Wisconsin Basketball: Game grades for each Badger against Nebraska

The Wisconsin basketball team pulled away from the Cornhuskers of Nebraska in the second half of Wednesday’s contest in Pinnacle Bank Arena, winning 61-48. Despite going ice cold from the field and being down early, the Badgers managed to keep the Huskers winless in Big Ten play. Here’s how each Wisconsin basketball player performed.

D’Mitrik Trice: C+ 

9 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL

In what has been an up-and-down season for Meech, the Badger point guard once again struggled on the offensive end. Nothing pretty about a 3/14 shooting night. But there’s a reason coach Gard trusts him to play 37 minutes on the road. In an era where pick and roll is the single most common offensive action, few guards in the Big Ten are as adept at containing the ball handler at the point of attack than Trice.

Against Nebraska, Trice looked like a brick wall while holding his Cornhusker equivalent Trey McGowens to 2/8 shooting. Plus, we love a guard that gets rebounds and Meech nabbed eight of them, compensating for some shortcoming from the Wisconsin frontcourt.

Brad Davison: B-

9 PTS, 3 3PFG, 3 STL

With more performances like this one, Davison will surely get back to his old self. A steady hand off the ball and a fearless defender, Davison’s play lead the Badgers early.

He also hit on three of his six three-point attempts, marking the first time since Christmas against Michigan State that Davison shot at least 50% from downtown. The “minus” comes from his suspect weak side help defense.

Tyler Wahl: C-

3 PTS, 4 REB, 2 STL

I am a true believer in “C” being the true average. Wahl was an active presence defensively and made mainly smart decisions with the ball in his hand, he just couldn’t hit Lake Mendota from a boat.

Had the Wisconsin basketball team been playing Michigan or Iowa (as they will multiple times in the coming weeks), a one-for-eight shooting slump would be less excusable, but nonetheless, Wahl did his part in keeping the Huskers winless in conference play.

Aleem Ford: C+

9 PTS, 4 REB

Ford can be so infuriating to watch because his obvious potential never seems to be maximized. An electric three-pointer from the wing as time wound down in the first half set the tone for a dominant second 20 minutes.

But between the lines, Ford missed bunnies on the inside and continued to settle for jump shots. Getting rejected at the rim by two Huskers doesn’t do wonders for the highlight real either.

Nate Reuvers: B-

8 PTS, 5 REB, 1 BLK

Reuvers got the start over Micah Potter and seemed to secure his spot after his performance against Nebraska. A missed chip shot to start the second half seemed to take the air out of the ball for the Badgers, but he still finished with eight points in the flow of the offense.

More importantly, he demonstrated great defensive positioning in the pick-and-roll. Reuvers is as streaky as a shooting guard on offense but his defense travels.

Micah Potter: D

5 PTS, 2 REB, 1 BLK

Potter looked like a fish out of water in his first non-start appearance of the season. The Huskers figured out that if you double-team him on the block, his decision making becomes clouded. In this game, he was clearly flustered.

The porous defense is to be expected with Potter at the five and when he isn’t contributing offensively, justifying starter minutes becomes impossible.

Trevor Anderson: B-

8 PTS, 2 REB, 2 3PFG

After wetting a transition three as the trail man, color commentary Shon Morris snuck in that Trevor Anderson has been shooting an asinine 59% from three-point land this season. Granted, this is on one attempt per game but Anderson is trending in the right direction. After going two-for-three last night and providing a Cirque Du Soleil level layup, it’s clear that Anderson’s activity affects winning basketball.

Jonathan Davis: B

10 PTS, 3 REB, 2 STL, 1 BLK

Every Johnathan Davis minute is in is a breath of fresh air. His concise, two-dribble-attack rhythm is one of the most potent weapons in the Wisconsin basketball offense. He led all Badgers in scoring with 10 and consistently put pressure on the Nebraska defense on the inside. It wasn’t his 17-point burst against Penn State, but Davis was nonetheless potent offensively.

Steven Crowl: N/A
Joe Hedstrom: N/A
Carter Higginbottom: N/A
Carter Gilmore: N/A