MADISON, Wis. – The rust was evident on the University of Wisconsin, an oxidizing layer around the Badgers’ defensive rotations that started to corrode other parts of their game. Fortunately, the 21st-ranked Badgers have enough depth and talent compared to last season to fight through a little bit of stormy weather.
Wisconsin’s 83-72 victory over Iowa Tuesday to restart Big Ten play was a showcase of how effective the Badgers can be in a variety of ways. UW (10-3, 2-0 Big Ten) was somewhat out of sorts on both ends of the court and still managed to trade punches and do enough to frustrate one of the highest-scoring offenses in the country in the first half.
Once Wisconsin got its act together, it was game over.
“I think we’re a pretty confident group going into every game,” said forward Steven Crowl, following his third double-double of the season. “I keep going back to last year, but this year it just feels a little bit different with our confidence.”
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Here are my takeaways from Wisconsin’s sixth consecutive win in a Big Ten home opener.
Wisconsin’s Tyler Wahl (5) shoots against Iowa’s Owen Freeman (32) during the second half. Wahl had a game-high 19 points. (Andy Manis/AP Photo)
Wisconsin Battles Through Rough Opening Half
The first half was the furthest thing from a beauty contest. The Badgers were sloppy with ball security, had no perimeter presence, and struggled rotating out to perimeter shooters.
The Hawkeyes weren’t much better. Committing five turnovers in 4:30, Iowa’s four-forward lineup couldn’t stop Wisconsin’s dribble penetration and struggled to get to the free-throw line.
The play was sloppy, the pace was frenetic at points, and the average quality of basketball feels typical of the Big Ten regular season.
Head coach Greg Gard and guard Max Klesmit pointed to the defensive end as the big culprit, which dominoes into problems on the offense with low-grade shot attempts and attacking driving lanes that weren’t high-percentage looks.
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“Sometimes that can happen when you play a team that likes to go up and down and create a lot of chaos,” said Klesmit, referring to the Hawkeyes having one of the faster tempo offenses in the country.
Although the Badgers held Iowa to .941 points per possession in the first half, Gard admitted he didn’t feel comfortable because of the way the Hawkeyes can score.
The Badgers were also caught off guard by Iowa trapping the post, something the Hawkeyes hadn’t shown on tape, and caused decisions to be rushed.
“We tried to hit home runs instead of making the simple play with it,” Gard said. “It looked like we hadn’t played in 10 days.”
The Difference in the Game was at the Rim
Even with the problems in the first half, Wisconsin went into the locker room tied at 32 because the combination of A.J. Storr, Steven Crowl, and Tyler Wahl pummeled the low post. The trio scored 14 of UW’s 22 paint points in the first half.
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The number dwindled to just 10 in the second half only because Iowa couldn’t stop fouling. The Badgers went 20-for-26 from the line in the final 20 minutes, with Wahl making a career-high 11 free throws on a career-high 13 attempts.
Overall, UW scored 42 points in the paint and went 25-for-35 from the line, outscoring the Hawkeyes by six inside and a whopping 14 from the line. The makes and attempts were the second most of the season behind their 27-for-40 game against Robert Morris.
“This team is too good to put on the free throw line 35 times,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “They were in the double bonus relatively early in the second half. It’s hard to come back when you do that.”
The free throw success is encouraging for Wahl, who shot 63.4 percent last year and was at 63.6 percent entering Tuesday.
Defensively, the Badgers saw Iowa shoot over 13 percentage points higher but defended better, especially keeping leading scorer Ben Krikke out of rhythm with foul trouble and holding Payton Sandfort scoreless after he scored nine in the opening half.
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Wisconsin was just 4-for-16 from three-point range, yet still averaged 1.186 points per possession.
Storr is “Oozing Potential”
Storr has been lauded over the past two months for the athleticism he has brought to Wisconsin’s rotation, changing the way the Badgers function offensively and adding a dynamic that was sorely missing last season, especially in transition.
In a first half that needed a boost, Storr delivered with three dunks of different degrees – one by putting the ball on the floor and attacking the rim, one in transition on an alley-oop from Klesmit, and another in a one-on-one situation against Iowa senior Tony Perkins.
But the highlight of the night was when Chucky Hepburn delivered a pass off the glass that Storr finished with a flush over unsuspecting forward Patrick McCaffery.
