MADISON, WI – 1/6/2022 

By: Mitchell Speltz 

The eyes of many college basketball fans tuned in Thursday night to watch the Wisconsin Badgers (12-2) host the Iowa Hawkeyes (11-4) in a rivalry showdown, but much of the attention was on the individual battle between Johnny Davis and Iowa’s Keegan Murray, the nation’s leading scorer. Fans got what they bargained for as they finished with 26 and 27 points respectively, but it was Johnny’s team that got the win in a complete, near-wire-to-wire performance, 87-78. All five of Wisconsin starters scored in double-figures with Davis leading the way, Brad Davison scoring 18, and Tyler Wahl producing 16. Following the Badgers’ most significant win of the season, some wondered whether Thursday night would be a letdown against a Hawkeye team looking for a résumé-boosting win, but it was anything but. Wisconsin controlled the game in nearly all facets from the jump as the Badgers now look for their third win in seven days on Sunday against Maryland, but first, the recap of Thursday’s win: 

TAKEAWAYS: 

• With back-to-back impressive wins in conference play, one thing has really stuck out in addition to Johnny Davis being spectacular – and that’s points in the paint. Wisconsin has scored 68 points in the painted area over the last two games including 40 in the victory over Iowa. This offense has changed and Greg Gard has adapted his offense to be more down-hill and fast-paced based on the personnel he has. This is important because it’s unlocking some of his players to their fullest potential such as Davis and freshman Chucky Hepburn who’s been a maestro orchestrating this offense. It’s also allowed them to not be reliant on threes like previous Wisconsin teams. The Badgers are barely shooting 30% as a group from downtown and struggles were expected in that department. But the fact they can score in so many ways inside makes it a deficiency they can overcome. 

• The Badgers haven’t been a strong team statistically rebounding the basketball, but it was an area they dominated against Iowa. Five different Badgers had at least four rebounds with Johnny Davis and Tyler Wahl tying for the team lead with 9 boards. But I specifically want to focus on offensive rebounding. This team is averaging nearly 11 offensive boards per game… 11! For perspective, the Badgers under Greg Gard have averaged around 8 offensive rebounds a contest. Typical Wisconsin teams have never been around their current mark because they’ve put an emphasis on stopping opposing transition by dropping players back after shot attempts. This team is going for second chance oppurtunities frequently and it’s paying off. They corralled 15 misses on Thursday and registered that into 18 points, an effective ratio. Chris Vogt has been a key help to this as he has great instincts and timing when he’s around the basket and those extended possessions can wear on opposing defenses throughout a game such as Iowa on Thursday night.  

• The connectedness of this group is something I did not expect to materialize quickly and it appears it’s caught Greg Gard by surprise too. The Badgers’ Head Coach mentioned after the game it’s hard to ever get mad at this group because they never have a bad day – not something you expect from a team with 12 underclassmen. It almost sounded like he was about to get emotional talking about them and really showed his love for coaching this team. He’s credited most of that due to their consistent competitiveness at practice and games and it’s led to chemistry I haven’t seen before in my years of covering this program. There’s something special going on here and it’s really started to come to light this week. 

AT THE PODIUM: 

• “It’s pretty cool to be ranked up there with him and all those talented scorers but I don’t care about that right now. He’s averaging more than me, but they lost” – Johnny Davis on competing against Keegan Murray 

• “We got a lot of guys who bring different things to the table and whosever night it is, they look to produce as much as we can. This team is pretty dangerous and we’ve got a lot of good things coming” – Tyler Wahl on everyone playing a role 

• “We have a lot of weapons, we have one of the best players in the country, Chucky (Hepburn) does a nice job at finding guys, we have rim runners, and guys who can shoot in transition. It’s important to take advantage of the opportunities, especially if it means we don’t have to work as hard on the offensive end and get those transition buckets when we can” – Brad Davison on scoring in transition 

• “This is a very competitive group. When you have that everyday mentality, it shows up because every practice is competitive. It’s nothing magical, you just have to have the right people. I can’t even get mad at them. They just give me everything they’ve got, dang near every day. They haven’t had a bad day” – Greg Gard about not having a letdown after upsetting Purdue 

-MADISON, WI – 12/15/2021 

By: Mitchell Speltz 

For the second time this season, the Wisconsin Badgers (9-2) were down their top scorer, Johnny Davis who was ruled out nearly an hour before the game with a non-covid illness after participating in shoot-around earlier in the day. Without him, earning a win against Nicholls State (7-4), the favorites from the Southland Conference proved to be anything but easy. The Badgers found themselves down 37-28 at halftime after a very uncharacteristic half on both ends of the floor. It was a script that played out very similarly for Wisconsin as it did in their record 22-point comeback against Indiana, except they didn’t have their best player to lead them back. It took an improved defensive effort and another spark off the bench from Chris Vogt as Wisconsin rallied to top the Colonels, 71-68. I wouldn’t take this game completely at face value if I’m a Badger fan, but here were my takeaways from Wednesday night:  

TAKEAWAYS:  

• I’m starting to grow some level of concern about the play of Steven Crowl. What looked like an opportunity for a get-right game, Crowl struggled again and produced just 5 points and 4 rebounds in only 14 minutes. Chris Vogt was given the majority of the playing time at the five and rightfully so as he played a key role off the bench in the second half. Crowl was taken out at around the 17:00 minute mark of the second half and did not see the floor again until the final seconds of the game after Brad Davison fouled out. With competition starting to gradually get stronger, Crowl hasn’t responded the way I thought he would and it’s not going to get any easier from here. Am I giving up on Steven Crowl? Absolutely not. But he’s going to have to adapt his game and play a lot stronger with Big Ten play on the horizon. I do not believe Greg Gard wants to make a change in the starting lineup and switch Vogt and Crowl, but it is something to watch. 

