For those that don’t know, I write about Wisconsin basketball regularly. We’re a Wisconsin sports blog so it would make no sense to not include the Badgers basketball team. That said, I’m not a fan of them. Never will be. But still, I watch and give my takes as unbiased as I can possibly be. Truth be told, the Marquette-Wisconsin game is always a tough one for me to do that. It is why I never made it as an actual journalist. Regardless, let’s talk about what went wrong for Wisconsin in this one along with the players that stood out.

What Went Wrong for Wisconsin?
1. The offense was out of sorts all game: You could tell playing three cupcakes in a row did not do Wisconsin many favors. While I get it’s COVID, they did not get an Oklahoma State game like Marquette did to sort of work out the kinks against a better opponent. They made some uncharismatic errors such as D’Mitrik Trice trying for a charge at the end of the game or the 10 turnovers which is a lot for Wisconsin. These things will likely be cleaned up in the coming weeks.

2. The three-pointers did not fall: It seems whenever Wisconsin struggles it has to do with their three-point shooting not being there. Wisconsin shot 24 three-pointers compared to 32 two-pointers. For a team without a three-point assassin, that feels like too many. They should have been attacking the rim more often in order to get the likes of Theo John, Justin Lewis, and Dawson Garcia all in foul trouble.

What Went Right for Wisconsin
1. They have a deeper team than maybe realized: Johnny Davis and Tyler Wahl gave Wisconsin a lot of good minutes out there. Davis should be a starter on this team. Brad Davison is the heartbeat of this Badgers’ team, but he belongs on the bench. Davis is the superior player and should be getting more minutes. Wahl is good too. I guess I didn’t realize he is only a sophomore. There is something there with him which adds to Wisconsin’s roster.

Player of the Game: Johnny Davis – In the first rivalry game for the La Crosse native, he had 12D points and six rebounds. As I said above, he belongs in the starting rotation.

Honorable Mention: D’Mitirk Trice – I know he had the bonehead play late, but without Trice’s offense, Wisconsin isn’t in this game late. He scored 17 points, hit the go-ahead shot late, and also added six rebounds and two assists. Trice had a good game with a bad error late.

Next up: It is supposed to be a showdown with Louisville, but who knows. Louisville had to cancel their game Saturday due to COVID concerns. Wake Forest is out there if the ACC/Big Ten wants to keep these games. But also potentially available is Michigan. NC State came down with a positive case too which means Wisconsin-Michigan could get together and play next week. Badgers and Wolverines are already scheduled to play twice this season, so, unsure if that might affect that opportunity. We’ll see what happens here.

Charlie.