There are currently a plethora of Wisconsin cager fans who want Greg Gard sent to the moon via cannon. As of this afternoon, the Badgers are either one of the last teams in the tournament or one of the first out. It’s bubble season in Madison a year after sharing a Big Ten title.
So, what happened? The simple answer is they lost a lottery pick in Johnny Davis. It isn’t easy to replace those but Davis was also an inefficient player at times and high usage player. They probably miss Brad Davison more, who was more efficient.
The big drop off has come from Tyler Wahl who has battled injuries this year. Last year, he had an ORtg of 106.8 this year and it’s 89.1 this year. His usage has skyrocketed and his offense has cratered overall. Chucky Hepburn gets a lot criticism and his end of game decision making isn’t great, but he’s pretty much the same player as he was last year.
The offense just isn’t good this year. It’s 148th in KenPom after being 62nd last year. They still don’t turn it over. The effective fg% this year is 262nd in the nation, actually better than last year’s 276th. They’re shooting 35.7% from 3 this year versus 30.6% last year. They’re worse on 2pt shooting. What’s stunning is the 66.7% FT shooting, 323 in the nation.
15-5 in 5 point games last year, they’re 9-8 in such games this year. Basically, last year, they had luck on their side.
As of today, most of the roster is scheduled to be back. Don’t count on it. They’ll be active in the transfer portal, coming and going. Barring a big run in the tournament, next year is a vital year for the future of Greg Gard at UW-Madison
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