The losing streak continues for Wisconsin basketball. The Badgers fell to last place Michigan 72-68 in Ann Arbor last night. AJ Storr led the way with 20 points, but had to take 14 shots to get it. Chucky Hepburn had a nice game adding 17 points while Tyler Wahl and Max Klesmit added 12 and 10 respectively. The losing streak is now a season high three games. Here are three takeaways from the loss last night.
Wisconsin Basketball Was Sloppy Early Again
The story of this losing streak for Wisconsin basketball, especially the last two games, has been early turnovers and being sloppy on the defensive side. Lats night, the Badgers turned the ball over on three of their first four possessions. Their 12 total turnovers led to 15 Michigan points. 12 isn’t a ton, but the Wolverines took advantage of them.
The sloppy start put the Badgers in a fist fight right away. They went punch for punch most of the first half. but could never get consistent stops on defense. In particular, they struggled to get around screens. As a result, Michigan’s Dug McDaniel had 11 first half points on 5-8 shooting He got the rim at ease. Elijah Hawkins, McDaniel, and Kayne Clary have all done this to the Badgers over the last few weeks.
Three Point Shooting Slump
After going 3-19 from three against Purdue, Wisconsin basketball was 5-19 from three last night. That’s 8-34 the last two games. This isn’t a team that relies on the three, but they have to hit more than five in a game to get wins, especially on the road.
Three point shooting comes and goes for just about any program. That’s why I am not worried long term about this. However, the Badgers have to take good three point shots if they want to get out of the slump. Too many times, it seems like they are taking threes early in shot clock or not looking comfortable in general.
Wisconsin Basketball Needs to Stop Playing With Their Food on the Road
Over the last three road games, Wisconsin basketball has played two good defensive halves. These were the first halves against Minnesota and Nebraska. In the second halves of those games, the Badgers blew double digit leads and did it pretty fast.
There’s a few things behind this, but there is a clear disconnect on that side. What makes it more confusing is that this team brings all but one player from their rotation a season ago, a team that was good on defense. For some reason, the defense has taken a big step back this season and they can’t get consistent stops.
There’s no reason to hit the panic button yet, but you won’t find a quieter home crowd than you saw last night. Wisconsin never looked comfortable. It won’t get any easier as the Badgers will go to Rutgers on Saturday, who has one of the best home crowds in the country.
The talent is there. They have proven they can be one of the best teams in the country. Overall, Wisconsin basketball needs to start and end games better away from the Kohl Center. There isn’t much of an excuse from a veteran team like this.
I hope this unit can figure it out soon. It’ could be a long month of February if they don’t.
Follow me on Twitter @DylanBuboltz and follow us @WiSportsHeroics for more great content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in Wisconsin sports, click here! Also, check out our merch store for some amazing WSH merchandise!
