The Wisconsin Badgers have dropped to 5-2 after a tough loss to the TCU Horned Frogs which resulted in a second place finish in the Rady Children’s Invitational.
Wisconsin opened the invitational against the Providence Friars with a 104-83 win largely due to the offensive performance of Nick Boyd. The guard recorded 36 points, which is a record for the Rady Children’s Invitational, while also adding seven rebounds and seven assists. Austin Rapp added a season-high 20 points and three blocks during the win as well.
The Horned Frogs, however, proved to be a completely different animal against Wisconsin in the finals. Rapp recorded just two points and five rebounds without a block on defense. Boyd returned after his explosive performance with just 15 points and a new season-high of five turnovers.
Wisconsin recorded 17 total turnovers as a team, but the starting lineup combined for 13 of those. Nolan Winter was the only starter without a turnover against TCU but the forward was unable to get anything going offensively, missing all three of his shot attempts. Prior to the loss, Winter had never played 20 or more minutes for Wisconsin without making a field goal attempt.
John Blackwell led the offense with a 30-point showing but did not do so in the most effective way against the Horned Frogs’ defense. Blackwell needed 22 shot attempts to do so, which is a new career-high, while scoring 11 points at the foul line. The guard again recorded three steals, bringing his total at the Rady Children’s Invitational to six.
TCU Horned Frogs Prove to be Too Much Against Wisconsin Badgers Ahead of Big Ten Opener
Following the loss, Blackwell was asked about what went wrong during the game and the guard responded, “They just wanted it more.”
The loss to the BYU Cougars was both eye-opening and revealing as the Badgers do in fact have weaknesses that were not previously tested. Coach Greg Gard questioned the mental toughness of the team following the 28-point loss. Wisconsin never made the game against the Cougars competitive and struggled to bounce-back after defensive breakdowns.
TCU exposed some of the same against the Badgers as Wisconsin recorded more turnovers (17) than free-throws made (16) in an ugly contest all around. Wisconsin did have a much improved final few minutes to finish the game despite the win being out of reach, for what it is worth.
The Badgers will return to Madison for a midweek game against Northwestern that will open Big Ten Conference play for both teams. Senior forward Nick Martinelli scored 35 points against Wisconsin across two contests last season. Martinelli already has five 20-point games this season and will be a player to watch during the upcoming game.
For More Great Wisconsin Sports Content
Follow me on Twitter (X) @JarrettGuerrera, and follow us @WiSportsHeroics for more great content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on all things Wisconsin sports, click here
