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The number 11 Wisconsin badgers lost its fourth straight game in a 78-56 loss to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in possibly their ugliest loss of the year on Saturday (yes, I said the same thing on Wednesday).
With the loss, the Badgers fall to 16-8 on the season and 8-5 in conference play, while Rutgers adds another game to its winning streak, moving to three in a row now.
Offensively, Wisconsin shot 33 percent from the field and struggled once again from deep, making just 5/21 of its three-pointers.
Defensively, the Badgers struggled early, allowing points on turnovers and in transition, leading Rutgers to shoot 45 percent from the field and 59 percent from three.
Here are three quick takeaways from the Badgers’ 78-56 loss to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
Slow start
It seems like I’m just repeating the main conclusions, but that’s Wisconsin’s main problem: its problems are recurring.
The Badgers got off to a slow start, turning the ball over four times in the first three minutes, leading to a 9-0 start for Rutgers.
It just seemed like they weren’t ready to play; Wisconsin fought off the press, while allowing a team that entered the game shooting 38 percent from the field to have an efficient offensive attack.
Wisconsin lost 29.7 percent of its possessions in the first half, which is uncharacteristic of them, but it’s a pattern that’s evolving lately.
Rutgers eventually took a 37-28 lead before halftime, with 24 points in the paint and 12 turnovers.
Then in the second half, Wisconsin got off to a slow start again, as the Scarlet Knights quickly took a 45-30 lead.
From there, Wisconsin never cut the lead to single digits and ultimately lost 78-56.
three point shot
Once again, the Badgers attempted to shoot the three balls at high volume and failed to shoot efficiently.
Wisconsin took 21 three-pointers that day, making just five of them, three of which came from Connor Essegian.
Once again, the Badgers didn’t look to attack the paint enough, taking 36 percent of their shots from behind the arc, and it was an ineffective attack.
The starters were especially bad, as all five starters shot 1/12 from deep in an ugly shooting game for the team.
Wisconsin needs to continue attacking more, and it starts with Chucky Hepburn in the pick-and-roll, as the Badgers guard, frankly, doesn’t seem to score when he comes off the screen.
Defenses have followed the trend, as they have now primarily sought to limit his playmaking ability.
Additionally, Wisconsin has stopped using its interior attack as the focal point of the offense.
Steven Crowl and Tyler Wahl were big factors in the rebounding department, but they didn’t get many looks designed for them offensively, leading to a more perimeter-focused approach.
The Badgers need to figure things out as soon as possible; otherwise; His fall is not going to stop here.
AP Polls
Just two weeks ago, Wisconsin jumped to No. 6 in the AP polls, having won 15 of its last 17 games heading into a big week against Nebraska and Purdue.
Now, they are on the verge of dropping out of the AP Poll, having lost their last four games, including to Michigan, which was the worst team in the Big Ten at the time, and Rutgers, which is the third-worst. team at the conference.
Wisconsin’s main problem is that the concerns are repetitive, even though the team talks about the need to fix those problems.
Actions are not being taken and Wisconsin will not improve until that factor changes.
They have now fallen to 8-5 in the conference, which is a full game behind Illinois, which is 8-3 in Big Ten play.
Additionally, Northwestern is right behind them, sitting at 7-5 in Big Ten play, even after losing two of their last three games.
The Badgers return home for a game against Ohio State before facing Iowa on the road next weekend.
They will have to fix things sooner rather than later if they want to get their season back on track and stay in the AP Top 25.
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