The Wisconsin Badgers traveled to San Diego over Thanksgiving Break to play in the Rady Children’s Invitational tournament, beating the Providence Friars 104-83 on Thanksgiving before falling to the TCU Horned Frogs 74-63 the day after.
Here are two key takeaways from the Badgers’ Thanksgiving road trip.
Defense continues to struggle
Head coach Greg Gard, who takes pride in the defensive side of the game, has had his work cut out for him in familiarizing Wisconsin’s many new faces with his defensive scheme.
Wisconsin’s on-ball defense may be the stem of their struggles. In the early part of the season, Wisconsin has looked slow on their feet defensively, failing to get in position to make stops. This has developed problems for help-defense as off-ball defenders are forced to leave their post to help the on-ball defender’s man, leaving an offensive player open for an eventual easy bucket.
Forwards Austin Rapp and Nolan Winter have compounded the issue by stagnating under the basket, letting opponents shoot over him. Rapp was the tallest player on the court in the TCU game and was still getting shot over easily.
Another player who has been consistently struggling with on-ball defense is guard Andrew Rohde. He was a liability against Providence and TCU when he was on the ball, consistently getting blown by and forcing his teammates to bail him out.
As the season develops, Gard will surely emphasize this shortcoming in practice. If the Badgers do not improve, however, serious issues will continue to emerge.
Nick Boyd is the spark the Badgers needed
Nick Boyd has emerged as one of Gard’s best players, and after this tournament, he cemented himself as a vital piece to Wisconsin’s success. He led the Badgers against Providence with 36 points and added 15 against TCU.
The San Diego State transfer has looked increasingly potent early in his senior season with the Badgers, averaging 27.6 points on 50% efficiency after seven games.
His elite playmaking, coming from the ability to drive around defenders with ease and create a shot for either himself or his teammates, has opened up Wisconsin’s offense. He leads the Badgers in assists with 22 on the season.
Boyd had big shoes to fill with John Tonje’s absence, and he is exceeding expectations. With more high major teams coming up on the Badgers’ schedule, they will need him, along with Blackwell, to lead the way.
