Wisconsin men's basketball fires on all cylinders, obliterates Iowa 116-85
The Wisconsin Badgers basketball team hosted the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Kohl Center; here are a few of my thoughts from the historic shooting performance.
Greg Gard and the Wisconsin basketball team returned from the holiday break with a sense of urgency, delivering a statement win over Fran McCaffrey and the Iowa Hawkeyes 116-85 in a must-win game. With their backs against the wall to avoid an 0-3 start in Big Ten play, the Badgers delivered an offensive masterclass to secure their first conference victory.
The win pushed Wisconsin to 11-3 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten, while Iowa dropped to 10-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play. More importantly, they avoided becoming the first Badgers team to start 0-3 in conference play since 1986-87 and looked like a team hitting its stride.
“It looked like it was going to be a shootout early on, but we made adjustments,” Gard told reporters.
“The 26 assists on 40 baskets really highlight the unselfishness of this group. We also controlled the boards for the most part. Maybe taking 11 days off is the secret sauce—though I told the team not to get any ideas—we’re practicing tomorrow.”
Here's what stood out from the Badgers' blowout win over Iowa.
A Historic Night for Wisconsin Basketball
The Badgers couldn’t miss from beyond the arc, setting a program record with 21 made three-pointers on 31 attempts (67.7%). Their 116 points marked the highest total in a Big Ten game for the program and set a Kohl Center record for points scored. Wisconsin shot a blistering 64.5% from the floor, averaging a ridiculous 1.611 points per possession.
In total, nine different Badgers connected on shots from beyond the arc. John Blackwell led the way with six triples, followed by Kamari McGee with four, and Carter Gilmore, Xavier Amos, Max Klesmit, and John Tonje each adding a pair. Markus Ilver, Nolan Winter, and Camren Hunter also chipped in with one apiece in a balanced shooting effort from the team.
"I think when you're following a plan of how we've tried to build this team and play as we've made this offensive evolution or shift, this is a byproduct of it," said Gard. "It's part spacing, it's part the talent of the players, I mean you have five guys on the floor that can all shoot the three and they share the ball, they're really unselfish. So, all those things added together give you an opportunity to do something like this."
Coach Gard didn’t shy away from his—and Kirk Penney's vision for this team before the season started—Wisconsin was going to let it fly from deep. And he’s stayed true to his word. The Badgers are averaging 27.3 three-point attempts per game, which is on pace to set a program record. It’s clear they’re going to live and die by the three, and on this night, they cashed in.
Player of the Game: John Blackwell
John Blackwell entered Friday's game against the Hawkeyes shooting just 28% from beyond the arc—a far cry from the 44% he connected on a year ago. As luck would have it, the Michigan native just needed to see the ball go through the net a few times, and everything would be okay.