Wisconsin's first appearance on TV did not disappoint. The Badgers took on Fairfield on the Big Ten Network, and it was never close at any point. The Badgers got off to a 22-0 start to the game and never looked back. Greg Gard was able to basically get everybody minutes and start to see how rotations fit together, because there was never a danger of losing the game.
1. Wisconsin finally looked like a complete team EXCEPT...
The biggest frustration for Wisconsin basketball this season is that their defense seems to be far ahead of their offense. The flow of this team just wasn't working and basically forced Owen Foxwell to take over. However, in this game, there was rhythm, and the team started clicking early.
You don't get to 22-0 without both the offense and defense working in sync. That's going to make Greg Gard very happy. He will have stuff to complain about later in the game, but that beginning was important for Wisconsin.
Two major gripes: the Badgers had 16 turnovers and allowed 23 offensive rebounds. Not good, and that's the next thing to clean up.
2. Nolan Winter continues to struggle
What's going on with Nolan Winter? He looks broken. We've been hanging our hat on the fact that he wasn't able to play this offseason and prepare for this season due to recovery from surgery, but wouldn't the rust have been shaken off by now? Against a team like Fairfield, that's the time to get Winter going, but it didn't happen.
Winter played 17 minutes, scored two points on 1-for-4 from the field, grabbed five rebounds, and recorded a block. He also had one turnover. This wouldn't be a terrible stat line if it weren't for the fact that everybody is expecting him to be the star of this team.
3. Jackson Ball may be the most trusted guard on the bench
Ball got 19 minutes from Greg Gard, and he took advantage. He was doing what Jack Janicki always gets rewarded for...playing with hustle. Ball was all over the place and was flying around the court. Similar to Janicki, he didn't really fill up the stat sheet, but he was rewarded with the most minutes of any guard off the bench.
Kinziger had 16 minutes, Janicki had 15, Trey Autry had 10, and Hayden Jones only had five. That last one feels a bit curious, as it felt like Jones was getting more and more trusted throughout the season last year, but this year, he seems a bit more buried.
These minutes may not mean anything since the score was out of hand, but it does seem like Gard wanted to get Ball going and wanted to see how he would perform tonight.
4. Austin Rapp and Victory Onuetu give Greg Gard two different looks
Austin Rapp and Victory Onuetu are basically polar opposites of what a forward looks like in the college basketball game. Onuetu got the start again, and he was excellent on defense; they couldn't get past him, and he was limiting anybody down low. His stat line is incredible to look at. Onuetu scored zero points, eight rebounds, one assist, and one block.
Flip over to Rapp, who scored 15 points, including 3-for-7 from behind the arc. He also added six rebounds to his total. He wasn't as solid on defense, but he's a really dangerous scoring threat for the Badgers.
So, Greg Gard may use these two in completely different ways depending on what he needs from his team and the looks the opponents show the Badgers.
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