MADISON, Wis. – Ending one extended break only to be on the cusp of starting another one, the University of Wisconsin had every excuse to come out rusty on a Sunday afternoon.

Looking to rebuild the momentum they started the season with, the Badgers beat Detroit Mercy, 76-53, at the Kohl Center with a relenting attack into the low post and a defensive performance that kept the Titans struggling to find high-quality shots.

Wisconsin (10-3) hadn’t played since beating Butler in Indianapolis, taking an extended break for final exams. Having packed the front part of their schedule, the Badgers will now wait until January 3 before resuming Big Ten play.

“I think we’re in a great spot,” said senior Steven Crowl. ‘We’ve played some great teams earlier this year. I think we’re set going into Big Ten play, but we’re going to use these days to recharge, reset our minds physically and mentally, and come back hungry.”

Here are my takeaways from the Kohl Center.

Greg Gard used the word ‘good’ to describe the performance of Nolan Winter and Crowl Sunday. He's underselling it. The duo combined for 33 points and 15 rebounds, going 13-for-19 from the floor, each blocking a shot and committing only three turnovers in 21 minutes each.

“We both bring our own kind of style,” Winter said. “Steve is the low-block guy that can step out and shoot it from time to time. I’m more of a floor spacer. I can get in the post and do that. I think just throwing the two different elements at the other teams, it’s good to mix it up and have this confidence going into Big Ten season.”

Winter tallied his second career double-double with 18 points and a career-high 11 rebounds (5 offensive), giving him at least 15 points and seven rebounds over the last three games. Leading the Big Ten in shooting on two-point field goals at 74.6 percent (44-for-59), Winter was 4-for-4 on those shots against the Titans.

Crowl posted 15 points and four rebounds and has averaged 16.5 points over his last two games. After shooting a combined 18 times in roughly 23 minutes on the court during UW’s three-game losing streak, Crowl is 14-for-20 from the field despite playing only 17:12 against Butler and 21:05 against Detroit Mercy.

Gard hinted leading into the Butler game he would start playing Crowl in shorter stretches to maximize his efficiency. It’s been a solid strategy in a short sample size. On Sunday, Crowl’s longest stretch on the floor was the opening 6:23. From that point, Crowl played 4:31, 3:24, 3:13, and 3:35 before calling it an afternoon.

“However you space them out, those minutes he has me in there, I know I need to go hard, play hard, and take advantage of those minutes I’m in there,” Crowl said. “It’s not like the past where I know I am going to be in there for long stretches and even when I’m tired he’s going to keep me in there. It’s those couple minutes he’s going to keep me in there, I got to go as hard as I can, and then Nolan comes in and does a great job, and I come back in and do it again.”

“If he can be more impactful in less minutes, that’s the route to go,” Gard added.

This performance comes on the heels of the duo combining for 38 points and 14 rebounds against Butler.

Seeing the tandem getting better at finding each other in high-low actions, Gard estimates that Winter and Crowl play together about 14 possessions per game with how the Badgers rotate. He has cited that he likes pairing Xavier Amos with Crowl based on Crowl’s physicality and says the Badgers are better with Carter Gilmore on the floor.

The last two games are unlikely to push Gard into more possession of the two on the court together. Instead, it can give UW more flexibility with who he pairs with them at the four, a position where he wants a mobile big like Amos, Gilmore, or – for around 14 possessions - Winter.

“You’re only as good as your next 40 minutes,” Gard said. “I have always known the potential of those two, how complete I think their games can be. In the last two games, Steve has done a better job of being more aggressive and intentional with it. Nolan has just been hatched so to speak. He’s so young in terms of where he can be and what he can do … I don’t know if he realizes how impactful he can be and it’s our job to continue pushing that bar.”

Although dealing with injuries to three rotation players, Detroit Mercy had shown its strength to be rebounding. Outrebounding nine of its opponents, the Titans were 57th in the country in rebounding (39.5 per game), 52nd in offensive rebounding (13.2), and 74th in rebounding margin (+5.4).

