The Badgers bounced back on Wednesday afternoon with a 73-62 win over Rhode Island. In a game that came together just this past weekend, Wisconsin set the tone early at the Kohl Center, and despite a late Rhody run, held on for a double-digit win.
Wisconsin locked down early and often, allowing just 16 first half points and holding Rhode Island’s star guard Fatts Russell to 2-9 shooting throughout the first 20. While the Badgers didn’t find their half court offense for much of the afternoon, Brad Davison found his jumper after an uncharacteristic day in the loss to Marquette. The senior led Wisconsin with 17 first half points on 3-5 shooting from three.
Micah Potter also brought the hammer down on the Rams in the middle of the first half:
GOOD MORNING. GOOD AFTERNOON. GOOD NIGHT. #Badgers pic.twitter.com/B8wGzvpnWg
— Asher Low (@alow_33) December 9, 2020
For two teams with a major contrast in styles, the first 20 went towards Wisconsin thanks to slow pace ignited in part by lots and lots of whistles. More on the whistles part later.
The Rams came out of the gates with energy after the halftime break, and finally got the lead to single digits with under five to play. The second half, however, quickly became dominated by the men in stripes. 32, yes 32, total fouls were called between the two teams, with a number of stoppages to review potential flagrant fouls and a few technicals to go with it.
Most of the final 20 minutes felt like it lacked any and all flow. The constant stoppages slowed the game down and, although the whistles did not overwhelmingly benefit either team, the slower pace certainly helped Wisconsin. A pair of threes from Jeremy Sheppard brought the Rams to within single digits late, but a free throw fest ensued and Wisconsin held on for a 73-62 win.
The No. 13 Badgers improved to 4-1 with a win over a quality Atlantic 10 opponent. Up next for Wisconsin is another tricky mid-major test with Northern Iowa coming to the Kohl Center next Wednesday. There is also the potential for a matchup with Louisville this weekend, after the initial game was postponed due to positive tests within the Cardinals program.