The No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers tipped off their 2020-21 season against the Eastern Illinois Panthers tonight after what ended up being a 263-day wait since their last game.
Starting for Greg Gard’s team were five seniors–D’Mitrik Trice, Brad Davison, Aleem Ford, Micah Potter and Nate Reuvers.
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That was the biggest storyline coming into the season: Head Coach Greg Gard and his team returning nearly their entire production from last year’s Big Ten regular season-winning unit.
One slept-on storyline, however, is what impact freshmen Jonathan Davis and Ben Carlson have in their first collegiate seasons. The talent and production of the senior starting five is known, and it will most likely take some underclassmen stepping up as difference makers in order to bring this team to the next level.
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Well, both Davis and Carlson wasted no time making an impact in tonight’s matchup against Eastern Illinois, scoring their first points just seconds after entering the game:
Freshmen getting busy early. 👀
Davis and Carlson deliver back-to-back buckets for @BadgerMBB: pic.twitter.com/mfJ8d6dxBd
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) November 26, 2020
Davis entered the program as a three-star recruit and was ranked as the No. 2 player in the state of Wisconsin, while Carlson came as a four-star and the No. 4 player from his home state of Minnesota.
Davis, Carlson and the Badgers will be back in action Friday night against the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions before starting their conference slate on December 21 against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.