Mandatory Credit: Dane Sheehan
Wisconsin Basketball Plays Through Paint to Top App State Mountaineers
Madison, WI - Wisconsin basketball started slowly on Sunday afternoon in its third consecutive game to begin the season. At the under-12-minute media timeout, the Badgers trailed 17-8, allowing App State to make seven of its nine shots.
The poor start was followed by 12 minutes of dominance on both ends of the floor. A scoring run of 28-3, highlighted by a 24-0 nothing stretch by UW, gave Wisconsin its third win in a week.
"On the defensive end, it finally started to click," Badgers head coach Greg Gard said following his team's 87-56 victory. "We finally started to put some things together like we have been talking about and we had shown in flashes, but not consistently over a stretch of time."
Steven Crowl and Nolan Winter Establish Frontcourt Presence
Steven Crowl attempts a shot during a game against the App State Mountaineers. Crowl would record 17 points on 7-12 shooting in the Badgers victory. November 10, 2024.
Mandatory Credit: Dane Sheehan
If Wisconsin's only points that counted on Sunday were those scored in the paint, it still would have nearly beaten App State. The Badgers recorded 48 paint points against the Mountaineers, for which Steven Crowl and Nolan Winter accounted for half.
Crowl tied John Tonje's scoring output for a game-high 17 points. He hit one three, but his physical presence in the post, whether shooting or passing, is where he made the most significant impact.
"What makes him really elite is his passing ability," App State head coach Dustin Kerns said of the Wisconsin big man. "That's what makes him so good, it's like, 'hey, I can get my 10 or 12 [points], and I'm gonna get six or seven assists.' He's an elite passer. He can step out and shoot the three. There's so many different things you have to prepare for."
Alongside Crowl in the frontcourt, Winter added ten points of his own, including one three-pointer, but also gave the Badgers more than a handful of second-chance opportunities by grabbing six offensive rebounds. The Lakeville, Minnesota native showcased his skills on the glass after Gard proclaimed Winter "far and away led us in rebounding" in the offseason.
"He's active, he's got a nose for the ball, and he's long and bouncy. He's seven feet with long arms, and he's quick off the floor." Gard said of his seven-foot forward's innate rebounding talent. "His willingness to pursue is the most important thing, and you add the physical attributes he has to go with it.
"He will want to finish better," the sophomore's head coach said of areas where there is room for improvement. He's getting a lot of offensive rebounds. I know some [rebounds] we threw to kick back out if he doesn't have it, but his ability to finish through more contact is the next step for him. Specifically, in those rebound positions where he's at the rim and he can blow up, power through contact, and finish those plays, that will be one of the final steps of him being a more complete rebounder and finisher in the paint."
Wisconsin Badgers Transfer Xavier Amos Gets Opportunity
Wisconsin forward Xavier Amos shoots a three-pointer late in the game against Appalachian State. The Badgers would go on to defeat the Mountaineers 87-56 inside the Kohl Center on Sunday, November 10th, 2024.
Mandatory Credit: Dane Sheehan
Badger fans expecting an immediate impact from Xavier Amos may have been surprised by Nolan Winter's appearance in the starting lineup. Perhaps more surprising was the rotation at forward through UW's exhibition and first two regular-season games, which placed longtime Badgers Carter Gilmore and Markus Ilver ahead of Amos in the pecking order.
Despite struggling to find his place in the rotation early in the season, the Northern Illinois transfer recorded a season-high 12 minutes against App State, with ten coming in the second half.
Gard said he thinks Amos "got a lot of confidence just playing through that stretch of 12 minutes" after the junior spent much of this season practicing on the scout team.
"His motor and his physicality have to continue to grow... he's played well because he's practiced well and he's really competed."
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