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Biggest takeaways from Wisconsin Badgers' 85-73 victory over Northwestern

Wisconsin switches its lineup and gets big offensive production across the board for the Badgers to open Big Ten play with a 85-73 win over Northwestern
Benjamin Worgull|
Wisconsin guard Nick Boyd drives to the rim in the second half. Boyd scored 18 of his 20 points after halftime in a 85-73 win over Northwestern.
Wisconsin guard Nick Boyd drives to the rim in the second half. Boyd scored 18 of his 20 points after halftime in a 85-73 win over Northwestern. | UW Athletics

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Wisconsin Badgers

MADISON, Wis. - The start of Big Ten play brought forth a number of messages from head coach Greg Gard, some subtle and some blatant.

UW's head coach changed his starting lineup for the first time in eight games, done mostly for matchup reasons but also to send a message that soft or inconsistent player wasn't going to be acceptable in Big Ten.

All the strings pulled had an obvious effect with Wisconsin delivering its best performance of the season against a quality opponent, earning an 85-73 victory over Northwestern in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

Wisconsin (6-2, 1-0 Big Ten) set the tone for winning its eight Big Ten opener in the last 10 seasons with a first half that was a clinic with exceptional passing and ball security that led to easy scoring opportunities and improved defense that prevented the Wildcats (5-3, 0-1) from generating much rhythm.

The performance wasn't flawless, especially with three turnovers in five possessions in the second that will give Gard plenty to pick apart as he spends the wee hours of his 55th birthday watching film and preparing for Saturday's game against Marquette. However, it'll be a performance that had much more good than bad, which is an encouraging start to the Big Ten gauntlet.

Here are my takeaways from the Kohl Center.

First Half Flow

Wisconsin has an equal-opportunity offense ... when it's working and the ball is moving.

The ball not moving was the problem against BYU when the Badgers had a season-worst eight assists on 23 baskets. The ball moving too much hurt them against TCU, resulting in a season-low 34.5 percent shooting.

The blend was perfect against Northwestern because the Badgers executed. Wisconsin's first 11 baskets all had an assist attached to it, a streak broken by Jack Janicki hitting a floater after driving into the lane with 6:55 remaining in the half. Janicki's shot was more an anomaly, as the Badgers had 15 assists on 17 baskets in the first half.

"It doesn't get a whole lot better than that," Gard said.

Of course, it helps an offense move when it has an accomplish passer like Andrew Rohde. The staff and players saw over the summer what a weapon Rohde's passing ability was, engrained in him from years of playing point guard at Brookfield East, St. Thomas, and Virginia.

Multiple times Rohde drew attention, only to hit the roller to the rim or the open shooter. He drove baseline on NU's Nick Martinelli early in the first half, saw forward Tre Singleton hedge over to help, and hit John Blackwell cutting to the rim for an easy basket.

Getting the ball on the perimeter elbow, Rohde dribble past the circle and flung the pass past three defenders to an open Blackwell for a corner three-pointer. He did the same thing on the next possession with UW running the fast break that yielded the same result: an open corner three for Blackwell.

Rohde's seven assists in the first half led to 18 Wisconsin points.

"His ability to periscope over the defense and find people, that's a really good skill that he has with the ball in his hands," Gard said. "He was exceptional in igniting a lot of points for us."

UW was also opportunistic. The Wildcats were fifth nationally with 8.9 turnovers per game. The Badgers forced seven and scored off all of them, 18 points in total. Not creating a turnover themselves, the Badgers had scoring runs of 11-0 and 11-1 in the first half.

It's part of the reason Wisconsin scored nine fast-break points and held a Northwestern team third in the Big Ten in that category (16.1) to zero in the first half.

Wisconsin's percentages bear out the efficiency: 17-for-34 shooting, 9-for-21 from three (42.9 percent), and 12-for-13 from the line (92.3 percent).

"That's how good we can be," Gard said. "We've shown it in spurts. Now the challenge is you chase consistency, because the second half we weren't nearly as sharp."

Lineup change generates the right spark

Gard often says that he doesn't get too wrapped up in who starts and who doesn't, but he also doesn't alter his starting lineup unless forced to by injury. So, the fact that sophomore Austin Rapp didn't for the first time in eight games and freshman Aleksas Bieliauskas because the first UW freshman since Connor Essegian in 2022-23 to start a game was noteworthy.

The main reason said by Gard was matchup driven for UW's defensive effort on Martinelli, putting Bieliauskas at the five and shifting Nolan Winter to the four position he played throughout last season. A byproduct of Rapp coming off the bench was for more scoring pop after the reserves averaged just 10.0 ppg in San Diego.

However, there's no hiding the fact that Gard has wanted more aggressive play at the rim and overall from Rapp, who is shooting 66.1 percent of his shots from three, averaging three two-point shots per game, and shooting 47.6 percent on those shots.

"Austin's got to get better," Gard said. "There's some things physically on the glass and defensively in the paint ... We just got to help keeping guys get better."

The switched paid off for both players.

Rapp played nearly 27 minutes and was stronger playing off two feet and fighting for loose balls, perhaps too aggressive when he was called for a hook-and-hold flagrant-1 foul boxing out for a defensive rebound in the first half. Even so, Rapp was 2-for-2 from two in the first half with two offensive rebounds, both things opening up his offense.

Bieliauskas played a career-high 20 minutes, scored UW's first points of the game on a three-pointer and fought through contact for a three-point play later in the half.

"I think he was just solid overall," Blackwell said of Bieliauskas, who finished with six points and three rebounds. "He brought a different dynamic to our team ... and credit to Austin Rapp. That shows maturity coming off the bench and scoring 13 points. He effective the game with his defense, too ... He came in with great energy."

Blackwell delivers on both ends

Blackwell's dropping 26 points is nothing new. The Badgers junior had 20 points in the first half for consecutive games, at least 20 points for the fourth time this season, and reached 1,000 career points in 79 games (ninth-fastest in school history). What stood out about Blackwell was he scored 23 points in the first half while also Martinelli.

The fifth-leading returning scorer in the country this year and averaging 20.6 ppg through seven games, Martinelli had trouble getting the ball in space and didn't find a shooting rhythm with two makes on five shot attempts as UW's lead built a lead as big of 27 points.

"He averages 20 points because of how hard he works," Blackwell said of Martinelli. "All credit to Coach (Joe) Krabbenhoft with the scout this week. He just keeps working. A shot goes up; he's trying to go get the rebound and make play. I just knew I had to match his energy, come out fighting and hit him first."

Blackwell's defensive effort is what got him on the floor as a freshman. As Gard noted, Blackwell didn't chase scoring that season on a team with plenty of shooters. He's not doing that this season either, as his scoring is coming within the flow of the offense.

"He played very under control, which was what I was very impressed with," Northwestern coach Chris Collins said of Blackwell. "I never felt like he was forcing. I thought he just played and the shots came to him in the first half ... Now as a junior, he's playing like a vet, and he was good as a freshman ... He's poised to have a monster year."

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Benjamin Worgull
BENJAMIN WORGULL

Benjamin Worgull has covered Wisconsin men's basketball since 2004, having previously written for Rivals, USA Today, 247sports, Fox Sports, the Associated Press, the Janesville Gazette, and the Wisconsin State Journal.

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