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Freshmen big men giving Wisconsin Badgers frontcourt a spark while sharing the floor

Wisconsin freshmen centers Will Garlock and Aleksas Bieliauskas have individually shined this season. Against Ball State, they teamed up to give the Badgers a huge boost.
Cam Wilhorn|
Wisconsin forward Will Garlock (23) makes a move on Ball State guard Davion Hill (2) during the first half of their game Tuesday, November 11, 2025 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
Wisconsin forward Will Garlock (23) makes a move on Ball State guard Davion Hill (2) during the first half of their game Tuesday, November 11, 2025 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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MADISON, Wis. -- Greg Gard knew before the season started that he'd have to rely on one or both of Will Garlock and Aleksas Bieliauskas to play consistent minutes off the bench.

Oftentimes, freshmen centers can have difficulties adapting to the physicality and pace of the college game, leaving the Badgers' frontcourt depth as a slight concern.

But just three games into the campaign, that area of uncertainty is turning into a strength.

Aleksas Bieliauskas and Will Garlock give Badgers a surge with two-way effort

Gard had played Bieliauksas and Garlock together for one stint during the exhibition against Oklahoma, then had the two share the floor for a few brief stretches against NIU.

Against Ball State on Tuesday, Gard let the freshman duo loose.

During a three-minute stint early in the first half, Garlock and Bieliauskas helped Wisconsin expand it's lead into double-digits. They combined for a pair of offensive rebounds, resulting in four second-chance points, and formed a wall at the rim to block a layup.

Their performance in that stretch caught the eye of Gard.

"When I went back to Rapp and Winter (after Garlock and Bieliauskas's first stint), I mentioned to them as they were going in, 'Hey, play like these two guys just played,'" Gard said postgame. "They've really set the tone, not only from an offensive standpoint of finding each other — I think Will threw it over the top to Aleksas a time or two there — but just how they plugged the paint. They were covering up dribble penetration. They were controlling the glass for the most part."

Related: Biggest takeaways from No. 24 Badgers' 86-55 victory over Ball State

But Gard wasn't satisfied using the duo's performance only as the standard for his starting frontcourt. He went back to the freshmen for two more prolonged stints.

When all was said and done, Wisconsin outscored Ball State 16-7 in the 10 minutes and six seconds when Bieliauskas and Garlock were on the floor together.

For as much as they did as a unit, it's no surprise that each finished with impressive statistical outputs.

Bieliauskas had six points and eight rebounds while swatting a pair of shots across 17 minutes of action.

Garlock went scoreless and missed his only field goal attempt, but he pulled down a pair of rebounds and doled out three assists without turning the ball over. Encouragingly, he committed just two fouls in 12 minutes after battling significant foul trouble in previous games.

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Garlock's passing has been a particular strength through three games this season. The Middleton native is tied for the second most assists on the team with seven. He's looked particularly comfortable picking apart defenses from the top of the key — a trait many of Wisconsin's great centers have possessed.

"When you have bigs that can pass, man, that's a heck of a weapon," Gard said Tuesday. "At that size, 7-1, to be able to throw over people and catch mismatches or catch switching if they're switching the other big with the ball screen that's taking place away from Will... for him to see that and read that and be able to deliver it... Bigs, we've had a lot of them here that are highly skilled over the last 25 years that have a feel for that, and he's obviously the next one in line."

For as impressive as Garlock and Bieliauskas have looked so far, it's worth a reminder that they've yet to play a regular-season game against a power-conference opponent. Still, these minutes can serve as valuable confidence boosters and give each player an added level of experience for when Wisconsin enters its difficult stretch of the non-conference slate later this month.

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Cam Wilhorn
CAM WILHORN

Cam Wilhorn is a University of Wisconsin School of Journalism Graduate and Wisconsin native. He's been covering Wisconsin sports since 2023 for outlets like BadgerBlitz.com, Badger of Honor and The Badger Herald.

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