Despite the Badgers' 35-point win over Lawrence University Monday night, there was definitely room for improvement.
The Vikings were significantly smaller than the Badgers, but they used their speed to their advantage. Unlike the first exhibition game in which Wisconsin controlled UW-River Falls, the Vikings appeared to have been underestimated by the Badgers.
Despite lacking the considerable size of the Badgers' roster, the Vikings initial intensity seemed to catch Wisconsin off balance. Lawrence stayed with the Badgers for the first four minutes, tallying three steals in just over a minute and, at one time, holding a three-point lead until Wisconsin's Alando Tucker tied the score with a three-pointer and sparked Wisconsin's first-half offensive effort.
The Vikings' defensive efforts were commendable, but offensively, they had difficulty finishing. Would they have executed better offense, the game definitely would have been an interesting one to say the least; this fact was not lost on Badgers head coach Bo Ryan.
'All they had to do is hit some threes early and they'd be beating us,' Ryan said. 'They were getting decent shots. I thought our guys, going through the screens, had to work their feet.'
Vikings head coach John Tharp was proud of how his Division-III team performed against the Badgers but also acknowledged the offensive shortcomings of his team.
'We did some really good things in the first half. We ran good motion, but we just didn't make many shots,' Tharp said.
Lawrence performed best in the first half, which happened to be when Wisconsin performed the worst.
The Badgers made just 5 of 11 attempted free throws'a miserable 45.5 percent showing'compared to the Vikings' 75 percent (3 for 4). The Badger guards, junior Kammron Taylor and sophomore Michael Flowers combined for just two points. Tucker carried the team through the first half, scoring 13 points, with sophomores Brian Butch and Greg Stiemsma contributing six and four, respectively.
In the second half, the Vikings came out strong, but the Badgers controlled the situation and found a rhythm. Butch, Stiemsma and true freshman Marcus Landry each went two for two in field goals, and junior Jason Chappell had a three-for-three showing. Defensively, the Badgers also had a better second half.
'They're not swatting all the time. They're not getting out of position as much,' Ryan said of his returning forwards. 'And they have to continue to do that.'
True freshman Joe Krabbenhoft also proved to be a presence, grabbing seven defensive rebounds and a steal.
It's early in the season, and the Badgers have the Paradise Jam Tournament coming up this weekend, giving them an opportunity to gel as a team and make some adjustments. But what they have to do is improve'improve on consistency, defense and their focus in general. They have inexperience working against them, having seven freshmen on a roster of 15. The Badgers need to use every experience they can to learn and break in the young guys.
