Wisconsin (5-0) continued its scorched-earth run to begin the season, downing UAB (2-2) 72-43 in their fifth straight win of 20 points or more to begin the season. This was the Badgers' first game in the loaded Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
In the repurposed ballroom of Atlantis Paradise Island resort in the Bahamas, the Badgers dominated the opening of the game and never looked back, holding a lead of ten or more for the entirety of the game’s final 30 minutes.
Senior center Frank Kaminsky paced the game as usual, leading UW with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting, highlighted by a filthy, uncontested reverse dunk that fully confirmed the rout was on. He is now averaging 18.6 points per game on 62% shooting with 9.8 rebounds per game and 2.8 blocks per game, so far backing up the preseason All-American hype and then some.
On the defensive side, the Badgers continued their supremacy, holding the Blazers to 18-of-51 shooting (35.3 percent) and forcing 19 turnovers. Outside of a single dunk, UAB didn’t have a point in the paint in the first half. Kaminsky defended the paint with authority while sophomore forward Nigel Hayes and redshirt senior guard Josh Gasser were especially relentless in forcing their marks to the perimeter.
When the Badgers wall up like they did tonight, the only hope for their opponents keeping the game close falls on three-point shooting, but the Blazers were only 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) from deep.
With the game out of reach basically after 15 minutes, Wisconsin once again got the opportunity to play its less used players. Redshirt sophomore Zak Showalter took that chance and had some fun. With 5:28 remaining the game, Showalter rebounded a missed Frank Kaminsky lay-up with one hand and slammed it down in a way you simply don’t expect from a 6-foot-2 Wisconsin walk-on guard.
Overall, it was the same story as every other Wisconsin game this season, an authoritative beatdown with no doubt over the final result. That trend could end tomorrow when the Badgers take on the winner of Florida-Georgetown in the tournament semifinal.