“It was special,” Storr said. “Obviously playing with an unselfish guard in Chucky, so just run the floor. He’s going to throw it off the board if it’s available.”
Storr said playing at Wisconsin is “advancing my whole game” because the Badgers are having him play out of the post more than he did last season at St. John’s. With that has come playing more off two feet, which has changed Storr’s offensive approach.
“You’re more physical when you play off two,” he said. “You have better balance, so go up there and playing off two feet, I feel like I can finish better.”
Finishing ability, explosiveness, and getting to the rim in the full and half court are all things Storr has delivered in just 13 games with Wisconsin.
“With him, you see all the ability,” Gard said. “It oozes what his ability and potential is. I think the scary thing is he doesn’t understand how good he can be yet. He’s learning a lot. He’s been awesome to coach.”
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McGee, Depth Helped Hepburn’s Health
Had Wisconsin not had an extended break, the likelihood of Hepburn missing a game or games would have been high. Gard revealed that Hepburn hadn’t gone through a full practice since suffering a lower-body injury in UW’s Dec.22 win over Chicago State. He purposely tried to keep Hepburn’s minutes down in the first half and followed through on that plan because of Kamari McGee, who Max Klesmit said gave the Badgers “life” in the first half.
The junior guard stripped Sandfort and finished the possession with a reverse layup and picked off Sandfort’s pass two possessions later, only to find Nolan Winter under the rim for an uncontested dunk. He finished with two points, two assists, two rebounds, and three steals.
“You look at the stat sheet and you see three steals in the column, that’s huge,” Klesmit said. “Having a guy like that can come off the bench and spark life into us carried over into the second half big time. It’s a credit to Kam and how much he works.”
Gard said Hepburn “has been feeling good,” which was evident in the second half of his back-to-back possessions with steals and having a hand in transition points, which boosted UW’s lead to 10 and was the turning point in the game.
By the Numbers
74.4 – Iowa is averaging 99.0 points against mid-major teams but Wisconsin dropped the Hawkeyes’ ppg against major conference teams to 74.4.
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83 – Wisconsin’s 83 points are the most since the Badgers scored 87 in a nine-point win over Iowa on Jan.6, 2022.
8 – With 16 points, Storr has scored in double figures in eight straight games and 11 of 13 this season.
36 – With a game-high 19 points, Wahl upper his career point total to 1,117, moving past Marcus Landry (1,114) and Brian Butch (1,115) to 36th on Wisconsin’s career scoring list. Next up is James Johnson (1,147) and Ben Brust (1,148).
353 – On a night the Badgers honored the passing of Senator Herb Kohl, Wisconsin improved to 353-68 (.838) in the building that bears his name.
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AB 1034 provides clarity around NIL policies, offers limited financial flexibility tied to existing athletic facility obligations, and ensures that Wisconsin Athletics can compete on equal footing.
Tim Sheehy | Special to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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How historic NCAA pay settlement will affect college sports
A federal judge approved the terms of a $2.8 billion settlement that will see schools be permitted to pay college athletes through licensing deals.
unbranded – Sport
Wisconsin’s Assembly Bill 1034 aims to modernize state law to reflect new NCAA rules on athlete compensation.
The bill would relieve several state universities of $15 million in athletic facility debt to reinvest in athletic programs.
Proponents argue the legislation is necessary for Wisconsin universities to compete with peer institutions in other states.
Wisconsin athletics reportedly generate over $750 million in statewide economic impact annually.
Let me put my bias, or experience up front. I was a student athlete at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and was fortunate to have one of my sons graduate as a far better student athlete.
I am writing in support of Assembly Bill 1034, which modernizes Wisconsin law to reflect the realities of today’s college athletic landscape, not because of those past “glory days,” but because college athletics has changed more in the past three years than in the previous three decades.
New national rules now see universities sharing millions of dollars annually with student-athletes through revenue sharing and name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities. Other states have responded quickly, updating their laws to ensure they can compete in this new environment.
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Making sure Wisconsin doesn’t fall behind
The State Assembly, with overwhelming bipartisan support, passed AB 1034, now it’s up to the Wisconsin State Senate to pass this legislation and send it quickly to Gov. Tony Evers to ensure Wisconsin doesn’t fall behind.