• With Johnny Davis out of the lineup, this was an opportunity for this team to develop and become a deeper team. Despite the performance against Nicholls State not being pretty, some players grew up in this game, especially Jahcobi Neath. Neath has been a really tough player to judge at this juncture of the season because he’s missed time with a lower leg injury and an illness. He was given the opportunity to start in place of Johnny and I thought he played well. The transfer from Wake Forrest finished with 9 points and a quiet 7 rebounds. The Junior isn’t a guy who’s going to stuff the stat sheet with points, but he’s physical, athletic, and can create high-energy plays with his rebounding ability. Greg Gard praised Neath for some of his key offensive rebounds and gritty plays that led to points. He’s been a bit of a forgotten player, but Neath is going to be a key cog for the Wisconsin backcourt. 

• The Badgers rallied from 10 points or more down to win for the fourth time this season with their come-from-behind win against the Colonels. Give Nicholls State credit for the way they competed, but Wisconsin probably shouldn’t have been in this spot even without Johnny Davis. The point here is, don’t count this team out. Gard has loved the grit of his team all season long and how they’ve learned to battle against adversity, something you don’t often see from young teams. 

AT THE PODIUM: 

“I felt we were just kind of dead in the water. We didn’t have a lot of energy in the first half and I was just looking to provide a spark anyway I could” – Chris Vogt on helping the team rally in the second half 

“The best-coached teams are the player-coached teams. We were mostly on the same page with Coach Gard at halftime and we were able to come out and play a much better second half” – Tyler Wahl on the halftime adjustments   

“We were confident the whole second half that if we did things the right way we’d come back and win. You obviously don’t want to be in that spot at the end but this is a game that can help us adjust and get ready for conference play” – Brad Davison on closing them out at the end 

“We benefited from this in a weird way. We’ve been trying to develop depth and those opportunities have been presented to us with guys not being healthy. Guys have been stepping and they’ve had extra practice time to prepare for these moments” – Greg Gard on players stepping up  

By Mitchell Speltz – 12/8/2021

-MADISON, WI 

The young, Wisconsin Badgers (8-1) entered conference play with significant momentum after multiple signature wins in the first month of the college basketball season. But on Wednesday night, Big Ten play started about as poorly as it possibly could. The Badgers found themselves down 22 points in the first-half to the Indiana Hoosiers (7-2) with nothing going right on offense or defense. In the second half, a completely different Wisconsin team came out of the locker room, a team Badger fans have been accustomed to seeing. Led by a 23-point effort by rising star Johnny Davis, and unlikely contributors such as Chris Vogt, Ben Carlson, and Jordan Davis, Wisconsin tied a program record with a 22-point comeback ignited by their defense to win their conference opener, 64-59. The team’s defense shined again by holding the Hoosiers to just 17 second-half points. In addition to the record-breaking comeback, it’s also the third time this year Wisconsin has rallied from 10+ points down to win (Texas A&M, St. Mary’s). The Badgers will look to make it a 2-0 start in the Big Ten on the road against No. 21 Ohio State on Saturday, but first, the takeaways from Wednesday’s victory: 

TAKEAWAYS: 

• Defense. Defense. Defense. Wisconsin was able to make their historic comeback thanks to an elite defensive effort in the second half. After surrendering 42 first-half points, the Badgers held the Hoosiers to just 17 points on 5/22 shooting with no three-pointers in the second. Their ability to shut out Indiana from the perimeter was key, but the team’s capability to defend All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis one-on-one in the post set the tone. Greg Gard admitted after the game the goal was to double him and put pressure on him in the first half but adjusted to more straight-up defense against him after halftime, which helped the guards on the perimeter close out better on shooters. One could argue every player for Wisconsin who’s touched the floor is a plus-defender and this team continues to show that every game. 

• Chris Vogt established himself in a major way on Wednesday night and was the ultimate difference-maker in Wisconsin’s impressive rally against Indiana. Vogt led the team with a +13 margin while he was on the floor and made several impacts. His defense against the Hoosiers’ interior players changed things defensively, but what he did on offense stood out most. He extended possessions with offensive rebounds and hustle plays and contributed 9 points off the bench, showing a nice touch around the basket. With Steven Crowl struggling and dealing with foul trouble, the transfer from Cincinnati provided the spark off the bench Wisconsin needed. He’s been relatively quiet up to this point in the season, but against Indiana he showed what he can do and it will be needed against some of the elite big-men of the Big Ten due up on the schedule. 

