Wisconsin Basketball Provides an Update on Tyler Wahl’s Injury

Preseason second-team All-Big Ten forward Tyler Wahl is among the most important players in the country, let alone the Wisconsin basketball program.

That’s what made Wahl’s injury suffered in last night’s 63-60 win over the visiting Minnesota Gophers so troubling. The Lakeville North product sustained what appeared to be an ankle injury, and the team later called a “lower-body injury” while battling under the hoop for a rebound.

He tried like hell to stay in the game. Still, Wahl was noticeably not himself and got subbed out with just over 11 minutes remaining in the first half — and never returned to action, forcing Carter Gilmore and Markus Ilver into significant roles.

The 6-foot-9 Swiss-Army Knife has been the Badgers’ best all-around player this season, leading UW with 13.2 points per game. He’s also second on the team in rebounds (6.4 per game), second in blocks (7), and third in both assists (24) and steals (18). Wahl, indeed does it all for Wisconsin basketball.

Will the senior forward be back for Saturday’s game against Illinois? Head coach Greg Gard provided an update on Tyler Wahl’s injury:

“I don’t know about a timeline,” Gard told UW reporters. “Each individual heals from those differently. We’ve got three days here, and we’ll see where it’s [Wahl’s ankle] at.

“He just didn’t feel like he could explode off of it and get into a full stride. We’re not going to put him in a position where he’s going to hurt himself more.”

Gard on Wahl:
"I don’t know timeline… We’ve got three days here and we’ll see where it’s at. He just didn’t feel that he didn’t feel that he can explode off it.. Not going to put himself into a position where he can hurt himself more."
Wahl stepped on someone's foot.#Badgers

— Raul Vazquez (@RaulV45) January 4, 2023

What Tyler Wahl’s Injury Means for Wisconsin Basketball

Injuries like this get evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Tyler Wahl is too essential to UW’s success, so unless he bounces back in a big way — it’s safe to assume Greg Gard and his staff will err on the side of caution.

If Wahl’s unable to play in Champagne this weekend, that means Carter Gilmore will slide into a starting role and likely play 30+ minutes per game. He’s more than serviceable on defense and does a lot of little things that can help Wisconsin basketball win if the other starters assume more prominent roles on offense.

Behind him, Markus Ilver is the next man up. And while he did some nice things in the first half against Minnesota, the second half didn’t go according to plan. The 6-foot-8 forward struggled as a rebounder and offered very little on the defensive end. However, Ilver can only improve by getting live game reps; this is his chance to make an impact.

If Steven Crowl or Carter Gilmore find themselves in foul trouble, it could be a long day on the boards for UW — because redshirt freshman Chris Hodges isn’t ready to see the floor.

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