With a much faster-paced offense on display, the Wisconsin men’s basketball team (1-0 overall) opened its season last Friday with an impressive 86-75 win over the St. John’s Red Storm at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The Badgers came out and dominated early, building up a 14 point lead in the game’s first 10 minutes and leading by as much as 18 points. St. John’s went on to nibble away at the lead for most of the rest of the game, eventually cutting the lead to four points with eight minutes left.
Timely 3-pointers from sophomore forward Sam Dekker and senior guard Ben Brust promptly drove the lead back to double digits and St. John’s did not significantly threaten for the rest of the night.
Much of the scoring for the Badgers came from the 3-point and free-throw lines, as the team finished 11-of-23 (48 percent) from deep and 17-of-22 (77 percent) from the charity stripe. That free-throw shooting should be an encouraging sign, as the Badgers hope to improve on their dreadful 64 percent from last season.
St. John’s got most of its work done from inside the perimeter, taking advantage of weak rim protection from the backcourt-heavy Badgers and throwing down several dunks.
Junior center Frank Kaminsky explained how the team plans to improve its strategy in the paint.
”We got to start from the post,” Kaminsky said. “If you start from the post, there will be kick-out options and things like that. We have to establish more of a post presence going forward.”
This problem could be expected in the future, as the Badgers are playing with a smaller lineup this year. Three starters in Friday’s game (redshirt junior guard Josh Gasser, sophomore guard Traevon Jackson and Brust) are all listed shorter than 6 feet 4 inches.
Gasser led the Badgers in scoring in his return from last season’s ACL tear. Gasser looked like he has fully recovered from the injury, shooting 3-of-5 from 3-point range and a perfect 8-of-8 for free throws, while playing solid perimeter defense. Gasser also lead the team in minutes played with 35, indicating the coaching staff fully believes he is ready to play full time.
Brust didn’t treat the return as much of a surprise. “It’s just the Josh that I know and we know,” Brust said. “He’s someone who’s got experience and going to make big shots and make good plays for us.”
In addition to Gasser, Dekker, junior forward Duje Dukan, Brust, and Jackson all reached double digits in scoring. Dukan’s 15 points were not only a career high, but more than he had scored in his career at Wisconsin before that game.
“He’s a good shooter,” Kaminsky said of Dukan. “There are going to be opportunities for him to get out there and play as well as he did.”
Dukan was the only forward from the bench to register more than 10 minutes and figures to play a key role in the rotation going forward.
A quick whistle from the referees was noticeable, with both teams combining for 43 personal-fouls. This aggressive game called by the officials created early foul trouble for St. John’s, eventually causing its leading scorer, junior guard D’Angelo Harrison to foul out.
Many of the fouls came from new rules imposed by the NCAA, forbidding hand checks and arm bars by defensive players. The rules have created problems across the NCAA, as teams try to adjust their play styles to fit the new restrictions.
“There’s a learning curve,” Brust said. “[Head coach Bo Ryan] teaches us to not play with our hands. In practice, our coaches stay on us to play sound fundamental defense, so when the games come, it’s not a big transition.”
The Badgers will move on and face No. 10 Florida at the Kohl Center Tuesday.
