As college basketball prepares for the Final Four this weekend, it’s been over a week since the Wisconsin Badgers ended their season in the Round of 32. While the season ended earlier than fans would have liked, there was a number of great moments from this past season. Here are just a few.
Brad Davison Breaks 3 Point Career Record
On January 27 at Nebraska, Brad Davison needed two three pointers to break the school record. The record was previously held by Bronson Koenig. Davison broke it early in the first half. One could argue Koenig’s was more impressive because he did it in four years compared to Davison’s five. Regardless, it’s an honor to hold any scoring record at a high level program such as Wisconsin.
I think this record will hold for awhile. I don’t see any Badger player anytime soon coming in and breaking this. It would take a lot of games and consistent playing time to do so. Davison should be considered one of the best shooters and one of the best players the Badgers have ever had.
Johnny Davis Goes For 37 at Mackey
Every team that plays at Mackey Arena struggles. It’s the reason most people call it “A House of Horrors”. The same could be said for the Badgers. There was a ton of solid Badger teams that came into West Lafayette and looked bad. However, this changed on January 3 74-69. The Badgers were facing a top five ranked Purdue team on the road and came to Mackey and beat the Boilermakers. It was an awesome performance and maybe the best game the Badgers played all season. Johnny Davis led the way with 37 points.
It’s hard to score 37 points as team at Mackey. On this night, Davis was by far the best player on the court. He did whatever he wanted and it didn’t matter who Purdue put on him. I believe this is the game that solidified Johnny Davis as one of, if not, the best player in the country (I’m a homer so I think he is). This game also put Wisconisn on the map as one of the best teams in the Big Ten and the country.
Wisconsin Wins The Maui Invite
No one knew what to expect from this Badger team early in the season. They were seen by most has a middle of the pack to below average Big Ten team and not an NCAA tournament team. It was a fair statement at the time. The Badgers were losing six key contributors from the previous season and the young players were not asked to do much.
I believe the Maui Invitational is the best Thanksgiving week tournament. A lot of teams that play in this tournament have great seasons. The Badgers were fortunate enough to not only participate but win the whole tournament. I originally thought it was fair the Badgers could win one game. After falling behind double digits early to Texas A&M in the opener, the Badgers rallied back to win. The next day, they beat Houston, who many thought were the favorite. After a one point win, they defeated Saint Mary’s in the title game. Johnny Davis had a 30 point game against Houston and put himself on the college basketball map. This was the point of the season where Wisconsin fans knew this team was better than originally portrayed.
Wisconsin Wins The Big Ten Regular Season Title
There is no doubt this is the best moment of the season. Purdue came to Madison with a shot to win the Big Ten as well. It was a top 10 matchup in the country with two of the best players in the country (Purdue’s Jaden Ivey and Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis). It was the biggest game at the Kohl Center since a top five matchup with Duke in the 2014 Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
In a back and forth battle on March 1, it was freshman Chucky Hepburn who banked in a three with under two seconds left. The Badgers won and Madison was a party all night. It secured the second Big Ten title in three years. It also showed this team has the players to be good for the next few years.
Honorable Mention
My honorable mention is the Badgers erasing a 22 point deficit at home against Indiana. Wisconsin couldn’t make a shot and fell behind early like the Texas A&M game 42-20. The Badgers chipped away at the lead and ultimately won thanks to a late game corner three from Johnny Davis.
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