After getting limited use out of its bench Saturday against UNLV, the Wisconsin basketball team was able to get everyone on the floor last night against New Hampshire. After ending the first half with a 49-16 lead over the Wildcats, head coach Bo Ryan was able to open the floor to those with little game experience this season.
Last night against UNH, the Badgers were able to get more minutes out of their backup post players, Ray Nixon and Andreas Helmigk in particular. Both players put in significant minutes and played admirably. Helmigk ended the game with two points, four rebounds, and two fouls in 10 minutes of work.
“They did some good things defensively,” Ryan said. “I thought Andreas really did a good job positionaly. Ninety percent of the time Ray was good with his feet, except for one possession. He took a charge and he beat guys to spots. He forced two bad passes, which ended up being turnovers. But they wanted to do more. I liked that. I like people that evaluate what they’re doing and hopefully can’t wait to get on practice floor tomorrow.”
Dave Mader came off the bench for the Badgers to play passionately, displaying emotion and a desire to contribute off the bench. The junior center recorded eight points and three blocks, but Ryan wasn’t too enthused with Mader’s play.
“Let’s see what happens on Saturday [with Mader],” Ryan said. “Let’s see what happens in the next one, and the next one … I’m always looking for rebounds from guys that are that size. Is this a mistake? What’s it say on the sheet? I think there’s a zero.”
Despite the lack any great success on the stat sheet, the Badgers got quality minutes out of their reserve players in the post. Any experience these players, especially freshmen like Helmigk and Nixon, get out of their playing time is a plus for the team.
“It’s very beneficial to get some quality minutes out of our bench tonight,” Devin Harris said. “They got some experience out there. In case they get called on again, they know what they’re doing out there and they feel comfortable.”
The Badgers will look for a deeper bench as the season progresses, especially in the post. The intense and grueling Big Ten season will demand it. Players like Nixon and Helmigk will be depended on to play aggressive defense and commit fouls against some of the conferences’ dominant big men, hopefully providing a minor offense spark along the way. Wednesday night, Ryan felt his bench made solid contribution to the win.
“The guys came off the bench (and) still tried,” Ryan said. “They didn’t get jack-happy, they kept moving the ball. Defensively they were solid.”
In the interim, the Badgers will practice tomorrow in preparation for Saturday’s game against Marquette. Targeted as the biggest game of the non-conference schedule, the Badgers look to make some noise against their in-state rivals.
If anything, the 85-36 drubbing of UNH has provided a lift for the starting core of the Badgers, who got the chance to cheer on their reserves in a trouble-free win.
“We’ll leave [Marquette] to tomorrow,” Harris said. “We’ll just enjoy the night tonight. We had a great game tonight, and we’ll leave that to tomorrow.”