The Wisconsin Badgers took on the Loyola Chicago Ramblers on short notice Tuesday night. The Badgers took care of the Rambler 77-63. Seniors Brad Davison and D’Mitrik Trice led Wisconsin with 17 points each. Micah Potter had 13 points, while Johnny Davis chipped in 12. The Badgers improved to 5-1 on the season with the victory.
First Half Analysis
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The first half began on a rocky note for the Badgers. They missed their first eight shots and trailed the Ramblers 7-0 at the under 16 media timeout. The Badgers then went on a 10-3 run to tie the game 10-10 at the under 12 media timeout.
The first 20 minutes was nothing attractive for both teams. The Ramblers shot 37.5% from the field, but only on 24 shots. The Badgers shot 30% on 33 shots in the first half. Rambler senior center Cameron Krutwig and Badgers forward Nate Reuvers made life miserable for the other. Reuvers missed his first six shots before hitting two threes at the end of the half. Krutwig, the leading scorer for Loyola Chicago, had eight first half points.
While the Ramblers made their final four shots of the half, the Badgers did force eight first half turnovers. Tyler Wahl was fantastic on the defensive end once again and provided a much needed spark that seemed to settle the Badgers down and get into their offensive rhythm. The Badgers held a 31-26 lead at halftime.
Second Half Analysis
The second half began with a quick surge from the Ramblers, tying the game at 34. Wisconsin responded with a 17-2 scoring run to put the Badgers up 54-36. This was in large part to three point shooting as UW ended the night 10-18 from three.
Fouls and foul trouble became an issue for the Badgers in the second half again. Nate Reuvers and Tyler Wahl ended up with four fouls each while Micah Potter had three fouls. It’s starting to become a concerning trend for the red and white. Wisconisn will need to clean that part of their game up if they want to end up at the top of the Big Ten conference.
The defense had another solid performance tonight. In this game’s preview, we brought up how Loyola Chicago is one of the best teams in the country in field goal shooting and three point shooting. Tonight, the Badgers held the Ramblers to 21-54 (38.9%) from the the field and 9-26 (36.6%) from the field. The Badgers also forced 14 turnovers.
Wisconsin has also challenged themselves this non-conference season. Having already played Marquette, Rhode Island, and now Loyola Chicago, the Badgers now see 23rd ranked Louisville this weekend. This should help Wisconsin in Big Ten play as well as boost their resume for the NCAA tournament. I would not want to face this Rambler team in March. Good luck to those who may.
Up Next
The Badgers will host Louisville for their ACC/Big Ten match up. the game is scheduled for 11 AM CST Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPN 2. The Badger football team hosts Minnesota shortly after the game at 3 PM CST.
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