Wisconsin Trending Upward as Big Ten Play Begins

MADISON, Wis. – It’s likely not often a school’s director of operations gets a standing ovation after the nonconference portion of the schedule has ended. However, after the Badgers full dismantling of No.23 Louisville Saturday afternoon, Greg Gard and the players made sure to give Marc VandeWettering his due after scheduling the program’s full allotment of seven games through postponements, cancellations and a little bit of luck.

“There’s been several days where I didn’t think we would get seven games in,” Gard said. “We went into some weeks not knowing who we were going to play.”

With nonconference games traditionally used by teams to work out the kinks, play top-end competition and, hopefully, put some quality wins on its postseason resume, the Badgers checked those three boxes. That was evident by them registering its largest victory over a ranked opponent in school history (37 points) over the weekend and moving them back into the AP Top 10 at No.9 this week.

“We have high expectations of ourselves, a lot of confidence,” senior guard Brad Davison. “Nonconference is behind us, learn from it, get those experiences underneath our belt and now we can chance a championship.”

Since Wisconsin’s buzzer-beating loss at Marquette, the Badgers (6-1) have beaten an undefeated team from the Atlantic-10, the Missouri Valley Conference and the ACC. Saturday’s final tune-up before conference play begins tomorrow against Nebraska (4-3) was a microcosm of how the Badgers have been trending. For example:

* One game after shooting 55.6 percent (10-for-18) from the perimeter, Wisconsin knocked down a season-high 16 3-pointers, going 16-for-25 (64.0 percent). Eight different players hit a 3-pointer, with five hitting multiple 3s. On the season, the Badgers are now shooting 43.7 percent from 3-point range (66-151).

“Clearly we’re shooting the ball well,” said Micah Potter, who leads the team in scoring and rebounding. “That’s something that is a strength of ours. We’ve talked about it ever since the end of last year and even last year. Having five guys on the floor that can shoot the ball makes it a lot easier.”

* The Badgers finished with 22 assists, the most since November 2019. Of Wisconsin’s 186 made field goals, Wisconsin has registered an assist on 104 of them or 55.9 percent.

* Wisconsin finished with 10 turnovers. Dating back to last season, the Badgers have turned the ball over 11 or fewer times in 25 consecutive games.

* With five assists and zero turnovers, senior point guard D’Mitrik Trice has 26 assists with 5 turnovers (5.2 ratio) on the season. He is one of four senior starters (Potter, Nate Reuvers, Davison) averaging double figures on the season.

“When you have the individuals we have, and the skill set of those people, we’re trying to maximize that as much as possible,” Gard said. “We’re still trying to find different combinations, whether it’s the two bigs together or the smaller lineup … We have a lot of guys that can hurt you in a lot of different ways. For the most part, you’re putting five guys out there that can shoot the three. It puts the defense in a little bit of a precarious situation.”

* After holding Louisville to 48 points on 36.2 percent shooting, the Badgers lead the conference in scoring defense (58.1 ppg) and are third in field goal percentage defense (36.6).

* The Badgers have fortified their bench with senior Trevor Anderson, sophomore Tyler Wahl and freshman Jonathan Davis to help UW’s rotation consistently go eight deep. Davis is averaging 8.2 points and 4.8 rebounds; Wahl has been Wisconsin’s energy guy and Anderson can split point guard duties with both Davison and Trice. Of the team’s 26 bench points scored against Louisville, Anderson had 11 points (3-for-3 FGs) to go along with three assists and no turnovers.

“Depth is a big thing, especially in our league,” Potter said. “I don’t care what anyone else, the Big Ten is the best league in college basketball. It’s the most physical league. Fouls can happen. It’s a battle, so guys can get tired. Having guys that can come off the bench like Johnny (Davis), (Tyler Wahl) and Trev (Anderson) that can create energy for our team so where we don’t dip, we actually can sometimes increase in our energy and our ability, it’s huge for us.”

If the opening week of Big Ten play is any indication, the 20-game schedule is going to be unpredictable. All 14 teams are over .500, seven teams are currently ranked in the AP Top 25 and unranked Northwestern spent Sunday beating No.4 Michigan State by 14 points.

With a roster comprised largely of the same players who won their final eight games to win a share of last season’s conference title, the Badgers are keenly aware of the riggers ahead.

“We’ve made improvements each game,” Potter said. “We’ve seen it on film how to do things differently. Scouting reports will require different looks, but the biggest thing is we are improving. With the veteran group that we have, I think it’s a good mindset to get better every single.”