Wisconsin basketball was impressive down the stretch to close the game. They went on an insane 29-2 run to finish the game with a dominant box score, finishing 96-64. With seven minutes to go, it looked like Wisconsin might have some trouble with the Campbell Camels. It turned out not to be the case, and, like good teams do, they put inferior teams away, late. That doesn't mean there isn't a problem rearing its ugly head. The depth is an issue.
If you look at the box score from the game, it's hard not to see the problem with the Wisconsin Badgers. One that many knew could be a problem and hopefully won't be one for long, but it currently is. The Badgers scored 96 points, and the bench accounted for only 9 of them.
Wisconsin basketball will need more from its bench in future games
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Simple math tells you that the starting five scored 87 points collectively. Awesome for those guys, but ultimately, a bench that can't score is going to cause headaches for Greg Gard. This isn't because of a lack of minutes. The bench had 56 total minutes, with the bulk going to Jack Janicki at 17, Braeden Carrington with 11, and Will Garlock with 10. Those three had seven combined points.
That's going to be a problem that Gard needs to address and figure out quickly. The hardest part for Gard in this department is that his best depth pieces are defensive specialists naturally: Carrington and Janicki. The other important pieces are true freshmen.
That's the bad news, but it's also the fantastic news. The depth isn't necessarily bad; they are just inexperienced and young. The sky truly is the limit for the bench. Carrington is a senior, but the next three minutes get off the depth of the roster in the game against Campbell are Janicki, who's a true sophomore; Garlock; Aleksas Bieliauskas; and Hayden Jones, who are all true freshmen.
The depth will get better but it currently is a problem.