Badgers takeaways from Wisconsin’s 79-67 win over Montana State

MADISON, Wis. – A 12-point win over a mid-major Montana team might draw some derision from those aiming for a box score. The University of Wisconsin coaches and players like to think they know otherwise.

Wisconsin’s 79-67 victory over Montana State was an improvement from Monday’s 24-point victory. The Badgers (2-0) defeated a team that has multiple multi-year starters, a program that has been to the NCAA Tournament the last three years and was picked in the preseason poll to get there again and had none Fear of shooting from the perimeter.

Emerging from a first-half tug-of-war with a lead and extending it in the final 20 minutes is a sign of growth for a Wisconsin team that is slowly starting to figure out its chemistry and rhythm.

Here are my takeaways from the Kohl Center.

If Wisconsin had won and not fallen behind 21-5 to start, the Badgers would have improved from game one to game two. They accomplished both tasks, but the Monday-Thursday growth was intertwined in several areas.

On offense there was more balance in attempts and definitely more aggressive attacking play. After regularly firing open shots without hitting the post in the opening game, the Badgers showed a balanced scoring output from start to finish.

UW shot 6 of 16 from two in the first half, 5 of 10 from three and 12 of 13 from the line in the first half, never had a losing streak of more than three minutes and averaged 1.258 points per possession . They were even better in the second half, going 7 of 15 from two, 6 of 12 from three and 8 from the line on 30 possessions (1,333).

Montana State is a three-point shooting program and ranks 26th nationally in three-point percentage (37.0 percent) and 35th in 3-pointers per game (9.1). The UW defense caused the Bobcats to miss eight of their first nine shots, not scoring until 6:46 into the half and forcing four turnovers in 2:26 of the half.

When Wisconsin pulled away in the second half, the Badgers made sure the three weren’t there to fuel a comeback. The Bobcats managed just nine attempts in the final 20 minutes after going 6-for-12 in the first half. That’s why the play of six times and 10 lead changes resulted in UW trailing by as many as nine times for much of the second half.

With so many new players in his squad, head coach Greg Gard has said he needs to get more young, unproven guys as playing representatives so they can gain a foothold. Thursday was not one of those moments.

Playing on one of the oldest teams in the country, a program with nine players who have played at least four years of college basketball, Gard didn’t want to watch his inexperienced players get burned by the Bobcats’ veterans.

Wisconsin stuck with its starting five and two senior reserves throughout the game Markus Ilver (five minutes), Xavier Amos (four) and Jack Janicki (two) saw minimal time.

“Because you have to guard what they are running, you can always tell that a mistake has been made. “Usually younger, inexperienced players tend to get stuck on some of these things,” Gard said.

The results spoke for themselves. Max Klesmit has found his shooting groove. His 26 points marked the high point of his UW career, while his six three-pointers were a new personal best, hitting openly and in rhythm. He also recorded two steals for the second straight game.

John Tonje maintained his aggressive style and was rewarded by going 8-for-9 from the free throw line John Blackwell overcame a 4-for-13 night and contributed in other ways with six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

And during Steven Crowl continues to start the season slowly (6 points, 1:4), moving forward Nolan Winters scored six points and eight rebounds, a career best.

“It’s the pinnacle of good team basketball,” Klesmit said.

With that on-court experience and knowledge of high-percentage areas, UW tallied 15 assists on 24 baskets and all but four of UW’s 79 points came at the free throw line, on dunks/layups or from behind the arc.

“That’s what we want from an analytical perspective,” Gard said. “We want things at the rim, dunks, layups, post moves, free throws and good threes… Analytically, missing longer twos and harder jump shots is what you want to try to do.”

It’s become clear who the seven best players are in the eyes of the coaching staff, and it’s crystal clear that the Badgers’ bench plan is working in two games.

The first sub to check in, Kamari McGee played the starting minutes and developed well, although he wouldn’t have stepped out of Chucky Hepburn’s shadow. The senior matched his UW high with 11 points by delivering multiple driving layups to the rim after breaking through the defense in the halfcourt and finishing with both hands while adding three rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes (all UW- maximum values).

After playing just over 55 minutes at the point guard position, McGee looked unflappable with seven assists and just one turnover

“He’s a spark plug off the bench,” Blackwell said. “He makes us great whenever he’s on the field. He always talks, he always leads. Whether he’s scoring or not, he always has a lot of energy… That’s a great point guard on the court.”

Blackwell later summarized Carter Gilmore in the same category. Gilmore only scored four points, but the senior consistently made the right plays. From reading and passing on offense to hectic plays on defense, such as: B. Chasing down guard Patrick McMahon for a huge block after a seemingly easy layup.

“He knows the game, plays the game the right way and plays his role,” Blackwell said. “He’s doing his job.”

Gilmore also had a team-high two offensive rebounds and added two assists, looking more confident offensively than in previous seasons while still remaining solid.

“I know he’s taken a lot of abuse over the course of his career here and, frankly, it’s unwarranted,” Gard said. “If you have an idea of ​​what you’re looking at, you can see that he really anchors us defensively. He covers up a lot of things. When we played him at five, he was really good on the ball screen. He pushes it… He’s just a ballplayer.”

Gard knows he’ll need to develop a deeper rotation to keep things sustainable, but the Badgers have a one-two punch senior they can rely on.

6 – The Badgers started the season 2-0 for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The Badgers have started 2-0 or better in six of Gard’s nine full seasons.

11 – With 26 points against Montana State, Klesmit has scored at least 20 points 11 times in his career.

50 – The Badgers shot 11 of 22 from 3-point range, hitting double-digit three-pointers in consecutive games and opening the season for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

82 – UW is averaging 82.0 ppg this season and has scored at least 79 points in each of the first two games of the season for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

90 – Wisconsin has now recorded back-to-back games with a shooting percentage of 90 percent or better from the FT line (minimum 12 attempts) for the first time since December 2014, when it went 17-for-18 (.944) against California on December 12, 2014. 22/14 and 12 of 13 (.923) vs. Buffalo on 12/28/14. UW has outscored its first two opponents 36 to 13 at the free throw line.

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