Wisconsin Basketball: 3 Takeaways From Loss to Providence

Wisconsin basketball headed to Providence for the annual Gavitt Tip-Off games. In what was a struggle from the beginning, the Badgers were beaten 72-59.

Here are three takeaways from the loss.

Wisconsin Basketball Was Ugly on Offense

From the jump, Wisconsin struggled offensively. Scoring only 21 points in the first half against an up-tempo team like Providence won’t cut it. Wisconsin basketball shot 33% from the field and 25% from three. At times, watching this team try and execute offensively was painful. Chucky was 2/10, Tyler Wahl was 3/9, and Steven Crowl was 1/5. It’s nearly impossible to win a game on the road with those shooting numbers.

Wisconsin Basketball Has Rotation Questions to Answer

As I mentioned in my last article, Greg Gard has some interesting decisions to make regarding this rotation. First off the bench was the Freshman John Blackwell. This surprised me, but Blackwell had a very nice first half, scoring seven of the first nine Badgers points.

This makes me wonder if Connor Essegian’s back injury is more severe than we know. Wisconsin basketball lacks scoring on offense, so someone like Essegian not getting many minutes is strange. I also like what I saw from Freshman Nolan Winter; maybe we will see him in the rotation more.

Doesn’t Get Easier

Unfortunately, for Wisconsin basketball, this next month does not get any easier. The first 10 days of December, the Badgers will face off with Marquette, Michigan State, and Arizona. This can be looked at as positive and negative.

The optimistic fan in me sees 3 great opportunities for the Badgers to build their tournament resume with some quality wins. On the other hand, these could all look like the game tonight and be an embarrassment for the program.

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