It’s on to the regular season for the Wisconsin Badgers, as they wrapped up exhibition games against the Oklahoma Sooners and UW-Platteville Pioneers over the last week.
In the first game, the Badgers had
a thriller finish, falling just short in an 84-83 loss. John Blackwell led the way with 20 points, while Nick Boyd and Austin Rapp had 19 and 17, respectively.
Against UW-Platteville though, Wisconsin had a much different game, struggling with turnovers. Nonetheless, Nolan Winter had an efficient 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Badgers to lead the way in a 69-53 win.
The Badgers have one of their more talented starting fives in recent memory, with every starter having the ability to score at multiple levels. That has led to some balanced approaches offensively.
But, who will lead the charge for Wisconsin?
In our Reacts poll last week, 65 percent of fans still believed that it would be John Blackwell, who is expected to assume the lead role at Wisconsin this season.
And it makes sense why. Blackwell should generate significant usage on a nightly basis and is constantly looking to attack, be it for a shot or to set up a teammate. He had 20 points against Oklahoma before an inefficient night against Platteville, where he struggled at the rim on a couple of layup attempts.
Nick Boyd was second with 26 percent of the vote. He’ll also have the ball in his hands a good amount and will be tasked with setting up the tempo of the offense, both in the halfcourt and in transition.
But, Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp both showed on Wednesday that they can carry the load as well offensively when the matchup calls for it. So, the Badgers should have a balanced group, but Blackwell seems like the leader as a scorer.
