Playing in a unique environment, at American Family Field, against Stanford as part of the Brew City Battle, the Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team came into Friday’s matchup looking to improve to 2-0 on the season.
Despite some poor shooting for both teams, the Badgers would find a way to leave Milwaukee with a 10-point win, physically overtaking the Cardinal 60-50.
Here is a breakdown of Wisconsin’s non-conference win over Stanford.
Wisconsin would grab an early advantage with big men Tyler Wahl and Steven Crowl leading the way for the Badgers with some interior scoring. With starting shooting guard Max Klesmit in some early trouble with two quick fouls though, Wisconsin would have to turn to their bench in the first few minutes, allowing Stanford to tighten the score and make it only a one-point game at the first media timeout.
The Badgers would proceed to go ice-cold from the floor shortly thereafter, missing their next eight attempts before Chucky Hepburn stopped the four-minute scoring drought for Wisconsin with 14 minutes left in the first half.
After a pair of free throws by Stanford’s Brandon Angel, Chucky Hepburn would find a cutting Connor Essegian for an easy lay-in to once again give the Badgers a narrow lead. Minutes later, a banked-in three-pointer by Jordan Davis would give the Badgers a 14-12 lead at the next media timeout with 10:50 remaining.
Stanford would quickly tie things up after the stoppage, but three turnovers by the Cardinal would help the Badgers open up a four-point advantage with eight minutes remaining, as neither team could shoot the ball well midway through the first half.
Senior forward Tyler Wahl would continue to give the Badgers a boost on both sides of the court against the length of Stanford, adding another layup to lead the way with eight points. Then a Connor Essegian three-pointer off an unselfish pass by Jahcobi Neath gave Wisconsin a 7-point lead with just over five minutes remaining.
Over the next couple of minutes, Stanford would continue to struggle to get going on offense, missing five of six attempts with multiple turnovers. The Badgers, on the other hand, would rely on 7-foot center Steven Crowl, who hit a big three-point attempt off a pick and roll with Chucky Hepburn and then made a pair of free-throws to give Wisconsin a 10-point advantage with 1:53 left on the clock in the first half.
Late in the half, Jordan Davis would convert a three-point play inside the paint to add to the Wisconsin lead. Stanford would finally stop the bleeding with a floater by Spencer Jones on the next possession, but a Tyler Wahl free throw would give the Badgers a 12-point lead at halftime, 32-20.
Coming out of the intermission, both teams would heat up a bit on offense. The Cardinal finally found their footing, making their first five attempts from the floor, while Wisconsin would continue to find scoring from Jordan Davis and Tyler Wahl. By the first media timeout, Stanford would trim the Wisconsin lead to only eight points, outscoring the Badgers 11-7 in the first five minutes of the half.
Chucky Hepburn would provide an answer for the Badgers after the timeout. The sophomore point guard hit a fade-away jumper with the shot clock ticking down and then took advantage of a big defensive stop by Carter Gilmore to lead the break and find Connor Esseigan for a wide-open three. Stanford would respond with a six-point run of their own to make it 44-38 with 11 minutes remaining in the game.
The two teams would struggle to generate any offense over the next few minutes as Wisconsin and Stanford settled for jump shots and failed to convert. As a result, the Badgers would maintain their lead heading into the next media timeout, 45-40, with 7:27 left on the clock.
A Chucky Hepburn jumper would help Wisconsin create a bit of separation with just over six minutes remaining. Moments later, back-to-back effort plays by Tyler Wahl and Jordan Davis would help the Badgers open up a 10-point lead with four minutes left. Wahl had a pretty layup through contact, while Jordan Davis snagged a crucial offensive rebound on a Wahl free-throw miss that gave Wisconsin a big momentum swing.
Over the final few minutes, Stanford would continue to have a hard time finding the bottom of the net. As a result, the Badgers were able to salt the game away from the free throw line and eventually put an exclamation point on the victory with a Carter Gilmore breakaway dunk to head home with a 60-50 win.
Stats: 17 points (6-of-13 shooting), five rebounds, and three steals in 33 minutes
Tyler Wahl continues to showcase his versatility and skill level on both ends of the court this season. After opening the year with a double-double against South Dakota, the senior forward put together another strong performance against Stanford on Friday night. Wahl had a pair of breakaway steals and hit Q three-point attempt in the game to lead the Badgers with 17 points.
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Stats: 13 points (5-of-9 shooting), three rebounds, and one steal in 25 minutes
Jordan Davis continued to move really well without the basketball against Stanford. He made a couple of pretty cuts to get into the paint on Friday night and had a career-high eight points in the first half alone. The junior wing ultimately finished the game with 13 points and provided the Badgers with a great game as fellow starter Max Klesmit struggled with foul trouble.
Stats: 9 points (2-of-6 shooting), 11 rebounds, and three blocks in 34 minutes
Against the length of Stanford, Steven Crowl did not back down. Instead, the 7-foot junior went to work inside against the Cardinal. Overall, Crowl rebounded the ball well with 11 boards and also added three blocks and two assists to help the Badgers escape with a win. More of a finesse big throughout his career, Crowl showed his toughness against Stanford.
Stats: 14 points (5-of-11 shooting) and three rebounds in 30 minutes
As expected, the backdrop at American Family Field made jump shots tough on Friday night, but it didn’t matter for the Badgers.
Greg Gard’s team did a tremendous job on the defensive end in the first half, holding Stanford to 0-of-9 shooting from three-point range and forcing 12 turnovers. The Badgers used the defensive end to jumpstart their offense with 18 points off turnovers in the first half,
Wisconsin also did an excellent job of taking care of the basketball in the first half with only three turnovers on offense, but the second half was a different story early on. The Badgers had five turnovers in their first 13 possessions of the half, helping Stanford close the gap.
Wisconsin would weather an early surge by Stanford in the second half, and all things considered, it was a significant win for the Badgers and a gritty effort with scoring hard to come by. The performance was far from pretty, but Wisconsin found a way to win. With plenty of new faces and inexperience, a win like this is invaluable, especially against a tough Stanford team.
Wisconsin was able to navigate adversity and relied on five players to carry the scoring load versus Stanford with Jordan Davis, Steven Crowl, Tyler Wahl, Connor Essegian, and Chucky Hepburn all having at least eight points in the game. The game was also incredibly physical, and that should pay dividends later in the year when Big Ten play rolls around.
The Badgers will be back at the Kohl Center on Tuesday, November 15, for a non-conference matchup with UW-Green Bay. Tip time is set for 8 p.m. CST and the game will be aired on Big Ten Network.
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