On an evening with all the makings for a classic trap game, the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team did just enough to sneak by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros 87-84 at the Kohl Center Monday night. No. 19 Wisconsin improves to 5-0, finishing its opening five-game homestand undefeated.
Wisconsin struggled defensively for most of the game, having trouble with UTRGV’s small and quick lineup. But by tightening up late in the game with a smaller lineup of their own, the Badgers were able to find a victory.
“Good teams find a way when things aren’t clicking,” head coach Greg Gard said in a press conference after the win. “We’ll learn from it and keep getting better.”
Led by guard Hasan Abdul-Hakim, who scored a team-high 19 points, UTRGV displayed a potent offensive attack, leading Wisconsin for most of the game.
Wisconsin continued to find success offensively despite a dicey defensive effort. Guard John Blackwell demonstrated his ability to be Wisconsin’s main option, scoring a career-high 30 points on 11-18 shooting, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out three assists. In a stretch where Wisconsin took its first lead since the opening minute, Blackwell put the Badgers on his back, scoring 15 of Wisconsin’s first 20 second-half points.
In his milestone game, Blackwell has become the fourth different player in five games to lead Wisconsin in scoring in a game this season, demonstrating the team’s tremendous depth.
“I think that’s the beauty of this team, the strength of this team. I felt all along that we have a lot of guys that could score,” Gard said. “It's nice when you have a lot of options, and I've got a lot of guys that I can go to, and good teams find ways and have different guys pick them up each night.”
Guard John Tonje followed up his 41-point performance on Friday against Arizona with 19 points, going a perfect 10-10 from the free-throw line. Guard Max Klesmit scored 11 points and forwards Steven Crowl and Xavier Amos each added nine.
In what has become a trend this season, Wisconsin allowed the Vaqueros to come out of the gates hot. In the first half, UTRGV converted on plenty of open shots, shooting 62.5% from the field and 44.4% from three, on the way to taking a 52-48 halftime lead.
Wisconsin’s defense continued to struggle to open the second half. With 15 minutes left, Wisconsin trailed by seven and didn’t take the lead until a Blackwell three-pointer brought the Badgers up 68-66 with 10 minutes and 54 seconds left. The Badgers and Vaqueros then traded baskets until an almost four-minute scoring hiatus was broken by a Tonje three to make it 74-72 in favor of Wisconsin with four minutes remaining.
Wisconsin then took a pair of five-point leads, but even then, the pesky Vaqueros continued to battle as the game came down to the final moments. With 29 seconds left, Klesmit missed a jump shot, giving UTRGV the ball when down only one point.
But after struggling for most of the night, Wisconsin’s defense came up with a game-saving stop. As Abdul-Hakim penetrated toward the lane, guard Kamari McGee applied pressure, forcing a missed shot that Blackwell forcefully rebounded to secure the victory.
Wisconsin will now prepare for the Greenbrier Tip-Off in West Virginia, where they will play UCF on Nov. 22 before playing either LSU or Pittsburgh.
