench through the first two games of the season, Gard said Monday that he wanted to find more opportunities for sophomores Markus Ilver and Kamari McGee. Ilver got eight minutes in the first half and finished off an alley-oop dunk from Klesmit, but he didn’t get much run in the second half. McGee hardly played, logging just 5 minutes, 30 seconds, and not scoring for the third straight game.

Instead, with Wahl battling fouls, UW leaned heavily on Carter Gilmore (who battled through back spasms) and was rewarded with five points and five rebounds (both matching his career high) in over 20 minutes on the court. He and Ilver were the only bench players to log over eight minutes on the court, but the Badgers played six players off the bench for at least 4:38. With the Badgers about to play three games in three days, a deep bench can only be viewed as an asset.

“Everyone on this team is capable of stepping on the floor and bringing positive outcomes to the game,” Davis said. “We have a deep bench. Our top two scorers weren’t scoring tonight, so we had to look to other guys. (Carter and Max) stepped it up tonight.”

The clear leader among the massive number of guards on Wisconsin’s roster, Hepburn has been decent handling the ball (11 assists to five turnovers) and was active on the glass Tuesday (career-high seven rebounds) but has struggled to put the ball in the hoop.

The sophomore was 2-for-14 from the field, the first time in his college career that he missed more than nine shots in a game and missed point-blank shots at the rim. That turned out to be a team-wide pandemic Tuesday, as the Badgers were 8-for-30 in the low block.

Through three games, Hepburn is shooting just 32.4 percent from the floor (worst among UW’s five starters) and 30.8 percent from the perimeter (second worst behind Wahl).

“I think he has to play off two feet a little bit better, explode to the rim,” Gard said of Hepburn’s struggles. “We talk about high jumping and not long jumping, so I think some of that is technique at the rim (and) taking the contact. When guys are struggling, get yourself to the free throw line so you can see the ball go in.”

Prior to tipoff, Wisconsin announced that freshman guard Luke Haertle will redshirt this upcoming season. A walk-on from Hartland, Wisconsin, Haertle averaged 22.9 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game last season to lead Lake Country Lutheran to a WIAA Division 3 State Championship. However, with the plethora of guards already contributing on UW’s roster, Haertle would have been hard-pressed to earn playing time.

“After talking things over with my family and the coaching staff, I decided it was in my best interest to redshirt this season,” Haertle said in a statement. “I'm looking forward to taking advantage of this year, not only to develop and grow my game, but also to continue building relationships and supporting my teammates. I'm excited about my future as a Badger.”

9: Nine was a blessing and curse for Tyler Wahl in the first half. The senior was aggressive on the boards with nine rebounds but missed nine of the 10 shots he took.

5: Carter Gilmore matched his career high in both points (five) and rebounds (five) in playing 20 minutes off the bench.

11.1: After holding the Phoenix to 2-of-14 from three-point range, the Badgers saw their three-point defense rise to 14.3 percent on the season. UW’s three opponents have gone 5-for-45 from the perimeter this year.

15: Wisconsin limited Green Bay to 15 points in the first half, the fewest allowed in a half since holding Penn State to 21 in February 2022.

23.5: Wisconsin shot 8-for-34 on two-point shots against Green Bay

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