On a chilly day in Madison, the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team (6-1, 0-0 Big Ten) was scorching hot. Wisconsin dismantled the No. 23 Louisville Cardinals (4-1, 0-0 ACC) by a score of 85–48. The Badgers’ hot-handed shooting propelled the 37-point rout in a game that the Badgers led by as many as 42 points.
Wisconsin seemingly could not miss from beyond the arc Saturday night. The Badgers finished the game shooting the ball 64% from the 3-point line on 25 attempts. Both point guards for the Badgers shot perfect from distance with D’Mitrik Trice and Trevor Anderson going 3-for-3. Micah Potter led all scorers in the game with 20 points.
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Wisconsin secured bragging rights for the Big Ten Conference in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge with their win over Louisville.
Wisconsin’s 37-point victory over Louisville is the largest win over a ranked opponent in school history for the Badgers. As for Louisville, this was their largest margin of defeat as a ranked team since 1956.
Despite consistent numbers offensively, Wisconsin also impressed on defense. Wisconsin held Louisville to just 18 points in the first half while also maintaining a 26-point lead.
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The 26-point deficit for Louisville was the largest halftime deficit they have faced in school history. No comeback was mounted. It actually got worse for Louisville as they finished the game with a mere 45 points while the Badgers continued to increase the lead.
Wisconsin disrupted any and all offensive flow for Louisville. The Cardinals only converted on 17 field goals in the game, 14 fewer than the Badgers. The Badgers also forced 18 turnovers and three blocks on the night rounding out an all-around impressive defensive effort. The leading scorer for Louisville was David Johnson who finished with 12 points on 5-for-13 shooting.
This was Louisville’s first game back after a pause within the program due to COVID-19. To make matter worse for the Cardinals, their senior leader and leading scorer, Carlik Jones, was out with an injury. Louisville’s rotation was tight, with only eight players seeing action, whereas the Badgers unloaded the bench by playing a total of 13 guys.
Wisconsin concludes their non-conference schedule with a 6-1 record.
