Wisconsin's Frontcourt Grows Defensively While Limiting Fouls

MADISON, Wis. – Playing his first season of college basketball in a pandemic, where fan attendance was severely restricted, Steven Crowl couldn’t experience the deafening crowds at some of the Big Ten’s best venues. It made the noise of a sold-out Mackey Arena even more intimidating when the Badgers play at Purdue in early January.

The only thing that the Wisconsin sophomore forward could earn over the constant buzz from the crowd were the whistles from the officials, and there were a lot of them that cut through the noise.

“It was crazy,” Crowl said of the fouls. “It threw the rhythm off the game always having to stop.”

Wisconsin was whistled for a season-high 22 fouls, a remarkably high number considering the Badgers led for 20 minutes, 49 seconds, and never more than one possession in the final 10 minutes. The fouls led to 24 free throws for Purdue, second-most for a UW opponent, and 15 makes. By the time Johnny Davis was putting the cap on his 37-point performance in the 74-69 win, three UW players – Crowl, forward Tyler Wahl, and center Chris Vogt – had all fouled out.

With a little bit of time and a lot of effort, Wisconsin’s frontcourt has cut down the whistles and made itself constantly available for the stretch run.

Entering tonight’s game with a chance to win a share of the Big Ten championship with a victory over No.8 Purdue, Wisconsin’s Crowl, Wahl, and Vogt averaged 8.8 fouls through their first nine conference games (79). Over the last nine contests, that number has dropped to 7.2 (65) with no disqualifications, even though that includes physical assignments like Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn, Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson, and Indiana’s Trace Jackson-Davis.

“It’s been awesome to watch our guys grow up right in front of our eyes,” assistant coach Sharif Chambliss said.

Wahl (11.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg) has put together his best season at Wisconsin and has shot 54.6 percent from the field in Big Ten play. He’s widely considered Wisconsin’s most versatile defender.

“He’s the most dominant post in the Big Ten behind Kofi and Edey,” Chambliss said of Wahl.

Crowl (9.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg) is first on the team in overall field-goal shooting (55.6) and second in three-point shooting (35.7) in league games, a big jump considering he had eight points and nine rebounds combined last year. Head coach Greg Gard joked that he’s mad that Crowl doesn’t shoot more from the perimeter, but Crowl’s improvement has led to more floor time. He played at least 30 minutes in three of the last four games after doing just twice the first 24 games.

“Show our hands, use our hips, use our lower bodies has been a big emphasis the last couple months,” Crowl said. “Learning where that line where you can be physical but you’re not grabbing or reaching so you’re not picking up those cheap ones. It’s about making them work.”

Vogt (2.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg) didn’t have to learn any new defensive principles coming from Wisconsin to Cincinnati but he had to adjust to more physical play in the Big Ten compared to the Big East. Including fouling out against Purdue, Vogt committed at least three fouls in seven consecutive games. Since that streak ended Jan.27, Vogt has been whistled for more than two fouls twice in 10 games.

“He’s been a great fit for us coming off the bench, accepting his role,” Chambliss said. “As a senior, he just wants to win. That’s the biggest thing when you transfer somewhere with a year left, as I did. Going into a place, you want to do whatever you can to win.”

Sophomore Ben Carlson (1.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg) hardly played against Purdue, and in the subsequent four games, after working his way back from COVID. His health has helped him work his way into the fourth forward spot off the bench with his ability to rebound. He has totaled 12 rebounds in the last four games, making up for his combined one point.

“I’ve learned a lot (with) definitely focusing on defense and rebounding,” Carlson said. “We got a lot of guys who can score the ball. Offensive rebounds are big and those can swing the momentum of the game. Doing those little things every game to help my team win is where I need to be.”

All four will be tasked with trying to slow a lineup that has an all-conference guard in Jaden Ivey (17.4 ppg), two senior guards, and two sophomores in the frontcourt, one of whom is 7-4 center Zach Edey. After averaging 8.7 points and 4.4 rebounds last season, Edey is averaging 14.8 points and 7.4 rebounds and runs the floor hard and plays with good ball security.

In two games against Wisconsin, Edey is averaging 22.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.

“I really don’t ever play a guy who is taller than me, so it’s trying to adapt to the game and find things that play,” Crowl said of Edey, who also has the benefit of forward Trevion Williams (11.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg) coming off the bench. “Defensively, just try to work your butt off to stop him. You have to make them catch it as far out as you can, so they take more dribbles and think about it a little more.”

The Badgers were admittedly fortunate that their high foul total worked in their favor. In addition to missed free throws, Purdue’s offense was rarely in rhythm and limited their ability to get out in transition.

Two months later, with a conference title on the line, Wisconsin’s frontcourt aims to again keep Purdue out of sync and off its own foul line.

“We know what we have to do,” Chambliss said. “The way we’ve been playing, just keep playing with high confidence. The best post defense is them not catching it where they want to around the basket. We’ve been working on that as of late, and I think the guys understand what they need to do.”

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