Wisconsin is now one of the best offensive teams in the country

Wisconsin is now one of the best offensive teams in the country

If someone read that headline at the start of 2023, I can almost guarantee they would assume it would be referring to the Wisconsin football team and Phil Longo’s air raid offense.

That is not the case. Greg Gard’s Wisconsin basketball team shot their way to a 91-79 win over Indiana last night, improving to 14-4 on the season and 6-1 in Big Ten play. Notably, the performance also thrust the group to KenPom’s No. 4 team in overall offensive efficiency.

The team is now ranked behind only Alabama, Purdue and UConn. Not only impressive given the company, but especially so given Wisconsin’s classic defense-first identity.

The Badgers average 1.14 points per possession and 76.5 points per game. Those two numbers may not jump off the page, but one must consider the context of the team playing at a slower pace — hence KenPom’s ‘efficiency.’

The excellent offensive season can be attributed to Greg Gard’s recent transfer addition of A.J. Storr, but also Max Klesmit’s breakout and the steady play of veterans Chucky Hepburn, Tyler Wahl and Steven Crowl. Then add John Blackwell’s significant potential as a true freshman and the deepest bench we’ve seen the team have in years, and you get a dangerous offensive group no matter the five on the floor.

This may be Gard’s best shot at a Final Four yet.