AB 1034 provides clarity around NIL policies, offers limited financial flexibility tied to existing athletic facility obligations, and ensures that Wisconsin Athletics can compete on equal footing with peer institutions across the country. In a measured way, the bill would relieve UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, and UW-Green Bay of $15 million of debt related to athletic facilities with the expressed purpose that those dollars would instead be used to invest in athletic programs.
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This legislation is critical for two inter-connected reasons, competition and economic impact.
At a recent capitol hearing, UW-Madison Director of Athletics Chris McIntosh explained that 80 percent of the entire athletic department budget is generated by the football program. That revenue underwrites the competitive commitment to the other 11 men’s and 12 women’s varsity teams, supporting some 600 student athletes.
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The capacity for this to continue is threatened by $20 million in new annual name and likeness costs that impact all NCAA schools. An expense that will continue to rise. In addition, peer institutions in the Big Ten and across the country are committing substantial additional resources to these NIL efforts. In short, without this debt support, the university and its athletes will not only lose an even playing field, they may lose the ability to get on the field.
This threat from the changing nature of NCAA athletics also poses a threat to the economic impact from college athletics. A recent study found that nearly 2 million visitors came to campus events annually, generating more than $750M in statewide economic impact from Wisconsin athletics. Case in point, each home football game produces a $19M economic impact, with 5,600 jobs in the state tied directly or indirectly to the department’s activities.
This bipartisan legislation is not about propping up a single sport. It’s about protecting broad based opportunities for all our student-athletes, some of whom we just watched win a gold medal for the U.S. women’s’ hockey team.
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Athletics are often noted as the front door to the university, but I would broaden that opening to the State of Wisconsin. Our public university system success strengthens enrollment, attracts the talent that drives our prosperity, and serves as a sustaining way forward for our economy.
Bill provides measured and responsible investment
As the former head of one of our state’s largest business groups, I have spent much of my career engaged in economic development. I know what generates “return on investment.” AB 1034 provides a measured and responsible investment that will generate a positive impact for Wisconsin taxpayers, citizens, and employers.
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NCAA athletics has changed, and Wisconsin must change with it, or sit on the sidelines. So let’s encourage the Wisconsin State Senate to pass AB 1034 and put Wisconsin in position to compete on the field which provides a win for our student athletes and all of us who benefit from a world class university system.
Tim Sheehy is a UW-Madison graduate and former student athlete. Sheehy served as the president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce for more than 30 years where he oversaw economic development and business attraction for the region.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – The United States launched airstrikes in Iran on Wednesday, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and prompting fast reactions from across northeast Wisconsin.
In Appleton, over a dozen of protesters came together at Houdini Plaza, protesting the strikes and calling for peace, and in Green Bay, protesters lined the streets with signs condemning the strikes.
One protester we spoke with said the strikes were not about the nuclear protest, but for a regime change.
“All I could think of is WMDs that got us the last war in the Middle East, and it was just a lot of bunk, and the other thing is he said is he’s trying to overthrow the current regime,” said John Cuff of Appleton.
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Area lawmakers are also reacting to the attacks in Iran.
Senator Tammy Baldwin released a statement following President Trump’s announcement of the strikes, saying: “My whole career, I have been steadfast in the belief that doing the hard work of diplomacy is the answer, not war. I believed that when I voted against a war in Iraq and I believe it today. Iran poses a real threat and one we need to take head on, but getting into another endless war is not the answer.
“President Trump illegally bombed Iran, totally disregarding the Constitution, putting American troops in harm’s way, and starting another war in the Middle East with no end in sight. The Constitution is clear: if the President wants to start a war, Congress – elected by the people – needs to sign off on it. The Senate needs to come back immediately to vote on this President’s senseless and illegal bombings– I know where I stand.
“Have we learned nothing from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Doubling down with another open-ended war without realistic goals or a strategy to win is not only foolish, but also recklessly puts Wisconsin’s sons and daughters at risk.
“President Trump pledged to the American people that he would not get involved in another foreign war, and this is yet another broken promise from this President. The President needs to listen to the people he represents: Americans want fewer foreign wars and more focus on them and their everyday struggles.”
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Representative Tom Tiffany also released a statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying: “My thoughts are with the brave U.S. forces carrying out these precision strikes and with the safety of American personnel in the region.”
