The Wisconsin Badgers beat the Oklahoma State Cowboys 82-65 on Tuesday evening in their final exhibition game ahead of the regular season, which begins on Monday evening.
In the win, Wisconsin had its fair share of ups and downs and faced some late danger, but still came out with a comfortable win after a strong start thanks to strong three-point shooting and quality defense.
For the second straight game, it was Owen Foxwell leading the way for Wisconsin, as he had 19 points, hitting all three of his
three-pointers, while dishing out another three assists.
Four other Badgers hit double figures, as Wisconsin went with the same starting group for the third straight game, with Victory Onuetu and Jack Janicki joining Foxwell, Eian Elmer, and Nolan Winter in the starting lineup.
Here are three takeaways from Wisconsin’s exhibition win over Oklahoma State on Tuesday.
Highs and lows of the offense
Tuesday showed the strengths and current issues of Wisconsin’s offense, which had stretches of strong efficiency and rough lulls.
Wisconsin started off the game on a 12-3 run over the first five minutes, which extended to 20-7 by the second media timeout. However, after a strong start to the half, the Badgers tapered off in the final minutes, as they didn’t score from the 5:57 mark to the 1:27 mark, much of which was with Owen Foxwell on the bench.
Foxwell has been the clear key to this offense the last two games, both as a scorer and importantly, as a facilitator who initiates the ball movement. Wisconsin still saw a lot of ball movement, assisting on 17 of their 24 field goals, but they had a few stretches where they struggled to score without Foxwell on the court.
In the second half, Wisconsin had two other stretches of nearly 2.5 minutes and nearly 3 minutes without points, allowing Oklahoma State to chip away at the lead.
Overall, we saw Wisconsin push up-tempo very well and move the ball well for threes. That led to them shooting 18 of 41 (43.9 percent) from deep, while assisting on 17 of their 24 field goals. Wisconsin also got to the free throw line 22 times. But we also saw how Wisconsin’s offense doesn’t always have that go-to guy currently, especially if Foxwell isn’t on the court, leading to some cold spells.
The Badgers also had a few too many stretches of sloppy basketball, recording 15 turnovers, although Oklahoma State was even worse with 22 turnovers.
Wisconsin’s scheme and coaching will help configure another efficient offense, and this group has shown promise. There are just a few things to iron out.
Points in the paint
For the efficiency Wisconsin had from deep with 18 threes, it was interesting to see them have just 12 points in the paint on Tuesday.
Victory Onuetu had just three points, while Nolan Winter had 10, although all of his field goals came from behind the arc. Austin Rapp also had 10, but two of his three makes also came from three. Wisconsin didn’t have Will Garlock on this one, so the big rotation was condensed, but they didn’t get much at the rim overall.
Of Wisconsin’s 59 field goals, they shot 41 threes, playing to what was working. The 15 turnovers hurt too, taking away valuable possessions, and Wisconsin also got 12 offensive rebounds.
On top of the points in the paint, I wanted to note the big rotation and, specifically, Victory Onuetu’s fouling. The Badgers like the big man’s defense, and he’ll be a key part of the rotation, but he got into foul trouble with a lower minute count again on Tuesday.
In just 13 minutes, Onuetu had four fouls. That can’t continue in the regular season, even with Wisconsin’s depth, and will be something the Badgers will have to monitor from a minutes perspective.
Defensive tenacity
I thought it was a strong day for the defense overall, which was a good sign as the offense went through ups and downs. Both teams played with pace, so it was impressive Wisconsin held Oklahoma State to 65 points.
Even when the Cowboys were hitting, it was tough midrange jumpers that Wisconsin doesn’t mind giving up. The Cowboys hit only 40 percent of their shots and under 21 percent of their threes. They also forced 22 turnovers and gave up five just fastbreak points.
Wisconsin also cleaned up the glass in the second half after allowing eight offensive rebounds in the first half.
I thought the Badgers looked fresh with their rotation and played with good tenacity on defensive overall, which can take some learning with such a new team.
