Wisconsin Basketball Defeats Michigan State 81-66: Here’s What Stood Out

Greg Gard and the Wisconsin Badgers basketball team completed the regular season sweep of Michigan State for the first time since 2003-04 on Friday night at the Kohl Center. 

The first-place Badgers improved to (16-4, 8-1) with an 81-66 win over Tom Izzo and the Spartans in a game they led wire-to-wire. UW has now won nine of their last 10 games overall. 

Here are a few things that stood out from the Wisconsin Badgers win over Coach Izzo and the MIDchigan State Spartans.

Wisconsin Basketball Forward AJ Storr is a Cheat Code on Offense

What can I say about AJ Storr that hasn’t already been said? Storr can do so many things on the court that very few humans are capable of, and he’s continuing to improve for this Wisconsin men’s basketball team.  

Against the Spartans, the sophomore wing scored 28 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the floor while making 7-of-8 attempts from the charity stripe. Additionally, Storr connected on three shots from beyond the arc. 

The bench loved that one. 👀@storr_aj x @BadgerMBB

📺: FS1/@CBBonFOX pic.twitter.com/B5lMbrS86x

— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 27, 2024

You’re damned if you do, and you’re damned if you don’t. Go under a screen, and Storr will make you pay. Give him room to operate, and he’ll blow right by you and get to the rim. 

As head coach Greg Gard has mentioned, Storr has so much room for growth in his game, but there’s no denying he has an incredibly high ceiling and continues to raise the bar of what’s possible this season. 

Wisconsin Basketball Got Plenty of Production From Its Bench

This Wisconsin basketball team struggled to put the ball in the hoop last season. It wasn’t an expectation, but anything UW got from the bench was just a bonus because the depth simply wasn’t there.

That said, the Badgers bench mob has been a strength this year and gave them a nice spark in the first half,  scoring 18 of their 22 points. 

It was a total group effort, led by eight points from Connor Essegian. The Badgers also got six from Nolan Winter, five from John Blackwell, and Carter Gilmore chipped in three of his own. 

“This team has so much depth off the bench,” Hepburn told reporters. “Anybody on the floor is ready to battle and compete. Nobody is soft; nobody is selfish.” 

Other Wisconsin Badgers Musings 

Connor Essegian showed just how much of a difference he can make as a volume scorer off the bench. The Indiana native provided a spark, scoring eight first-half points in just over five minutes.

Most teams don’t have the luxury of a bench player providing a ton of scoring punch or commanding attention from the opposing defense, let alone the tenth man in their rotation.

***

As the year wears on, Nolan Winter continues to look more comfortable in his role. The true freshman can stretch the floor on offense, and even though he’s a work in progress when it comes to defending ball screens, it’s easy to see that Winter has the tools to be a great player with time.

***

The first time these teams matched up, Wisconsin basketball dominated the rebounding battle 36-22 in East Lansing. Tonight was no different.

Wisconsin basketball was more aggressive on the glass, out-rebounding the Spartans 35-25 and turning that into 17 second-chance points. In most years, Michigan State’s front-court controls the paint, but this season that narrative has flipped completely.

***

Chucky Hepburn was fantastic on the defensive end of the floor, holding Tyson Walker to a season-low 11 points on 14 shots.

I’ve said it all year, and I’ll continue to say it: the Badgers offense is as good as it is because of the way Hepburn runs the show and gets his teammates good shots. I don’t care what the box score says; Hepburn has been terrific this season.

“He’s the consummate team player, and he’s a winner,” Gard told reporters. “The scoring is down, but the winning is up. That’s a good trade-off.”

***

Tyler Wahl won his 100th career game in a Wisconsin Badgers uniform tonight. He’s been a consummate professional his entire career and has done things the right way.

It’s an impressive milestone, no doubt—but Greg Gard has a bigger one in mind: becoming the first Wisconsin basketball player to win three Big Ten regular season titles.

Career win No. 💯 for Tyler Wahl@tjwahl01 is one of only seven Badgers to have appeared in 100 wins

117 — Josh Gasser
115 — Nigel Hayes
114 — Frank Kaminsky
114 — Bronson Koenig
101 — Brad Davison
100 — Joe Krabbenhoft
100 — Tyler Wahlpic.twitter.com/lGEpCuO4t1

— brandon harrison (@brandonharrison) January 27, 2024

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