MADISON, Wis. – There’s no guarantee that Wisconsin would be riding a nine-game winning streak entering Tuesday’s game against Penn State, sitting as the only unbeaten team in the Big Ten had Tyler Wahl not landed awkwardly on his right foot two weeks ago. But the odds certainly would have been better.

Suffering their first three-game losing streak since March 2021, the Badgers find themselves tied with four teams for sixth place in the Big Ten and looking little like the team that had racked up six wins over the KenPom Top 100 through January 4.

The latest setback – a 63-45 loss to Indiana – came against a Hoosiers program that was 10th in the Big Ten, losers of six of the last nine, and missing a pair of starters.

Wahl’s importance has been talked about constantly over the past two weeks, from his impact on the team’s offensive flow to the senior’s versatility as a defender. The Badgers (11-5, 3-3 Big Ten) are 0-4 without Wahl in the starting lineup over the last two seasons, and his impact has been evident.

In Wisconsin’s last three wins over major conference opponents (Marquette, Maryland, and Iowa), the Badgers shot 48.5 percent from the field (83-for-171), 35.7 percent from three-point range (25-for-70), and attempted 51 free throws. Defensively, the Badgers held the trio of teams to .90 points per possession while forcing 41 turnovers.

In the three losses, the points per possession have risen to 1.0 per possession while the turnovers have decreased to 32. The big drop has come on the offensive end. Wisconsin has shot 40.6 percent from the field (71-for-175), 28.9 percent from three-point range (22-for-76), and attempted 31 free throws.

UW has also been outrebounded by 28 in the last three outings. Throw in the 31 minutes Wahl missed against Minnesota, and the Badgers have been beaten by 41 rebounds.

“He’s another post presence, which has a domino effect on everything else,” head coach Greg Gard said. “Now (with him in the lineup), you have to be aware of him, aware of Steve (Crowl), and we have to shoot it better. Tyler will help in some ways, but we have to continue to get better.”

Both units will need a jolt of energy considering Penn State (12-5, 3-3) attempts 28.1 three-point attempts per game and makes 39.5 percent of them, a mark that ranks the Nittany Lions 12th nationally and second among major conference schools in both categories.

The Nittany Lions hit 18 three-pointers in their 85-66 victory over Indiana Wednesday. Guards Andrew Funk and Seth Lundy both went 7-for-12 from the perimeter, as Penn State’s top five players in minutes all shoot over 36 percent from the perimeter.

The Hoosiers only attempted eight three-pointers but exploited the gaps in Wisconsin’s ball-screen defense to score 42 points in the paint.

“We’ve talked about move on to next, and you have to,” Gard said. “You have to have a short memory, whether things go well or things don’t go so well … (Penn State) plays completely different than what we saw (against Indiana). We won’t see eight threes. We might see eight threes in the first four minutes.”

Wisconsin’s frontcourt was already thin on experience entering the season after the unexpected transfers of Ben Carlson (Utah) and Matthew Mors (South Dakota State). Carlson played 32 games (two starts) and averaged 1.6 points and 2.0 rebounds, while Mors redshirted after enrolling as the No.143 player nationally in the 2021 class.

Without them and unsuccessfully recruiting an experienced post player from the portal, the Badgers have been forced to play junior Carter Gilmore out of position, rely on the still-developing sophomore Markus Ilver, and the inexperienced Chris Hodges, who hadn’t played competitive basketball in the previous two seasons.

Carlson is playing 18.6 minutes per game for the Utes, averaging 4.3 points and 4.8 rebounds. Mors has started five of the Jackrabbits’ 18 games and has contributed 6.2 points and 2.1 rebounds.

“We all know Tyler is a great player,” Crowl said. “We know what he can do on offense, and he’s on defensive leader, but I think just the biggest thing in having him back is his voice out there. He’s always communicating, like how Brad was last year for us. Tyler plays that same role being the veteran on the team. We really miss him in that aspect.”

Wahl’s status is classified by Wisconsin as “day-to-day.” He is no longer wearing the walking boot, but it’s not known whether he has practiced (UW had no availability leading into the Penn State game). All he can do now is encourage from the bench, as his teammates simply must keep pushing ahead in a rugged conference.

“You want to see how guys respond when adversity hits and to watch guys diving on the floor the last couple minutes of the game tells me that effort is not our issue,” Gard said. “It’s never been an issue with this group. I’ve never had to coach effort. Execution, decision, some of those things, tactical things, we’ve been better than they were (Saturday), but the effort and how guys continue to battle is the character of those young men.”

_________________________________________________

*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, @RaulV45, @pete_brey12, @seamus_rohrer

*Like us on Facebook