2022 is here and that means Wisconsin basketball resumes Big Ten play. No game in the Big Ten is easy, but the New Year brought the Badgers to Purdue to play the best team in the conference on the road. Mackey Arena has been the Badgers kryptonite outside of the NCAA tournament game last season against North Carolina. Wisconsin has not beat Purdue there since 2014. Of course, the young Badgers who have been overlooked all season, were the ones to do it in Mackey Arena. Taking down a top 5 Purdue team. Capped by a monster slam from Johnny Davis the Badgers won 74-69. Here’s three things from tonight’s game.
Foul Trouble Almost Cost The Badgers
Dealing with a team like Purdue that has multiple big men who are great in the post puts a lot of pressure on opposing teams’ big men. Purdue actually leads the entire NCAA in free throw differential. Even with how disciplined Wisconsin is, they could not keep Purdue off the line. The second half especially, the game got very physical and it was nearly impossible to stop Purdue’s bigs every play without fouling.
Crowl, Vogt, and Wahl all had 4 fouls with over 10 minutes left in the second half. Vogt ended up fouling out with just 8:17 in the second half. With not much size to work with, Zach Edey took over the game, crashing the glass and getting second chance points. Tyler Wahl fouled out with 2:11 left and required the Badgers to bring in Carter Gilmore. Eventually, Crowl fouled out with 53 seconds left again to Zach Edey.
Johnny Davis is an NBA Lottery Pick
Johnny Davis versus Jaden Ivey was the headline matchup coming into tonight’s game. Ivey from Purdue is a projected top 5 pick in next year’s NBA draft according to a few mock drafts out there. How would Davis respond in his first major matchup in a hostile environment? Davis flat out dominated the matchup, and was the reason the Badgers won this game. Highlighted by leaving Ivey in the dust on a top of the key three. Davis completely took over this ball game. A 10-1 Badger run to take their largest lead of the night saw Johnny knock down a three and a step back deep two. Davis had another double-double following his first of the season last game. He finished with a career high 37 points and a career high 14 rebounds. All while guarding Ivey and holding him to 14 points.
After the hot start to the season for Johnny, many Badger fans and college basketball fans alike saw him rising draft boards. Johnny Davis has a legitimate chance to be a lottery pick in this upcoming draft and maybe even a top-10 pick. Davis has solidified himself as one of if not the best player in the entire country. What he showed tonight against another elite prospect was flat out impressive, and he has the chance to be one of the best Badgers ever at the next level.
WOW
It was tough to find a third thing for this game. How about the 9 offensive rebounds against the best rebounding team in the country. Or maybe the two monster threes late in the second half from Brad Davison. Maybe another column about Johnny Davis? Gard and the coaching staff deserve their flowers. How about Wisconsin’s 9th win over a top-10 team under Coach Gard. For lack of a better word, all I can say is WOW. Evan Flood said it best. Three big men fouling out, shooting 6/24 from three, and against one of the best teams in the country at Mackey Arena. This team continues to surprise me and have already built an impressive tournament resume.
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