• The influence Tyler Wahl had in this game cannot go unnoticed. Wahl grabbed a season-high 12 boards for the Badgers and his defense was most noticeable at the end of the game when he came up with a key block at the basket with Indiana looking to regain the lead in the final minute. He came up with just 7 points on Wednesday, but the Junior has carved out a role for himself as perhaps the best back-to-the-basket player for Wisconsin. Wahl has consistently shown the ability to back down his defender and score underneath the hoop. He’s a strong finisher around the rim and he’s made an impactful jump this season after being a stellar, glue guy his first two years in the program.
  
   
• Wisconsin turned the ball over just four times in this game. You read that right, just four turnovers. This Badger squad is playing like a vintage Wisconsin team by taking care of the ball, playing great defense, and executing all the important fundamentals. They lowered their turnover mark/game to 8.6, which is Top-10 nationally. Maximizing possessions and not turning the ball over is an aspect I did not expect this team to be thriving at this early in the season. 

AT THE PODIUM: 

• “Next man up. Jordan Davis was huge. We’ve said our numbers this year are really good for us. Everyone stepped up tonight” – Brad Davison on the impact of the bench 

• “It was awesome, when it comes to March and you’re competing for a Big Ten Championship, this is a game you look back to. These are the games that help you contend for championships” – Davison on the significance of the win 

• It’s easier to play when you’re down because you can play more aggressively. But we came back tonight because of our defense, we held them to 17 second-half points” – Johnny Davis on how the team was able to rally  
  
   
• Flashback to when Brad hit that three against Maryland. But when I hit that I knew we were going to win because our defense was going to lock it down from there” – Davis on hitting the go-ahead three-pointer 
  
   
• “One led to the other. They forced us into some bad shots and it led to easy ones for them on the other end. We were much better inside-out in the second half, which allowed us to set our defense better” – Greg Gard on what changed after halftime 

By Mitchell Speltz – 11/16/2021

-MADISON, WI 

The Wisconsin Badgers (2-1) encountered their first real test of the season on Monday night in the Gavitt Tipoff Games against the Providence Friars (3-0) from the Big East. The night didn’t start well even before the game began as leading scorer Johnny Davis (Bruised Heal) was ruled out along with backup point guard Jahcobi Neath (Lower Body). It was a tough stretch of 1/12 shooting to finish the first half that put the Badgers down 34-23 heading into the break, and it would be a hole they couldn’t dig out of. The Badgers shot just 32% for the game and a more dreadful 5/27 (18%) from the three-point line. Brad Davison led the team with 25 points and Tyler Wahl had a career-best 16 but the rest of the team produced just 17 points on 6/32 shooting. Greg Gard’s team will get a week off to get healthy and reset before they head to Las Vegas for the Maui Invitational. 

TAKEAWAYS: 

• If there was one known weakness coming into the season, it would be Wisconsin’s potential to struggle shooting three-pointers and that came true on Monday against Providence. Brad Davison had three of the five made triples for the Badgers, otherwise the rest of the team was 2/16. Am I hitting the panic button for their offensive performance? No. This is a young team, most of which had yet to see any action against a meaningful opponent and now we’ll see how they respond to adversity going forward. In addition, the early foul trouble of Steven Crowl and Chris Vogt in the first half made offense harder to come by and it very much affected the team defensively as well, especially against Providence big-man Nate Watson who finished with 24 points for the Friars.  

• As bad of a night as it was offensively, Wisconsin hung around in the game thanks to another strong defensive effort. The Badgers held Providence to 63 points, and most of the time, that’s an amount that will give you an opportunity to win. The team forced 15 turnovers and showed various moments where they frustrated Providence on offense. Brad Davison told Tyler Wahl after the game this is the best defensive team he’s been a part of and that means something coming from a player who is now in his fifth year in the program. The offense will see better days ahead, but for now, this team is going to rely much on its defense while they go through growing pains. 

• This is a loss that probably isn’t going to sit well with several Badger fans, and you hope it isn’t a sign of things to come, at least offensively. But this game should serve as an early reminder that this is a young team that is going to go through frustrating times. Wisconsin’s average age for their normal five starters this season is 19.8 compared to 22.6 last season, which is a major adjustment for Greg Gard. They’re also tied with Nebraska with the most underclassmen in the Big Ten with 12. There is still much to figure out about this team, but for the time being, temper expectations. 

AT THE PODIUM:

• “Without Johnny (Davis), Jahcobi (Neath), and having both our bigs in foul trouble is always going to make offense harder to come by. But I like the way we still competed and better days are ahead” – Brad Davison on playing shorthanded

• “Losses at this point of the season aren’t fatal. We don’t want to get content with this feeling but now we’ve got an important tournament coming up where we can show all the improvements we’ve made” – Davison on the message after the loss

• “We dug ourselves too big of a hole in the first half. I’ve always liked the competitiveness and energy of this group but now we’ve got a lot of things to clean up and improve” – Greg Gard on the loss