Wisconsin Basketball: 3 Keys to a Badgers Victory vs. Maryland

Feb 17, 2024; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Steven Crowl (22) controls the ball as Iowa Hawkeyes forward Owen Freeman (32) and guard Brock Harding (2) defend during the first half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Greg Gard made it a priority last week against Ohio State to get Steven Crowl touches in the paint. Before that, he was not involved much in the previous hand full of games. As a result, he had solid games against both Ohio State and Iowa.

Whether it’s Crowl or Tyler Wahl, Wisconsin basketball has been at its best this season when they get touches in the paint. For some reason, they will get away from it for long periods of time. It’s no secret what works best for this team.

Now that we are at the final stretch of the regular season, the Badgers need to start building some momentum before the Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament.

Take Away Maryland’s Support Cast

Maryland guard Jahmir Young is a stud on offense. The senior averaged just over 21 points a game. He is a lot of what Maryland wants to do offensively. He should be the top of the scouting report and rightfully so.

However, I think Wisconsin basketball needs to take away the supporting cast around Young. Two players that stick out to me are Donta Scott and Julian Reese. The two combine for 25 points a game. Reese is a force inside the paint and Scott has the ability to get hot from three.

I bring this up because while the Badgers held Zach Edey of Purdue well, it was the Purdue supporting cast that beat them. It was a big reason Wisconsin basketball lost that game.

Buy Into Something Defensively

It’s pretty obvious the Wisconsin basketball defense has been a disappointment this season. For a team that only lost one player in their rotation a season ago that played solid defense, it’s puzzling why and how this team has taken such a big step back.

I do think some of these players are tired. Chucky Hepburn is asked to defend fantastic guards every night and has to do it for 35+ minutes. There are also some good post players in the Big Ten that takes a lot of of Steven Crowl and Tyler Wahl.

On defense, the Badgers are getting burned around screens and jump shots are killing them. They have also dropped back to the rim and have allowed for a number of uncontested shots towards the rim. This team has to find something on defense that works and makes life tough for opposing offenses. Wisconsin basketball is too good of a team to lose early in the NCAA Tournament. They way they are playing defense currently has early exit written all over it. The time to begin fixing this defense is now.