Wisconsin Badgers' early-season growth has them ready for toughest test yet vs BYU

Having to build cohesion and on-court chemistry from scratch, Greg Gard kept his goals simple for the Wisconsin Badgers' first four games: Get better.

John Blackwell dribbles up the court during the first half of a non-conference game against SIU Edwardsville on Nov. 18 at the Kohl Center. | UW Athletics

The Wisconsin Badgers are 4-0 this season and have won each game by at least 25 points.

Despite racking up wins with relative ease, Wisconsin hasn't been taking these games for granted. Each was an opportunity to grow and prepare themselves for the tough road ahead.

Following Monday night's convincing victory over SIUE, Badgers head coach Greg Gard and select players evaluated how the team has grown across its quartet of tune-up games.

Ready for difficult stretch of non-conference play

Wisconsin brought back merely three rotation players from the 2024-25 team. That meant a heavy haul of transfers and a trio of freshmen were required to fill the gaps.

With the team having to build cohesion and on-court chemistry from scratch, Gard kept his goals for the first four games simple: Get better.

Gard isn't evaluating the team's growth by how many points it scores or allows, though.

"It's what our understanding is of things," Gard said. "We're getting better at diagnosing issues before I have to point them out on film or point them out in a huddle."

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John Blackwell echoed the sentiment when looking back on what the team accomplished during the four-game stretch.

"I think we got better every game," John Blackwell said Monday. "I think we got to grow and learn each other's game a little bit more every single game, and it's only going to get better."

Blackwell pointed to improvement on the defensive end, specifically. He said that there is now a level of trust that, should an opposing guard get past Blackwell on the perimeter, a frontcourt player or somebody near the painted area would be in position to help.

The lopsided scores also presented Gard a chance to give his bench players expanded minutes. Gard ran a regular 10-man rotation and got three other players on the court as well in the closing minutes.

Zach Kinziger, who's contemplating a redshirt, was the only Badger to not see the floor.

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Gard figured out what he was looking for from the second unit and became more comfortable deploying them as needed.

But with three true freshmen in the second unit, the head coach said he'll learn a lot more about his bench once the lights go on Friday against No. 9 BYU.

Friday's matchup with the Cougars will be Wisconsin's first test of the 2025-26 season, but the way this group has impressed Gard the most is what shows that they're ready for the test.

"Their coachability is really, really good. I mean, they listen. They want to get better. They have great suggestions, they ask the right questions." Gard said. "When you have like-minded individuals in the locker room, you'll have a united team. And that's what we have."

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