THE Wisconsin Badgers fell to the Villanova Wildcats in overtime, 76-66, on Friday, dropping them to 0-3 against Quad 1 opponents.
The first half was all Wildcats. Villanova took a 35-22 halftime lead thanks in part to Wisconsin’s 18-13 rebound, including grabbing six offensive rebounds to the Badgers’ one. Additionally, the Badgers allowed the Wildcats, one of the best three-point shooting teams in the Big East, to connect on 8 of 19 three-point attempts.
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The Badgers came alive in the second half, rallying from a 15-point deficit to tie the game late and force overtime. John Blackwell, who was held scoreless in the first half, had 14 points in the second half. With the momentum on the Wisconsin side and the partisan Badger crowd, Greg Gard’s team looked poised for its first big win of the season.
Alas, this was not to be the case. Villanova took control during overtime with two 3-pointers from Bryce Lindsay and a free throw from Matt Hodge to go up by seven points and never look back. The Wildcats dominated the Badgers 20-10 in overtime to escape Milwaukee.
There are several reasons why the Badgers fell Friday night. As a team, Wisconsin committed 16 turnovers compared to Villanova’s eight, which is simply unacceptable if you want to get a Quad 1 win.
From an individual standpoint, the Badgers need more production from the fourth spot with Austin Rapp and Aleksas Bieliauskas. Bieliauskas had two points and six rebounds, while Rapp failed to score or grab a rebound against Villanova.
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Finally, we need more from the bench, as Hayden Jones’ layup in the second half was the only two bench points for Wisconsin.
Here are three highlights from the Wisconsin-Villanova game.
Tyler Perkins
Perkins led all Villanova scorers with 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-10 from three-point range Friday night. Three of those three-pointers came during the Wildcats’ brilliant first half. When Wisconsin cut Villanova’s lead to 18-16, Perkins responded with a three-pointer to spark a 14-3 run for the Wildcats.
Duke Brennan
Brennan came into this game as one of the best rebounders in college basketball, and the transfer from Grand Canyon did not disappoint. Brennan recorded her fourth double-double of the season with a 13-point, 11-rebound performance against Wisconsin. He’s quietly becoming one of the best additions to the transfer portal in college basketball.
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Nolan Winter
Winter was Wisconsin’s only bright spot throughout the game. The junior forward scored a career-high 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor and added 11 rebounds against the Wildcats. It’s Winter’s sixth double-double of the year. When Winter is aggressive on the boards and on offense, the Badgers are tough to beat. It’s a shame that the best winter game of the year was for nothing on Friday.
