The Wisconsin Badgers beat the Delaware Blue Hens 73-64 on Friday to improve to 2-0, just days after beating the Denver Pioneers 75-68 in their season opener on Monday.
Now, Monday’s game was more of a struggle for the Badgers, with things getting within single digits in the final minutes. This game wasn’t as close as the score implied at the end, with Wisconsin holding a comfortable double-digit lead for most of the last seven minutes.
But the Badgers look like a major work in progress through two
games, as they sort things out with their new-look roster.
Here are three quick takeaways from Wisconsin’s 73-64 win over Delaware on Friday evening.
Offense too stagnant early
The Badgers got off to this one shooting a ton of threes, with Braeden Carrington, Nolan Winter, and Eian Elmer all connecting from deep.
But as the first half went along and Delaware kept things close, the Badgers became far too stagnant on offense. While the ball was moving around, Wisconsin did not attack the basket until late in the shot clock, instead passing around the perimeter looking for threes. It was far too passive an outlook, while Delaware was looking to be aggressive and take the game to Wisconsin on the other end.
Owen Foxwell was the only one initiating by attacking, and those actions alone set up a couple of open shots and looks at the rim. Foxwell had four assists, but could not get his rhythm as a scorer, going 1 for 5 from the field, while splitting his lone pair of free throws.
In the second half, we saw Foxwell attack more and end up with 13 points in the half alone, working well from the free-throw line. But as a team, that has to be more consistently happening to set up the threes, not the other way around.
This could also be partly because of a new group of players settling in together. Guys are still figuring out their spots and with that has been some passive play to start the season.
Eian Elmer’s aggressiveness
Eian Elmer is going to be a big part of this team’s success this year. The Badgers are going to need him to step up and potentially take over as their top scorer, with Foxwell being their top facilitator.
He had 18 points on 13 shots in the opener, and I thought there were times he was too hesitant in this one after popping a few early threes. Elmer took a poor three later in the first half from too deep, and all of his field goal makes were from beyond the arc on Friday.
The Badgers need more initiators alongside Foxwell, and Elmer is the guy who’s going to have to step up from that group. He had 11 points in Friday’s win, shooting 3 of 8 from the field and 3 of 6 from deep, while adding four rebounds and two blocks.
Bench play
Wisconsin had Delaware lingering around with their feistiness for far too long in this one. When it came down to crunch time in the second half, two bench players were the spark: Jack Janicki and Jackson Ball.
Janicki made a ton of hustle plays, going for offensive rebounds, making key passes, and even knocking down some shots. He finished with seven points, three rebounds, and three assists, while playing 10 minutes in the second half. He was a +11 in the box score in the second half, tied for the best for anyone on the team.
Ball also provided some good minutes, as the coaching staff showed their faith in him. He played 12 second-half minutes, and while he missed all four of his shots, he had three rebounds and two assists.
The Badgers are still figuring out their bench minutes, and they were able to rest their starters a bit more in this one after they played heavier minutes in the opener. We saw Trey Autry, Jack Janicki, Austin Rapp, Hayden Jones, Zach Kinziger, Will Garlock, and Jackson Ball all play minutes off the bench in this one.
Right now, it feels like Jones and Autry are on the outside looking in of a deep guard rotation, but the bench is going to have to contribute this year. A couple of those guys were impact players on Friday.
