In Wisconsin’s unofficial season tipoff at the Kohl Center Sunday, Oct. 30, the cardinal and white dominated down the stretch against the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugolds with a final score of 76-45.
The Badgers forced a staggering 27 turnovers, including 14 steals and executed on 16 fast break attempts. The defense certainly appeared active, a promising sign for head coach Greg Gard.
With the regular season just around the corner, three storylines defined UW’s performance Sunday.
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Badger big men bullied the Blugolds
Steven Crowl, Wisconsin’s 7-foot center from Eagan, Minnesota, wreaked havoc on the interior. Crowl controlled the paint along with Eau Claire’s tallest players, Nate Hau and Carter Huschka, listed at 6 feet and 7 inches.
The junior set the tone early on, leading the team with 12 points and four boards at intermission. Forward Chris Hodges canned a few baby hooks down low and Tyler Wahl did an excellent job backing down Eau Claire defenders for two easy looks within the first six minutes of action.
UW’s initial offensive set involved a Chucky Hepburn to Crowl alley-oop and its first 20 points derived from layups or free throw attempts. With the Blugolds’ obvious lack of size, Gard’s squad delivered.
Without the prolific perimeter scoring ability of Johnny Davis or Brad Davison, players like Crowl, Wahl and Hodges could provide a much-needed safety valve to Wisconsin’s offensive repertoire.
Bench boosts
With UW’s starting unit hitting just one of 12 total attempts from downtown, Wisconsin’s bench unit, anchored by freshman Connor Essegian, scored 32 total points and knocked down four looks from outside. In nearly 15 minutes on the hardwood, Essegian nailed four field goals for 10 total points. After the game, forward Tyler Wahl praised the six-foot-four-inch guard.
“He’s great,” Wahl said in a press conference. “He’s a great offensive player, he’s moving without the ball and knows where to space out. He’s also got a quick trigger. You saw him out there hit a couple threes, getting good, easy looks at the basket just from cutting. I’m excited for what the future has on hold for him.”
With 15 points and a 6-7 clip during UW’s Red-White Scrimmage Oct. 9, he possesses an excellent stroke from outside. Anticipate Essegian to develop into a bucket-getter for Wisconsin’s second unit throughout this season.
Cause for concern: Rebounding and 3-point execution
As a team, Wisconsin struggled from deep. Gard’s group boasted a 1-9 mark from long-range in the first half and despite knocking down four 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes, the Badgers finished with a 25% clip from three.
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Sure, some may look to first game jitters as the culprit behind a poor shooting effort, but if Madison’s team wishes to contend against conference foes like Illinois, Indiana or Michigan, it will require consistency from outside.
UW also lost the rebound battle, 35-34, against the much smaller Blugolds. Crowl and Wahl each pocketed six boards, but without an overbearing presence at center, Eau Claire managed to grab opponent misfires at a higher efficiency than Wisconsin.
“That’s definitely something we’ve got to clean up, especially going into this week, game week,” Wahl said following the victory.
Looking ahead, Wisconsin faces off against the South Dakota Coyotes on Monday, Nov. 7, for its first regular season contest.
