The Wisconsin Badgers had a nice 88-61 win over the Central Michigan Chippewas on Monday, getting back in the win column after back-to-back losses over the last two weeks.
It was a good day offensively,
as Wisconsin shot 53.7 percent from the field, hit 13 three-pointers, and had a whopping 25 assists on 29 made baskets.
Defensively, the Badgers still have some room to grow, but it was a big day for Wisconsin’s younger players and bench, which responded from a couple of poor showings with 44 bench points on Monday.
Austin Rapp had one of his best days as a Badger with 18 points, tying Wisconsin’s game-high. Braeden Carrington returned from injury to score nine points, hitting three of his six three-point attempts. Zach Kinziger made a surprise season debut and had six points off the bench. Jack Janicki had a career-high nine assists. And all five main bench players were at least a +14 in the box score.
After the game, head coach Greg Gard praised the bench effort, noting improvements from several players.
“Obviously for us, I thought a lot of good things, things we have been talking about, specifically taking care of the ball better and to play the second half only have two turnovers,” Gard said. “Then 25 assists with 29 baskets is a sign that, when we move the ball, we’re hard to guard, as probably anybody in the country is, and when we don’t, we become much easier.
“So I thought there was a lot of good things. Obviously, Janicki’s nine assists. Thought he got back to playing how he can play, and we need him to play, and the energy he can bring from his role. I thought obviously Rapp got some good looks and was aggressive and when he has seven rebounds, that tells me, as I told him the other day against Villanova, he has only two shots and no rebounds. That’s a non-aggressive mindset. So we need him to continue to be and grow in that more of an aggressive mindset. And obviously, good to get Braeden back on the floor. And I thought [Zach] Kinziger, I wanted to play him. And I decided that over the last couple of weeks that he had put himself in a position [to keep getting] better. Really, since we’ve come back from San Diego, I think he’s really got his feet underneath him and just keeps getting better and better, and gives us another dimension in the backcourt.”
In praising the bench, Gard made an interesting comment: this group has to win by committee.
“So, this group needs to continue to do it by committee. And it was good to see a lot of guys step up.”
Heading into the season, the Badgers seemed to have one of their better rosters under Gard, picking up a number of pieces in the transfer portal. They seemed to have a quality top five that fit the team with stars that could carry the load.
However, the group has struggled to play with each other on both ends, while the bench has been below standards so far. This was a game where we finally saw that group come together.
Wisconsin has its go-to guys. But, they need to have bench production as they did last year, which is what Gard is alluding to with the by-committee approach.
