Wisconsin Basketball: 3 takeaways from Wisconsin’s win over Northwestern

3. Close game experience is going to take them deep into March

Sitting at #8 in the country with a 15-2 record, you’d think the Badgers would have a point differential of higher than +111 through 17 games. That’s an average victory of 6.5 points per game. They aren’t exactly blowing teams outs. They have had some very close games this season. Of their 17 games played this season, 10 of them had a scoring margin of six points or less. Of those 10 games, the Badgers are 9-1, with their lone loss coming to Providence, 58-63 without Johnny Davis.

This team showed again last night how much grit they have. I would assume most teams would have closer to a .500 record in closer games, but the Badgers’ 9-1 mark shows that when things get tight and the pressure is on, they don’t flinch. They keep playing within themselves, work for a good shot, and play tight defense.

This is a huge advantage for the Wisconsin basketball team heading down the stretch. Oftentimes, teams that have great records are usually winning by a considerable margin. When they run into some adversity, they may struggle or panic and end up losing the game because they haven’t experienced it before.

But the Badgers have. They are so used to these games it probably doesn’t even bother them. Would they rather beat teams comfortably and avoid having close games all the time? Probably. But this can do nothing but help them, especially in March. When they play with some of the best teams in the country and a game is coming down to the wire, I’m taking experience all day long.