No. 24 Wisconsin Stays Undefeated With 86-55 Win Over Ball State
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Badgers have moved to 3-0 on the season after an 86-55 win against the Ball State Cardinals at the Kohl Center. The No. 24 team in the country remains undefeated through the first few games of the season, and things looked no different on Tuesday night.
It was all about Nolan Winter, who took full advantage of a major height mismatch. The seven-foot junior would finish with 19 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, securing his second straight double-double. Nick Boyd would pose as a solid running mate, with 12 points in 19 minutes.
Badgers Had an Up-And-Down First Half
Wisconsin started hot out of the gate, allowing zero paint points through the game’s first eight minutes and change. The Badgers were working the height mismatch early, getting 16 paint points in the first half.
However, the team got sloppy in the half’s final few minutes, as Ball State cut the deficit a bit. Wisconsin shot 1-for-7 to end the period, as the Cardinals would force seven turnovers and limit the Badgers to 40-26 shooting splits.
Wisconsin Found Two-Way Consistency in the Second Half
The second half would have its ups and downs, with Wisconsin starting as hot as they did at the beginning of the game. However, there were still some turnover issues (three in less than five minutes), and it was painfully obvious that the Badgers were trying to get the ball into the paint.
Still, it helps to have multiple 6-foot-10 bigs and seven-footers, as the Badgers would finish with 34 paint points. Winter stayed hot in the second half, and Wisconsin finished the game playing particularly well on the defensive end.
While Winter led the game in points, the Badgers would get more players involved in scoring through the second half, such as Andrew Rhode (10 points), Braedon Carrington (12 points) and John Blackwell (eight points).
Wisconsin would finish the game shooting 50% from the field and 36.8% from three. Ball State was held to 34% from the field and 30.4% from deep.
The Badgers will face SIU Edwardsville in their next game on Nov. 17, with a chance to move to 4-0 before taking on AJ Dybantsa and No. 7 BYU.
