The Wisconsin Badgers have won their fifth-consecutive game to begin the 2024 season after defeating UTRGV.
The Vaqueros came into the game swinging after the Badgers expected to run through the drop in competition. After previously defeating the Arizona Wildcats, the Badgers did not enter the UTRGV game with the same intensity and the team felt that early in the game. The Vaqueros were in control for nearly 35-minutes before the Wisconsin Badgers finally were able to pull through.
While from the outside UTRGV might not look like a very menacing or competitive team, the Vaqueros are excellent outside shooters and can never truly be counted out. UTRGV can turn a game around in an instant, and that was certainly proven against the Badgers.
For the Wisconsin Badgers, it was John Blackwell who was the player of the game as it was his turn to lead the offense. Blackwell scored a career-high 30-points for the Wisconsin Badgers as the team made it a priority to drive and get to the foul line. John Tonje was also incredibly effective for Wisconsin once again, making a home at the foul line for the Badgers.
On defense, Wisconsin truly struggled with both assignments and closing out against the Vaqueros. There were multiple times in the first-half of play in particular where Wisconsin failed to properly perform a switch and allowed for an open bucket to be scored. Wisconsin has struggled with this through all five games this season, but it has not been much of an issue previously since Wisconsin scored more points than the opposing team.
What Went Right, What Went Wrong For the Wisconsin Badgers Against UTRGV
For the Wisconsin Badgers, there were some things that went right for the team, but overall quite a lot that went wrong on the defensive side.
The Wisconsin defense was not able to stay with the fast-paced movement of the basketball in the first-half against the Vaqueros. As previously mentioned, the Badgers failed to switch multiple times and left shooters open, which the Vaqueros took advantage of. Wisconsin was never able to feel comfortable against the Vaqueros, and neither did the fans as it felt like UTRGV was going to score each time the ball was possessed.
Moving forward, the Wisconsin Badgers need to work on defending the perimeter effectively in order to avoid another similar situation. The Badgers struggled in the paint last season against physical big-men, but have done a good job in that category this season thus far. If the Badgers can fix some of the present perimeter defense issues, then Wisconsin could be a seriously tough defense to play against.
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