Before the Wisconsin Badgers faced the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Tuesday night, we wrote about the reality that this game was likely to be the easiest one left on the 2020 schedule. We explored the idea that even though achievements against weaker opponents might not seem substantial, the mere fact that a team might play better in certain ways can unlock an awareness in players that they can improve to an extent not previously imagined. The awakening itself matters more than the caliber of opposition.
Hopefully, then, Wisconsin gained the realization that it can have a balanced and deep offense.
The best feature of Tuesday’s 82-68 win over Nebraska is that seven Wisconsin players scored eight or more points. Brad Davison had 14, Brevin Pritzl 12, D’Mitrik Trice and Nate Reuvers 11 apiece, Micah Potter and Kobe King with 9 apiece, and Aleem Ford 8. Every starter scored at least eight points. The recent trend of one starter scoring zero points in a game was halted.
Obviously, Nebraska has a much weaker defense than any other non-Northwestern Big Ten team, so it will be challenging for Wisconsin to carry this balanced offense into future games. However, the hope is that the Badgers — by displaying a balanced offense for one of the few times this season against a Power Five conference opponent — gained some realizations about how they can replicate this outcome. This is exactly what we meant when we said that Nebraska provided a unique team-building opportunity for the Badgers.
Yes, we shouldn’t expect the Badgers to hit 18 of 34 threes against tougher Big Ten opponents. That won’t be a regular feature of Wisconsin games against quality opposition. No one needs to pretend that is a realistic possibility. However, the instructive point here is that Wisconsin has been so bad in 3-point shooting in most of its Big Ten games (6 of 23, 7 of 22, 6 of 21, etc.) that if the Badgers can merely lift their percentage to the high 30s on a more regular basis, they will wind up shooting a lot better than their worst nights.
No one should expect 18 of 34 on a regular basis, but what if this game enables Wisconsin to become a team which makes 9 of 24 threes in a game, or 10 of 26? If UW can reach that level of 3-point shooting and stay there, the Badgers are going to win MORE games, not fewer, as we move along.
We will get to find out Friday at Purdue if this opportunity turned into a genuine source of evolution and development for Wisconsin basketball this year.