The University of Arizona showed exactly why it is ranked No. 1 in the country Saturday, outclassing a Wisconsin team that was fresh off decisive wins over Marquette and Michigan State.
Arizona entered the contest as the third-highest scoring offense in the country at 93.4 points per game and put on a show on their end of the floor, burying 58.3% of their field goal attempts and 46.2% of their three-point shots to hand the Badgers their worst loss since Dec. 2, 2017.
Arizona’s most impressive feat came on the defensive end, where they utilized constant ball pressure to speed the Badgers up and force them to score in isolation. The Wildcats’ effort led to Wisconsin tallying merely six assists on their first 20 made field goals and shooting 19-for-49 from two-point land on the day.
It seemed as though the Badgers were in for a rough game from the start as they quickly fell behind 8-2 after a pair of sloppy turnovers. AJ Storr quickly righted the ship with an and-one transition layup as part of a 7-0 run that resulted in UW’s first – and only – lead of the contest.
Wisconsin continued to go toe-to-toe with the Wildcats for a while longer, as John Blackwell knocked down three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to help tie up the game at 23 with 8:51 left in the first half.
After that, everything went downhill.
Wisconsin keeps rolling, picks up road win over Michigan State
Over the ensuing six minutes and 31 seconds, the Badgers would go 0-for-5 from the field with four turnovers while Arizona shot 8-for-12 and found nylon four times from beyond the arc during a 20-2 run. The stretch was dominated by Oumar Ballo and Caleb Love, who combined for 12 points and three assists and felt unstoppable in the pick-and-roll.
With under a minute to play in the first half, Wisconsin showed some signs of life, forcing turnovers on back-to-back possessions to slim the lead to 14. The Badgers efforts were immediately erased, however, as Kylan Boswell knocked down a deep three with four seconds left to bring a 48-31 advantage into the break.
The difference wouldn’t get any closer than 15 in the second half, as Arizona’s three-point barrage continued with both Caleb Love and Pelle Larsson hitting from deep in the first 3:30 of the frame.
Facing a 20-point deficit for most of the period, there weren’t many bright spots for UW. However, John Blackwell continued to produce at a high level.
Starting at the 14-minute mark, Blackwell prodded the interior via dribble drive on five consecutive possessions, resulting in eight points (three of his own) on top of an uncontested three-point attempt by Markus Ilver that went wide.
Blackwell would finish with 17 points and seven rebounds – both team highs – across 26 minutes. He knocked down four of his five three-point attempts and raised his season average to 52.3%, the best mark of any Badger player with at least 12 attempts.
Despite shooting 33% from the field, Chucky Hepburn finished with a solid stat line, registering seven points, six rebounds and six assists with only one turnover. Hepburn has now registered at least six assists in four of his 10 appearances this season and is averaging 3.9 APG, up significantly from his 2.8 total last season.
While all five of Arizona’s starters finished in double-figures, Pelle Larsson led the way with 21 points on 6-6 shooting (4-4 on three-point attempts). Caleb Love also stuffed the statsheet, tallying 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
The most impressive Wildcat performance came from Ballo, who was a matchup nightmare for Wisconsin. Ballo fell one rebound shy of a double-double with 15 points (7-8 FG) and nine rebounds and was a monster defensively. He rejected three shots and tallied a pair of steals while impacting plenty of Wisconsin’s attempts in the painted area.
Though Saturday’s outcome wasn’t what many of the Badger faithful expected after the team’s recent performances, UW still boasts a 7-3 record with standout wins against No. 23 Virginia and No. 3 Marquette while showing plenty of promise.
After working through arguably the toughest portion of their 2023-24 schedule, the Badgers will face Jacksonville State (4-6) and Chicago State (3-8) at the Kohl Center before diving into conference play to open up the new year.
