The No. 24 Wisconsin Badgers pulled off a 96-64 victory over the Campbell Fighting Camels on Monday, improving to 1-0 with a blowout win.
It was a game that was much closer than the final score indicated for the first 30 minutes, but the Badgers capped things off on a 29-2 run to win in impressive fashion, scoring 96 points in a quality performance.
It wasn’t the prettiest night overall for Wisconsin. They had defensive lapses in the first half, leading to a slow start where they trailed 11-4. They allowed Campbell to shoot nearly 60 percent from the field and 40 percent from three in the opening frame. And the Fighting Camels had multiple stretches in the second half where they climbed back into things after the Badgers took a commanding lead.
Nonetheless, Wisconsin won by 32, shot over 50 percent from the field, shot over 40 percent from three, had 13 offensive rebounds, and forced 19 turnovers, while holding Campbell’s offense in check over the final eight minutes.
After the game, head coach Greg Gard pointed out the team’s defense at the end, which he felt led to the impressive 29-2 run.
“Obviously, a lot that we will be able to take away from the game,” Gard said after the game. “Both good things and things that we will have to get immensely better at. But, I was happy with how we closed, especially defensively the last seven-eight minutes to hold them to, I think, just four free throws. I think this group is continuing [to get better]. It’s obvious, at times, we have water in our gas tank, meaning we sputter, and then we catch fire, and then we sputter, and that’s both ends of the court.
“We really show some good things defensively, and then we don’t, and then same thing offensively. I think, how we closed the game, I saw more consistency. I am still learning lineups and combinations and those things, but I thought [Will] Garlock gave us some good minutes. I thought [Andrew] Rohde was terrific in terms of the closing of the game there in the last seven or eight minutes defensively. [Jack] Janicki, I thought, gave us a real boost and some juice in the first half, and obviously [John] Blackwell, the numbers speak for themselves, and Nolan Winter again, it’s another double-double. I think this group is continuing to find out who they are. It will be different guys, different nights. But, it’s a lot of good things we’ll draw from it.”
However, what the head coach was most excited about wasn’t something he saw in the game. It was how well they played, considering how much growth is still to come for this team.
“We have a long ways to go,” Gard continued. “As I have said before, everybody on the outside is excited about what that team is, and I’m most excited about what this team isn’t yet.”
Wisconsin continues its season on Friday with a home contest against Northern Illinois. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
