Wisconsin's Quicker Tempo Paying Early Dividends
MADISON, Wis. – The words “Wisconsin basketball” and “fast tempo” have seemingly been barred from appearing together in a sentence for over two decades.
Ever since Dick Bennett arrived, installed a slower-paced offense to force speed-loving teams to defend his technically-sound group, and rode that style to the 2000 Final Four, the Badgers have embraced a style that has helped neutralize some opponents who have had a talent advantage.
To some, it’s like listening to your favorite song, but at 1/100th speed. To Wisconsin, it’s musically perfect. But the Badgers of 2021-22 are content with releasing a remix, keeping the familiar tune with a fresh new beat.
“We have a lot of weapons,” senior Brad Davison said after UW put all five starters in double figures in an 87-78 win over Iowa Thursday, improved to 12-2 (3-1 Big Ten). “We have one of the best players in the country. Chucky (Hepburn) does a great job of finding guys in there. We have rim runners. We have guys who can shoot. Just taking advantage of the opportunities we have to score. If we don’t have to work as hard on offense and we can get a transition bucket, it’s a big-time help for us.”
Getting out and scoring in transition isn’t a new revelation for Wisconsin. Last year’s Wisconsin team was credited with 107 fast-break points through its first 14 games, 18 more than this year’s group has scored over the same period.
But the difference is tempo. Last year Wisconsin averaged 64.6 possessions over 40 minutes, ranked 328th in the county by KenPom.com. It marked seven straight seasons the Badgers finished ranked somewhere in the 300s in that category, falling anywhere from 328th to 347th.
Heading into Sunday’s matchup at Maryland (8-6, 0-3), the Badgers rank 280th out of 357 teams in the country in tempo this season, averaging 66.5 possessions over 40 minutes, the team’s fastest mark since he began tracking the stat in the 2001-02 season.
Gone are the days where Wisconsin waits until the waning seconds of a shot clock before starting its offense, which was evident during the 74-69 upset at No.3 Purdue. The Badgers had 55 possessions against the Boilermakers where they brought the ball up the court after a make or miss or inbounded the ball. Excluding offensive rebounds, end of the half, or possessions that deliberately used the clock, Wisconsin made its first shot attempt with an average of 13.9 seconds remaining on the 30-second shot clock.
Of those possessions, only 13 involved Wisconsin taking its first shot with less than 10 seconds on the clock, with just one such possession coming in the second half and it came on the first possession.
“We’ve got a lot of different guys who bring a lot of different things to the table,” junior Tyler Wahl said. “Whoever’s night it is, we look to them to produce as much as they can. I think this team is pretty dangerous.”
Lately, nobody has been more dangerous than Johnny Davis, who has shown a willingness to score in a variety of ways and not lack aggressiveness. During his 27-point second half Monday, Davis attempted his shots within the natural flow of the offense with an average time of 16 seconds on the shot clock, ranging from as much as 26 seconds left to as little as 10.
The extra possessions allowed Wisconsin plenty of time to dig out of a seven-point deficit with 11:07 remaining.
“I could say it’s been coaching, (but) it’s been natural,” head coach Greg Gard said of the tempo uptick. “They have a connection with each other. They are able to play aggressive and make good decisions. We still talk about taking care of the ball, just as we always have. We talk about pushing the ball, just like we always have.
But while Davis has been the dynamic playmaker, Wisconsin has been able to surround him with perfect complementary pieces. Rounding out the starting lineup is an unselfish, experienced senior guard (Davison), a confident point guard with 1.8 assists to every turnover (Hepburn), and two bigs who can play inside-out while being exceptional passers (Steven Crowl, Wahl).
Throw in the fact the Badgers have two transfers coming off the bench in center Chris Vogt and guard Jahcobi Neath, and the collective group has not had a large drop off in defense (fifth in the conference at 64.6 points allowed), it’s a combination that is paying off.
“It just shows you how much firepower we have on the offensive end,” Davis said. “We’re kind of just tired of people not expecting us to do a whole lot. I think we’re really proving people wrong.”