Tag: Badgers

Badgers blowout Marquette at home, 77-61, behind massive team effort

Wisconsin had a balanced attack on offense, which was a key to leading the Badgers to victory over Marquette

MADISON- In a highly anticipated matchup between in-state rivals Marquette and Wisconsin, the host Badgers got the best out of the Golden Eagles in blowout fashion, 77-61.

The two teams were within five of each other at the half, but Wisconsin exploded in the second half from long range, and Marquette really struggled to score against the Badgers’ defense.

Check out my keys to the game below:

Balanced attack 

In the win, the host Badgers had one of the most balanced attacks that I have seen in a long time, especially during the Greg Gard era.

This was to be expected this season losing an all-time great like Ethan Happ, but in a rivalry game like this one, it was impressive to see it come together in such fashion for Wisconsin.

Eight Badgers played at least five minutes in the game, and six of them scored in double figures.

One of those players came off the bench, and the rest included all five starters on the squad, combining for 57 of the team’s 77 points.

There will be players that step up more than others on the offensive end, but when a team can get that kind of production from just about their whole rotation, that is certainly a sight to see for this offense.

In addition, Wisconsin shot 48% from the three-point line.

Pritzl

Brevin Pritzl, the one Badgers player that scored in double figures off the bench, very well may have been the MVP of this one for Wisconsin.

In the early-going when the game was very much up for grabs, Pritzl provided an instant spark for the victors, delivering seven points and seven rebounds in eight minutes, at the guard position no less.

Whether it was grabbing offensive rebounds or hitting knock down threes, Pritzl was absolutely relentless for Wisconsin, and finished with a career-high 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Badgers.

After the game, the team let him know how important he was to this win:

Shutting down Howard 

In order to beat Marquette, you have to shut down All-American Markus Howard.

And the Badgers, led by D’Mitrik Trice at the lead guard position, did just that and more.

Howard finished with a solid 18 points, but he scored 16 of those in the first half, and did not make a field goal in the second half.

In addition, Howard only shot 6/21 from the field, which is certainly a testament to how players like Trice, Davison, and Pritzl made things tough on Howard today.

All in all, it was a total team effort from Wisconsin, and an impressive performance to move to 3-1 on the young season.

First half takeaways Badgers vs. Cornhuskers

Some of the biggest keys to Wisconsin’s first half lead in Lincoln

At the break, the No. 14 Badgers led the unranked Huskers on the road, 27-14.

Some of the keys of the first half were Wisconsin’s success on special teams, the play of Jack Coan, and the Badgers’ early lack of rushing defense allowing scores to the opponent.

Special Teams

The third phase of football, often an unsung hero, played a major part to Wisconsin’s success in the first half.

Trailing 7-0 after having a fumble on their first offensive possession, Wisconsin had its first kick off return touchdown in four years, courtesy of speedy wide receiver and kick returner Aron Cruickshank.

In addition to this incredible return, kicker Collin Larsh made two field goals to add on to the Badgers’ lead.

Not always a positive for Wisconsin teams, the Badgers’ special teams looked awesome in the first two quarters.

Jack Coan

Wisconsin quarterback Jack Coan played a very solid, in-control half for the Badgers, throwing for 128 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers.

The numbers don’t jump off the page, but Coan had a beautiful throw to Quintez Cephus on a fourth down, delivered a strike to AJ Taylor for a long touchdown, and simpy looked in command of the Badgers’ offense.

In a game against a lesser opponent and in possession of the lead, that’s all Coan really needs to do for Wisconsin to win the game.

Rushing defense

In a mostly positive first half, one major downside to the Badgers’ play was that of the rushing defense.

Nebraska rushed for two scores, and a whopping 151 yards on the ground in the first half.

Against a stout Wisconsin defense, that is very impressive from the Huskers, and a bad look for the Badgers, especially when thinking about the five missed tackles that could have prevented long runs of 27 yards and 26 yards, respectively, and hopefully something for the Badgers’ defense to improve in the second half.

Happy Anniversary, Melvin Gordon!

A brief recap of Melvin Gordon’s record-breaking 408-yard performance against the Nebraska Cornhuskers

On this day exactly five years ago, Wisconsin’s star running back Melvin Gordon ran for what was at the time, the single greatest total in the history of NCAA football: 408 yards, in just three quarters, against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Camp Randall.

It was a truly legendary performance, and although MGIII’s record only lasted a week, it was a game that Badger fans will never forget, and one that I had the fortune of attending in person, in the front row of the student section.

As one of the most highly anticipated games of the year for the 7-2 Badgers coming into that Saturday, Wisconsin was set to host the 8-1 Cornhuskers, on a beautiful, snowy, classic Saturday in Madison.

It was a nightmarish start for the Badgers, falling behind 17-3 against the fast, offensive-minded Huskers early into the second quarter.

But with a 62-yard touchdown run from Gordon to bring the Badgers within a score, things all started to change, as the snowflakes began falling from the sky, and Wisconsin took their spot in the driver’s seat.

The Badgers would go on to score an unprecedented 56 points in a row until Nebraska scored again in garbage time.

This was the night Melvin Gordon became the best player in college football, and to me, the most dominant running back that I have ever seen in person.

Along with the 62-yard touchdown run, Gordon also had a 68-yard run, and finished with four touchdowns and the ridiculous 408 yards, on just 25 carries!

MGIII averaged an absurd 16.3 yards on that snowy day in Madison, and somehow did it in just three quarters, to lead Wisconsin to its biggest win of the year, and to make his mark in the record books.

I was in person for Bronson Koenig’s game-winner to send Wisconsin to the Sweet Sixteen. I’ve seen triple-doubles from LeBron James and game-winners from Giannis Antetokounmpo, but this remains the single greatest sporting achievement that I have had the pleasure of seeing live.

So, thank you, Melvin Gordon, and Happy Anniversary to an all-time performance and a legendary Badger.

Quick hits from Wisconsin’s 83-63 victory over McNeese State

It took a while for the Badgers to hit their stride. But when they did, it was a sight to see on the offensive end.

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.