Badgers 85, Owls 31: Three’s A Crowd

Wisconsin’s basketball team wins a lot of games, but it doesn’t win many games by 20 points. It rarely wins by 30 or more, and 40 is almost unheard of. But when you make 15 three-point baskets and hold your opponent to only 10 made field goals, it’s probably tougher to not win by 50.

The Badgers kicked off their regular season with a blazing blowout victory over the Kennesaw State Owls, hitting 60% of its long-balls and shooting 59% overall. The defense was stout as well, giving up only 8 points in the first half and the fewest total points by an opponent since 1996. It was a clinical performance in every facet of the game: Wisconsin recorded assists on 23 of its 30 baskets and allowed only 2 offensive rebounds. Ten different Badgers scored in this game, including five in double figures. It was an idealized showing for the “balanced” offense that so often typifies Wisconsin’s style. Yet nothing sums up the performance better than the offensive ratings for each team: Wisconsin 154.1, Kennesaw State 56.2.

Some individual performances that stood out:

Ben Brust: 14 pts, 5-11 FG (4-8 3PT), 2 stl — It’s questionable whether the Badgers are well served by anybody attempting eight three-pointers in a game, but if Brust is going to hit half of his shots from deep, he can hoist as many as he wants.

Mike Bruesewitz: 7 pts, 10 reb (2 oreb), 4 ast — Bruesewitz was the jack-of-all-trade-garbage-man that every Badger basketball fan loves to cheer for today. He was a subtle master of efficiency, recording all his points from behind the three-point arc or at the free-throw line, and had an excellent 39.8 defensive rebound rate.

Jordan Taylor: 11 pts, 4 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl — Got his assist/turnover ratio off to a good start. Almost too good.