Overall: D
Wisconsin’s struggles reached three games in a row as the schedule won’t get any easier going forward as the Badgers will begin conference play on Saturday against Indiana.
Wisconsin has struggled on both sides of the floor over their last three games but one area where they did improve upon is they were able to cut down on their number of turnovers. The Wolfpack entered the game against Wisconsin doing a terrific job of forcing their opponents into a high turnover rate but the Badgers only turned the basketball over nine times.
Seven of the nine turnovers by Wisconsin came off of North Carolina State steals as six different players were able to register at least one steal. Despite how well North Carolina State was shooting in the second half the Badgers only allowed them to turn their three turnovers into two points.
Wisconsin was able to win the rebounding battle 37-32 as 14 of Wisconsin’s 37 rebounds came on the offensive glass. In particular, Tyler Wahl and Ford were able to find ways of attacking the glass as Wahl finished with a team high eight rebounds while Ford finished the game with seven.
Wahl finished with a bench high five points as he played 20 minutes. Trevor Anderson chipped in three points off the bench while Brevin Pritzl didn’t score as he missed both of his attempts from three.
It also didn’t help matters that D’Mitrik Trice and Brad Davison continued to struggle on the offensive end. Trice finished with eight points and Davison had three but they shot a combined 4-for-14 from the field.
Game MVP: Aleem Ford
Ford was one of the few active Badgers against North Carolina State as he lead the Badgers with 13-points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field. He also collected seven rebounds, one block, and one steal. Ford being active on the offensive end allowed himself to generate high quality looks in the paint an area where the Badgers needed to have success if they wanted to stay competitive with the Wolfpack.