Instant Takeaways From the Wisconsin Basketball Loss vs. No. 9 Tennessee

The Wisconsin basketball team fell to the No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers tonight, 80-70.

The game was a lot closer throughout than the score would tell you. While the Badgers didn’t lead during the game, the Vols only led by about four to six points for most of the game.

As the Badgers ran out of gas offensively in the second half, Tennessee continued to have an answer. Their answer, for the most part, was Dalton Knecht. The 6-6 transfer from Northern Colorado put on a performance at the Kohl Center. He’s a smooth athlete that makes getting to the rim look effortless. He led the Vols with 24 points on 8/15 shooting, including 7/9 from the line.

Even with the loss, there’s plenty to take away from the game, including some positives.

Takeaways from Wisconsin Basketball vs. Tennessee

Free throws are still an Achilles’ Heel

The Wisconsin basketball team didn’t help themselves out tonight. The Vols got into foul trouble early, putting the Badgers into the bonus with over nine minutes left in the first half. Despite the number of fouls on them, Tennessee stayed aggressive, putting the Badgers on the line 23 times.

Wisconsin made just 14 of those 23 free throws. A lowly 61 percent.

Making those free throws early in the game could have changed things dramatically. The Badgers would have likely been in a better position to win the game had they made even five or six more.

Free throws are something the Badgers need to improve on this year if they want to compete for the Big Ten Conference.

Tennessee’s defense was too much for the Badgers

We knew going into this game, the Wisconsin basketball team was going to have to work a lot harder to score against Tennessee than Arkansas State. Coming in, the Vols had the highest defensive rating according to KenPom.

They showed the Badgers why tonight.

Even when Wisconsin got the ball down on the block, Tennessee was there to make their lives incredibly difficult. The Badgers made just 9/18 of their layups. Nothing came easy.

The Badgers also shot just 6/24 from three, including 2/13 in the second half. A lot of that was Tennessee forcing the Badgers into some tough looks that were out of rhythm for the offense.

It was a tough game for the Badgers, but they aren’t going to be playing too many defenses like that this year. A game like this will only help them going forward.

It’s early, but this Wisconsin basketball team has potential

It’s important not to overreact to one game.

Tennessee is expected to compete for an SEC Championship and make some noise in the NCAA Tournament this year. Having a game like this early in the schedule is going to be a challenge for the Badgers. But if you are the Wisconsin basketball team, you hope it will help you improve.

In his post-game press conference, head coach Greg Gard talked about how important a game like this is. It exposes weaknesses and gives them a chance to watch the game film and fix those weaknesses.

The Badgers hung close with the Vols for most of the game. Sure, there are plenty of things to clean up, but you can’t deny this team has some talent. AJ Storr looks like he could be a star in the making. There were multiple plays tonight where he made a big shot or threw down a big dunk and the Kohl Center exploded.

If he can continue to play like that, he’s going to be a problem for the Big Ten. And in turn, Chucky Hepburn will thrive too. When opposing teams aren’t putting their top defender on him, he can make some plays too. He got to the hoops multiple times tonight off the dribble and finished some tough shots.

If this team can clean up some of their defensive mistakes and sure up their shooting, I really like the potential of this team heading into conference play.

If nothing else, they’ll definitely be battle-tested with their difficult non-conference schedule.

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