MADISON- Although it took a while for the Wisconsin Badgers to get going against McNeese State, the home team exploded for 46 points in the second half, and went on cruise control for an 83-63 victory at the Kohl Center to improve to 2-1 on the young season.
Early foul trouble
One major reason for Wisconsin’s early lack of success was some foul trouble to two of the team’s big men, Aleem Ford and Nate Reuvers.
Wisconsin should have been able to use its size to an advantage against a smaller, more guard-oriented team.
But Ford picked up three fouls in the first half, and Big Ten Player of the Week Nate Reuvers got two fouls in each half, so neither player was able to get into a rhythm early on, especially Reuvers coming off such a big week.
In the second half, that was luckily not such a big issue.
Big minutes from walk on
When Wisconsin was struggling early in the game, and even down nearly double digits within the first few minutes, head Coach Greg Gard made an interesting move and gave junior walk-on Walt McGrory his first minutes of the season.
McGrory’s minutes were huge for the Badgers, as Walt scored nine minutes in the first half alone, and more importantly brought a palpable surge of momentum and energy to the squad in a rut.
If he wasn’t the MVP of the entire game, McGrory was certainly a driving force for the Badgers as they turned the game around in the first twenty minutes.
Hot shooting
Wisconsin was double-teamed in the post early in this contest, which created a lot of open shots from the perimeter.
Those shots did not fall in the first half, but they certainly did in the second half, including a stretch where Wisconsin hit 10 shots in a row.
One of the most ridiculous stretches came as part of a 13-3 run, which included back-to-back-to-back threes from Brad Davison, D’Mitrik Trice and Brevin Pritzl.
Wisconsin ended up shooting 61% in the second half, but it felt more like 80%, as part of an impressive run to seal the win for the Badgers at home.