The Badgers pulled away in a high scoring affair to cap off their home stand.
In a thrilling, high-scoring affair, the Wisconsin Badgers put away the Ohio State Buckeyes 92-82 to cap off their three-game home stand with another win. Wisconsin remained undefeated in games in which they scored at least 80 points and improved to 16-6 on the season, including 8-3 in conference play.
It was a collective effort from the Badgers, as both of their top guards had productive games, while backup forward Austin Rapp had one of his best games as a Badger with 19 points on 7 of 10 shooting, including 5 of 7 from three.
Defensively, Wisconsin did enough against a high-octane Ohio State offense, holding them to 40.6 percent from the field
Here are three quick takeaways from the Badgers 92-82 win over the Buckeyes on Saturday.
Different first half
After one of their ugliest first halves of the season on Wednesday against Minnesota, Wisconsin knew that it needed a better start against a team that could get hot fast.
Well, the Badgers did start slow, scoring just two points over the first four and a half minutes, but they played good defense in that stretch and snapped out of it after that. After starting the game just 1 of 9 from the field, the Badgers proceeded to shoot 19 of 27 in the rest of the first half, scoring 49 points in the period.
They ended up shooting 57.1 percent in the half, while connecting on seven threes at a 46.7 percent rate to average 1.49 points per possession. And it wasn’t just from one source.
Nick Boyd shrugged off a slow start to hit his last four field goals and get to 10 points. John Blackwell was aggressive and efficient, scoring 11 points on 5 of 7 from the field. And Austin Rapp went on a tear, getting 19 first-half points thanks to five threes.
Overall, I thought this response was far better than the start they had against Minnesota. Wisconsin made a serious effort to be aggressive from the jump. While they weren’t hitting field goals, they got good looks at the rim and were looking to attack inside-out early on. That set up their offense, as they moved the ball really well, which created some wide-open looks from deep, and they got in a flow state.
Defensively, Wisconsin did give up a few threes. And I thought they allowed a little too much penetration into the paint, as well as a few too many offensive rebounds. But I thought they defended really well at the rim (Ohio State was just 9 of 23 from two in the first half), and their offense set the tone.
Rapp steps up
Wisconsin was going to need something from its bench, playing one man short with Andrew Rohde out due to a wrist injury.
Well, Austin Rapp had the game he’s been searching for over the past two months, hitting a barrage of threes and finding his confidence again. With Rapp, I thought there were two big issues that led to his sporadic play to start the year. First, his shot selection wasn’t great. Rapp was too three-heavy, and it felt like he’d fire away on too many possessions that Wisconsin could’ve easily found a better shot. And second, he struggled defensively, both on the ball and with physicality.
Wisconsin’s ball movement was key on Saturday because it led to a ton of open threes for Rapp. I thought the forward was moving well to get himself open, and not forcing shots. He also looked way more confident as the threes started to fall.
There’s still defensive improvement that’s needed. Rapp gambled a bit too much in the post defensively, which led to openings at the rim or for skip passes to an open player. He’s also still working on the on-the-ball defense. But the offensive spark was huge for the Badgers, and it was a big confidence-booster for the forward, who will certainly be needed down the stretch.
Offensive efficiency
This type of game is the offense that Wisconsin is capable. Sure, there were two mild scoreless stretches, but the Badgers want to find shots at the rim, move the ball well, hit threes, and get to the free throw line.
On Saturday, they ended up scoring 92 points on 51.6 percent from the field and 34.6 percent from three. That’s pretty efficient when including the 19 of 21 at the free-throw line. And it comes from multiple sources on a nightly basis.
Nick Boyd and John Blackwell are developing more consistency and learning to play with each other. That in itself has raised both the floor and ceiling for this team. Braeden Carrington has settled in as a key three-point shooter off the bench that can be a quality defender and play in small-ball lineups.
Then, in the frontcourt, Nolan Winter has been the epitome of consistency with his efficiency this year. If anything, he needs to be more aggressive in asking for the ball to create some more opportunities for himself on that side of the ball. But his footwork in the paint has significantly improved, which, with his size, has made him a very tough guard for opposing defenses.
If the Badgers can get something more than that (like Austin Rapp’s outburst), they’re closer to reaching their ceiling. But what Wisconsin needs on a nightly basis is for their top guards to be consistent and everything falls in place behind them.
They’re showing they’re a very capable three-point shooting team, finding more consistency there. And they’re getting more of a balance with the aggressiveness at the rim (which was on display on Saturday). A big part of the equation is the ball movement, which as mentioned was certainly on display in the win. It’s been Wisconsin’s key since the beginning of the season, and crucial to creating open shots both at the rim and from distance.
It was an overall good day offensively, and one that came against a quality opponent.
Category: General Sports
