The Badgers picked up a big win over SMU on Wednesday.
After defeating the Virginia Cavaliers 65-41 on Monday, the Wisconsin Badgers defeated the SMU Mustangs 69-61 in the Fort Myers Classic Finals, picking up some early-season hardware with a comeback win.
The Badgers struggled mightily on offense early in the game, shooting 11/34 in the first half, including 1/14 from three, but maintained an eight-point deficit as they trailed SMU 32-24 at halftime .
Then, with an offensive resurgence from Max Klesmit, Tyler Wahl and Chucky Hepburn, the Badgers made the comeback with a strong second half and prevailed in the end.
Here are the quick takeaways from the Badgers’ 69-61 win over SMU.
Tyler Choice
After Steven Crowl put together a dominant 15-point, 10-rebound performance against the Virginia Cavaliers on Monday, it seemed clear that SMU wanted to double him every time, forcing the big man to act as a facilitator.
That meant Wisconsin had to find another way to score down low, and they did that with Tyler Wahl.
I’ve been a proponent of Wahl working as a downhill driver off the dribble rather than a post-up player, and that element was on display Wednesday when Wahl scored 14 points on 6/11 shooting.
Wahl’s aggressiveness was crucial for a Badgers team that struggled to hit threes (more on that in a minute), as he scored eight points on 4/7 shooting in the first half and six points on 2 in the second half /4 shots scored.
The Badgers have been waiting for this form of Wahl to emerge, and he did so in a crucial environment where Wisconsin struggled significantly on offense.
AJ Storr also had a few nice drives and forced SMU to get to the rim, but it was the driving and finishing that won Wisconsin in this game, credit to Wahl.
Three-point shooting
It was clear from the jump that Wisconsin would live and die by the three-point shots, which is what the SMU defense wanted by pushing the ball away from the paint.
By consistently doubling Crowl, a good passer, the Badgers had a ton of open threes on the day and…struggled early.
They shot 1/14 from distance in the half and missed 14 consecutive three-pointers at one point in the game.
But the three points brought them back in this game as Max Klesmit hit two three-pointers to keep the low-scoring affair close in the second half.
Wisconsin will likely shoot better from three forwards given the number of shooters they have on the roster, but they struggled early in the season and those struggles continued Wednesday.
One thing was clear, though: Wisconsin doesn’t lack the confidence to shoot threes.
defense
Now, SMU hit a bevy of threes in this game, but I honestly thought Wisconsin played pretty well defensively, especially on defense.
While the Mustangs scored well from distance early, the Badgers were active on defense, forcing a number of turnovers as SMU finished the game with 16 giveaways in that game.
Additionally, the Badgers controlled the glass on both sides, not allowing many second chances while also grabbing a number of offensive rebounds against their smaller opponent.
Since they struggled on offense, the Badgers needed their defense to keep up, especially against a fast and athletic SMU team, and for the most part they showed.
I was impressed with Wisconsin’s defense in both contests this tournament, so there’s some confidence in the program once the three-point deficiencies start to turn positive.
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