Wisconsin neutralized that advantage throughout the afternoon, finishing +16 on the glass (50-34) and limiting second chances. UDM rebounded only 10 of its 44 misses and managed only two second-chance points. UW turned its 16 offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points.

UW’s 50 rebounds were the most since grabbing that same number in a victory over Florida A&M on December 23, 2016.

“We knew one of their main keys was going to be crashing the glass,” Crowl said. “I think rebounding is almost a team stat rather than an individual. Sometimes it’s going to be Nolan and me blocking the big guys out and Kamari McGee or John Tonje comes and grabs it. Or there’s going to be days where me and Nolan set the tone and go snatch those rebounds. It’s a credit to our team and the guards cleaning up the glass.”

Other than Orlando Lovejoy getting to the rim on a ball-screen rejection in the first half, the Badgers kept the Titans away from the rim and off the perimeter, forcing them into several mid-range twos. The result was six points in the paint, eight attempts from the perimeter, and a 35.7 percent shooting percentage.

It got worse in the second half, as UDM went 0-for-3 from three and got outscored, 36-14, in the lane. Detroit Mercy’s 33.3 percent shooting percentage was the lowest for a UW opponent this season.

“It pours into the philosophy of what we’ve been talking about with our team,” Gard said. “What you do offensively (attacking the rim and shooting threes), you’re flipping that defensively. They understand now the importance of it because I hear them talking about it live … They’re smart. We show them the numbers and the production behind it and the reasons why … they’ve had enough sample size that see the benefits of what we’re trying to accomplish.”

There was a 25-second stretch in the first half where Tonje looked like it did in the first month of the season. Attacking and drawing a foul, Tonje went 2-for-2 from the line and showed confidence when he attempted the next shot, hitting a three-pointer to put UW up 16-8.

There was a lot of that efficiency early in the season but over the last several weeks it has been fewer and far between.

Since being named the tournament MVP of the Greenbrier Tip-Off, Tonje is shooting 34.4 percent from the floor (22-for-64). His six attempts and nine points Sunday were both season lows. He also had been sloppy with the ball, having at least a share of the team lead in turnovers in the last four games.

The biggest challenge with Tonje is getting him to play off two feet on his drives to the rim, the same problem the Badgers staff had last season with A.J. Storr.

“Even in practice, when he does (plays off two feet), he’s really efficient and gets fouled,” Gard said. “When he doesn’t, we see the results. What we see in a game is the same thing we see in practice. Like I told him, we got a short window to get you a better habit in that part of your game. I don’t have four years to work with him to build a habit. We got to do it in short order … He knows it, but he’s done it off one foot for so long and this is the highest level he’s played at.

“He’s got to get better at it. He’s got to understand scouting reports are out now. He’s not sneaking up on anybody … We need him to continue to be more efficient. If this team is going to really reach a high level, we have to have him at a high level more consistently.”

5:10 – Career-high minutes on the court for freshman Riccardo Greppi, who outmuscled two players for a rebound on his first possession. He finished 1-for-2 from the line with two rebounds, an assist, a block, and a turnover.

8 – Markus Ilver logged nearly 10 minutes on the court and finished with a career-high eight points, knocking down two three-pointers and going 2-for-2 from the line.

10 – The Badgers have registered 10 non-conference wins this season, the team's most since going 11-2 in 2016-17.

14 – Going 1-for-2 from the line with 24 seconds left, Chris Hodges became the 14th player on the roster to score this season. Camren Hunter, Daniel Freitag, and Aidan Konop are the three who remain scoreless.

49 - The win over Detroit Mercy marked UW's 49th-straight home win over a "mid-major" program. The Badgers' last home loss to a "mid-major" team was a 68-67 setback to Milwaukee on Dec. 9, 2015.

_________________________________________________

*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, @TheBadgerNation, @_Perko_, @seamus_rohrer, @DonnieSlusher_

*Like us on Facebook