Wisconsin Basketball: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly vs. Rutgers

The Wisconsin basketball team used a big second half to defeat the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the Badgers’ home finale, 78-66.

Unfortunately, the game wasn’t all that smooth. There were plenty of positives to take away from the game, particularly in the second half, but there were still some things that need to get cleaned up before post-season play.

The Good: Defense for Wisconsin Basketball Sparks Offense

Early on in the game, the Wisconsin basketball team looked like they had the past ten games. Sloppy, slow, and just flat overall.

The offense looked stagnant and the Badgers couldn’t get a whole lot going offensively, missing shots and turning the ball over early and often in the first half. Luckily, Chucky Hepburn helped turn things around with his defense.

He had steals in back-to-back possessions leading to a dunk for him and then a big three from AJ Storr. The sequence of plays woke the crowd up and got the Kohl Center rocking.

Steal ➡️ SLAM ‼️@ChuckyHepburn x @BadgerMBB

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

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) March 8, 2024

Hepburn finished the first half with three steals and five total in the game.

Tyler Wahl added five steals and Blackwell added two more. Overall, the Badgers ended the game with 14 steals, the highest total in a game for the program since December 2, 2012, against Cal, when they had 16.

The Good; Part II: Kamari McGee’s Return

It took him a half, but Kamari McGee made his presence felt in his first game back from his injury, particularly in the second half.

The Badgers were down 47-40 before McGee helped spark a 19-2 run, scoring nine himself.

After the game, head coach Greg Gard was very complimentary of McGee’s first game back.

“He’s a pit bull. We missed the toughness and the grittiness and the feistiness he brings to the floor. He came back in pretty fine form. We didn’t expect that.”

After missing 11 games, it certainly feels like Killa Kam was the missing piece while the Badgers were on their nosedive. The Badgers are surely hoping things will continue to trend back in the right direction moving forward for the Wisconsin basketball team.

The Bad: Turnovers in the First Half

Going back to the Bo Ryan days, the Wisconsin basketball program has been known as a program that protects the ball. Bo Ryan would pull Sam Dekker immediately after a turnover. That’s how important it was to take care of the ball.

In this stretch of rough play, the Badgers have been pretty loose with the ball, turning it over a lot more than Wisconsin basketball fans are accustomed to.

Luckily, the Badgers cleaned it up in the second half. Before Gard emptied the bench, the Badgers turned the ball over just two times. A big reason why they were able to pull away in the second half. Once some of the reserves were in, they turned it over a few possessions in a row after the game was put away and Rutgers was still pressing late.

If the Badgers have any hopes of beating Purdue this weekend and making a run in the Big Ten Tournament and beyond, they will need to take care of the ball all 40 minutes, instead of just half the game.

The Ugly: Finishing at the Rim

The Wisconsin basketball team struggled to finish around the rim tonight. They went just 1-11 tonight in the first half and 8-26 overall.

Steven Crowl (6-15) and Tyler Wahl (1-6) combined for just 7-21 from the field, and 6-19 from inside the arc. The Rutgers defense made life very hard for the Wisconsin big men.

In his postgame comments, Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell talked about how Clifford Omoruyi’ and the Rutgers’ defense affected the Badgers’ shooting from inside.

“He’s one of the best shot-blockers in the country. We have length and some athleticism and kind of came at them with a lot of different guys.”

Facing a player like Omoruyi, who averages three blocks per game will make life harder. But there were a few shots the Badgers took that were either forced and had no shot of going in or just missed from point-blank.

Somehow, the Badgers outscored the Scarlet Knights, 34-24 in the paint. But overall, a rough night for the Badgers inside the paint.

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