The Wisconsin Badgers had a huge 89-42 blowout win over the Fairfield Stags, getting by with a huge run early and never letting up en route to a 47-point win.
Wisconsin had been looking for that complete performance after two up-and-down games to start the year, and they got that in the Fairfield win, playing well on both sides of the court.
After the game, head coach Greg Gard spoke with the media, breaking down what he saw from his team in the win.
On the 22-0 run and what stood out during that stretch…
I thought we really set the tone defensively early. Our ball pressure was good, and we did a good job playing off one another when we had to switch or exchange responsibilities.
That defense allowed us to get out in transition. With Owen [Foxwell]’s passing ability and our bigs putting pressure on the rim, we were able to generate offense off stops. We forced a lot of misses, protected the rim well, and guarded the three-point line at a high level, especially early in the game.
Everything really started on the defensive end and then carried over into transition opportunities.
On the development of the younger players and the value of extended minutes…
Anytime you can get game experience, it’s beneficial. We wanted to get a lot of those younger guys some meaningful minutes, and I thought they made the most of the opportunity.
Will [Garlock] got back into the rotation a little sooner because of Victory [Onuetu]’s foul trouble, and I thought he gave us a really good defensive presence. He was in the right positions on ball screens, clogged things up in the paint, and played with good discipline.
[Jack] Janicki came in and did what he does well, and I thought [Zach] Kinziger settled in as the game went along.
Jackson [Ball] is going to have some growing pains. Sometimes he goes places with the ball where he shouldn’t, or tries passes he shouldn’t attempt. But the overall result is usually positive because he’s a really good player who makes things happen.
He had some impressive reads tonight, including a ball-screen play in the second half where he found a teammate right in front of our bench. His ability to see beyond the first layer of the defense and deliver accurate passes is a skill that really stands out. It was good to get all of those guys some experience.
On the value of a dominant win compared to games that include adversity…
I think our players learned that we still expect a certain standard regardless of the score. At the start of the second half, I wasn’t happy with how we were playing.
We talked about not playing to the scoreboard, which is difficult because it’s human nature. But our focus has to be on maintaining habits and playing to a standard no matter what the score says.
That’s why I started sending guys to the scorer’s table early in the second half. I wanted to get us back on track, and I thought the bench group helped do that.
Some of the players probably saw a side of me during a couple timeouts that they hadn’t seen yet, and that was good. We don’t coach to the scoreboard. We try to play the game the right way, as hard as we can and as well as we can, and let the results take care of themselves.
I even got one of the younger guys with an old coaching trick at halftime. I asked what the score was, and he answered “52-20.” The correct answer is always “0-0.” The older guys should have warned him. Somehow that trick still works every year.
On Owen Foxwell’s vision and how it helps the transition offense…
His vision and ability to deliver the ball are special. He has tremendous feel for the game, and you can see the value of his experience.
He’s actually frustrated with himself whenever he makes the wrong read because he sees so much on the floor.
We’ve told our bigs to always be ready because the ball is coming. He’s willing and able to thread passes through tight windows, and he did a really good job of that tonight.
It’s a different transition style than we had last year with Nick Boyd. Last year, a lot of the transition game came from one player pushing the pace himself. This year, the ball advances through the air and through passing more frequently, and that’s a direct result of Owen’s skill set.
On Austin Rapp’s performance and getting him going offensively…
The scoring was nice, but what stood out more to me were some of the defensive improvements.
I saw him do a better job cutting off the baseline, and he specifically wanted the assignment of guarding Declan [Wucherpfennig]. That says something about where his mindset is.
He competed well defensively, guarded without fouling for the most part, and accepted that challenge. Those things were just as important to me as the 15 points he scored.
On Victory Onuetu’s foul trouble and balancing aggression with discipline…
A lot of it comes from jumping at too many things. I don’t want to completely take that away from him because his shot-blocking ability gives us something we haven’t had.
That defensive dimension is extremely valuable. There’s going to be some give and take because of the impact he can have protecting the rim.
The second foul in transition is a good example. I actually thought he executed the jump-stop and wall-up correctly, but he brought his hands down afterward. If he stays straight up, it’s a legal play. The first foul came on a rebound situation, which can sometimes be a bang-bang play.
The emotional fouls are the ones we need to continue eliminating. Sometimes he gets frustrated with physical play or reacts emotionally, and those are situations we need to clean up.
At seven feet tall, he doesn’t have to leave the floor all the time. If he simply walls up, he’s difficult to score over. But the threat of that shot-blocking presence behind the defense is incredibly valuable. We’ve played against big-time shot blockers over the years, and they can erase mistakes on the back end of a defense. Victory gives us some of that same ability.
