Wisconsin has its worst start since 2019 after loss to Villanova

The Wisconsin Badgers suffered a 76-66 overtime loss to the Villanova Wildcats on Friday, dropping their second straight game as they fell to 7-4 in a gritty, close contest.

It was a slow-tempo game where the Badgers outshot Villanova from the field and from three, but still ended up losing by 10 because of turnovers and struggles on the glass. After a comeback effort in the second half, Wisconsin had some poor shot selection early in overtime and couldn’t recover, dropping yet another game to a good team.

With the loss, Wisconsin is still waiting for its first big win of the season. It is also Wisconsin’s worst start since the 2019-20 season.

Let’s break down how Friday’s loss went down for the Badgers.

First half struggles

It was not the best start for the Badgers, who had only 22 points in the first half as they fell behind early to an 18-8 deficit over the first nine minutes.

I was interested to see how the tempo of the game would go. Wisconsin has played at its first tempo ever under Greg Gard, but Villanova has been one of the slowest-paced teams this season, ranking 346th in tempo. That’s a staple under Kevin Willard, going back to his time at Maryland over the past few years.

Well, Villanova definitely won the tempo battle, fully slowing the game down, taking away possessions from the Badgers.

Wisconsin shot 40.9 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from deep. Yet, they only scored 22 points. Why?

Well, they didn’t shoot a single free throw in the half. They had eight turnovers, including three in a 90-second stretch as Villanova jumped out to an 18-8 lead. The Badgers had a very similar stretch late in the half, recording turnovers on three consecutive possessions. So, a lead that was 24-19 Villanova at the 5:30 mark of the first half went to 32-19 with 1:44 remaining in the half.

And Wisconsin was getting beaten on the offensive glass. The Badgers had just one offensive rebound in the period. Villanova had six and got eight second-chance points off those opportunities. The main thing you cannot do in a low-possession game is give up second chances. That killed Wisconsin in the first half.

The Badgers defense wasn’t great in the first half, specifically from three, where Villanova shot 8/19 in the opening frame, assisting on nine of their 13 field goals. All of those factors led to a 35-22 lead for the Wildcats at the break.

Second half turnaround

Fighting from behind, Wisconsin had a lot better of a second half.

They shot 59.1 percent from the field, primarily focusing on shots inside the arc (only 3/6 from deep). That led to a few more free throws (5/8 from the line), as Wisconsin averaged 1.3 points per possession in the half.

John Blackwell was the one who took off, going for 14 points on 5/7 from the field, while Nick Boyd and Nolan Winter each had nine. The Badgers still had some turnovers (6), but 20 of their 34 points came from the paint.

The big difference, though, came defensively. The Badgers were much better, limiting Villanova to 8/29 from the field and 1/10 from deep. Offensive rebounds were still an issue, as the Wildcats got eight, which resulted in eight second-chance points.

But, Wisconsin clawed back with multiple key stops and clutch shots down the stretch, tying things at 56 heading into overtime.

Poor shot selection at the end

Overtime started as poorly as Wisconsin could’ve asked for.

The Badgers gave up scores on each of Villanova’s first three possessions, which included two threes from Bryce Lindsay. They didn’t score once in that stretch, turning it over once and missing two shots. Just like that, it was 63-56 Villanova with 2:59 to go.

And that’s where I felt Wisconsin’s poise started to slip. Defensively, the Badgers had another bad possession, giving up an open dunk to Duke Brennan. John Blackwell took an ill-advised jumper after that, and Villanova made them pay with a layup from Matt Hodge.

Just like that, it was 67-57 Wildcats with 1:46 to go. And that was the ballgame. Wisconsin started firing away from three, hitting a few and fouling a ton to try and extend the game.

After Nolan Winter hit a three to cut it to seven and Wisconsin got a stop, it felt like the Badgers had a big opportunity to cut it to two possessions with 75 seconds left. But, Blackwell took a contested off-the-dribble three, which he hasn’t hit with great consistency this season.

The fouling started there, and Wisconsin could never cut it within six after that.

There’s a lot to go to the drawing board for after another loss, but this Badgers team just isn’t playing consistently enough for 40 minutes. And that’s been an issue from Game 1. For some reason, they haven’t been able to elevate in key moments.

The problem? Every game, there seems to be a different issue. Sometimes it’s three-point shooting. Sometimes it’s defense. Sometimes it’s free throws. Sometimes it’s turnovers. Usually, it’s an accumulation of multiple things.

So far, this Badgers team hasn’t shown the capability of beating good teams. That’s a problem, given the expectations for this team.