It was a tale of two halves as the Badgers got off to the worst start possible, losing by as much as 16 points early in the first half. At one point Wisconsin faced a 23-7 deficit. An ice cold start on offense coupled by defensive breakdowns made for a rough start to the Badgers' season.
After starting 1-10 from three, the Badgers settled in during the second half. Overall though, the team only shot 35% from beyond-the-arc in 31 attempts. This team will live and die by the three all season, but at times they seem to settle for the outside shots rather than creating better looks.
Transfer John Tonje absolutely took over this game and led all scorers with 23. It looks like the seasoned vet will be 'the guy' for this team with his aggressiveness and ability to score from anywhere. Fellow transfer Xavier Amos is in a clear backup role for now.
Defense is still a problem as the Badgers gave up 36 in the first half on over 50% shooting. Greg Gard admitted it was a work-in-progress, but hopefully that progress speeds up a bit more. If there's anything that holds this team back this year, it'll be the defense.
Wisconsin was a perfect 16-for-16 on free throws in this contest. And while they had a very average night shooting the ball from the field, hitting free throws will win games in November...and March.
Freshman Daniel Freitag didn't make an appearance until late when the game was well out of hand. He came into the year with a lot of hype, but even with an injured Camren Hunter, he still didn't see point guard minutes behind John Blackwell and Kamari McGee. It's clear he has some learning to do, but his future is bright.
Giving credit where credit is due, Gard made some good adjustments in the second half to finish with a big win. The first half of the game was just bad basketball, but the team did a nice to job to rally. Tonje, Blackwell, and McGee make really nice additions to the starting lineup.