Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball: recap of the Nebraska Cornhuskers

After finishing the game without a conference last week, the Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team (7-1 overall, 1-0 B1G) shifted its focus to the Big Ten game Tuesday night for a home game against Nebraska.

The Cornhuskers, led by head coach Fred Hoiberg, came to Madison in hopes of upset, but the Badgers turned out to be too much. Wisconsin managed to overcome a few early fights to win by double digits.

In the first few minutes of action, Wisconsin failed to keep its hot fire out of the game before going, missing the first six shots on the field. Nebraska did not fare much better, as the Cornhuskers had only a 2-0 lead in the first timeout.

After Jonathan Davis broke the deadlock for Wisconsin with a three-point score, another long scoring drought for badgers followed, with Nebraska maintaining a 7-3 lead in the second half timeout.

The Nebraska leader increased to nine, with 6:40 left in the first half, but the Badgers finally managed to find an appearance of offense in the next three minutes to reduce the deficit to just two points at 3:24.

The increase in score will continue for Wisconsin, as the Badgers gained a one-point advantage at the break, thanks to a 14-3 run in the last 4:21 of the first half.

Wisconsin built the lead in the first three minutes of the second half, pushing the margin to six with 16:40 left to play, Nate Reuvers, D’Mitrik Trice and Aleem Ford all scored. from the break.

Nebraska did not back down as the Cornhuskers went 7-0 to take the lead in the next media timeout. During the stretch, Wisconsin became far too dependent on the jump shots, with a poor selection of shots, resulting in a three-minute drought.

In a few minutes, the momentum quickly rushed to the Badgers, who organized their own 16-0 run to climb 48-33 with 9:09 to play.

From that moment on, Wisconsin would never look back. The Badgers kept the Cornhuskers at bay and would take care of business for a 67-53 victory.

• Micah Potter -> 10 points (shooting 3 of 7), 11 rebounds, two assists
• Aleem Ford -> 13 points (shooting 4 of 9), eight rebounds
• Brad Davison -> 15 points (5-of-11 shooting), three rebounds, seven assists
• Dalano Banton -> 15 points (5-of-12 shooting), eight rebounds, four assists

Nr. 1: Length issues

Nebraska started an extremely long starting line, with the two starting goalkeepers standing, 6 feet-9 and 6 feet-6 respectively. This duration led to some problems in the first 10 minutes of the game. Wisconsin settled for three-point shots in the middle of the first 14 attempts and was blocked in four of the other seven attempts. Add six uncharacteristic turnovers to those opening goods, and things weren’t going well for Badgers early.

The Badgers’ initial problems with adapting to the aggressiveness and length of Nebraska were notable and were an important reason for the slow start for Wisconsin. Shooting 1-of-16 to start the game, Wisconsin finally managed to settle into a rhythm, but the poor presentation in the opening moments of the game will have to change with Michigan State on the deck.

Nr. 2: Jonathan Davis

One player who had no problems with Nebraska was freshman Jonathan Davis. La Crosse exposed their full game against the Cornhuskers, leading the team with seven points and five rebounds in the first half, with a shot of 75%. The energy he brought into the field seemed to really fuel the team and ignite the rally after a very slow start. Davis was active at both ends of the field, with two offensive rebounds and a pretty tough up to the circle in the first half, and an excellent defense against a much taller Dalano Banton at the other end of the field.

While Davis was not as effective in the final stages of the game, his presence in the first half was an important reason why the Badgers managed to stay in the game as his teammates fought from the field.

In the first eight games of his young career, Davis has now scored at least six points in all but one game, and has shown a strong ability to create his own shot and get on board. In the case of a senior-laden team that can get hot, having a threat of score on the bench, which can generate dribbling points, they should pay dividends along the way.

Nr. 3: The second half of the swing

After a quick crack in the neck in the middle, Wisconsin managed to get back on track in the last 20 minutes. Against Loyola Chicago and Louisville, the Badgers were extremely effective in attack and connected well from three. While the first half against Nebraska was not great, the second half was reminiscent of the previous two performances.

Wisconsin seems to be clicking on the offense and has fixed some comeback and defense errors that have occurred against Marquette. Now 1-0 in the Big Ten game, the level of competition will continue to improve.

One thing you need to monitor is Nate Reuvers’ game. The best scorer of a year ago, scored in double figures for the first time since the Marquette game. Micah Potter and Brad Davison have done a great job of taking the weakness in the last three games, but Reuvers is still a key element for badgers and will have to be more involved in the offense for this team to live to its full potential.

It follows: Badgers will return to the hardwoods on Christmas Day for a B1G Michigan No. 12 showdown (6-1 overall, 0-1 B1G). The tip is set for 11:30 CST, and the game can be seen on FOX.