Wisconsin picked up a critical road victory over No. 20 Penn State on Saturday afternoon, taking down the Nittany Lions 58-49. Here are our top three takeaways from the game for the Badgers.
A career performance for Micah Potter
Kobe King (10 points, 4 assists) and Brad Davison (11 points, 13 rebounds) both had excellent overall performances and made some timely plays, but there’s no question that the day belonged to Potter.
The Ohio State transfer was nearly unstoppable in the first half, scoring Wisconsin’s first 12 points of the game and finishing with 18 at the intermission. Every one of them was critical with the rest of the rotation struggling mightily to start the day.
Potter came down to earth a bit in the second half, but he hit some massive shots in the final 20 minutes, and ended up with a career-high 24 points on 4-6 shooting from downtown and 9-14 overall. He was also a monster on the glass, racking up 13 boards.
While it’s wrong to suggest that Potter’s lack of eligibility was the sole reason for Wisconsin’s rough start to the season, or that his presence has made all the difference in Bucky’s 5-1 record over its last six, but there’s no denying that he has provided a massive lift for this team since joining the rotation against UW-Milwaukee. This is a result of both his individual production and the load he has taken off of Nate Reuvers’ shoulders.
Potter’s career day against Penn State will undoubtedly make Badger fans even more furious at the NCAA for holding him out for the start of the season.