The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team defeated the UW-Stevens Point Pointers 87-44 at the Kohl Center in an exhibition game Wednesday evening.
The Badgers came into this game after finishing 11th in the Big Ten with a 20-15 record last season. The Badgers retained all their starters from last season, but head coach Greg Gard opted to utilize 6-foot-7 sophomore transfer guard AJ Storr instead of 6-foot-4 returning sophomore guard Connor Essegian in Wednesday’s starting lineup.
Wisconsin missed their highly touted 6-foot-9 freshman forward Gus Yalden. Yalden is a Wisconsin native who played his high school senior year at La Lumiere in La Porte, Indiana. He was a top ten scorer in the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference, which is regarded as one of the toughest high school basketball conferences in the country.
Yalden, who garnered the nickname “Baby Jokic” in high school with his effortless play style, has taken a leave of absence from the team to deal with a family matter, Gard said Wednesday in a press release.
Despite Yalden’s absence and the switch in guards in the starting lineup, the Badgers started the first half strong with a 13-4 lead in the first five minutes.
The Pointers retaliated with five straight points that slashed the lead down to four. This was Stevens Point’s largest run of the first half.
Wisconsin fired right back with their own 13-point run and ended the half with a 20-point lead thanks to 6-foot-2 Wisconsin junior guard Chucky Hepburn’s two-way play and Storr’s prolific shooting.
Hepburn did not score in the first half for Wisconsin but aided the Badgers playmaking with five assists and three steals that led to fast break opportunities. Hepburn finished the game with seven points, six assists and four steals in 20 minutes.
Storr dazzled in his first performance for Wisconsin, scoring 12 points in the first half with 80% shooting on five shots from the field. Storr was perfect on his two three-pointers and his two shots at the free-throw line.
Storr transferred from St. Johns, where he averaged 8.8 points per game and shot 40.4% from three-point range in his freshman year. He had the highest three-point percentage of all Big East freshmen.
The Badgers continued their scoring dominance with another 45 points in the second half. Wisconsin’s length and size overpowered the Pointers as the Badgers grabbed 21 more rebounds, scored 32 more paint points and shot 19 more free throws than Stevens Point.
Storr led Wisconsin with 14 points, three rebounds and one block. Stevens Point freshman guard Josiah Butler led all scorers with 15 points, two rebounds and two assists.
The Badgers look to utilize this victory as an adjustment for their newcomers before their first regular season game against Arkansas State on Nov. 6 at home.
