Last night, Wisconsin took care of business against Siena, winning 92-65. The Badgers played a great game on Sunday, shooting 58.5% from the field, 41.7% specifically from three, and 83.3% from the three throw line. In advanced terms, Wisconsin had a 63.20% effective field goal percentage (up from 41.10% on Friday) and a 69.49% true shooting percentage (45.89% on Friday). The team had a 1.20 assist/turnover ratio, and held Siena to 39% shooting and only 2-15 on 3-pointers. Overall, it was a strong showing by Wisconsin.
Click here for photos from Wisconsin-Siena.
In the traditional box score, we can see that several Badgers were in foul trouble, which will show up in the advanced stats as well. We also notice that the team went small much of the game due to the fouls, with Hayes (21 minutes), Happ (18 minutes), Brown (31 minutes), and Thomas (16 minutes) playing a bit less than the top four guards Showalter (24 minutes), Koenig (34 minutes), Hill (12 minutes), and Iverson (25 minutes). The Badgers even had four guards and one forward out at one point.
Player Grades
I wouldn’t say any player on the team had a specifically poor showing, but let’s take a look at each player’s performance.
Bronson Koenig
Koenig had a career-high 23 points, and he carried the Badgers all game in his 34 minutes of action. His 8-14 shooting and four assists were encouraging signs for the point guard. Koenig did turn the ball over three times in the first half, but he did not have any in the second. Grade: A
Vitto Brown
Arguably the best game of his career, Brown scored a career-high 16 points and collected 7 rebounds. He also played much better defense than Friday and stayed out of foul trouble with both Hayes and Happ picking up early fouls. Grade: A-
Khalil Iverson
Iverson continued his strong play on the court, even though it doesn’t show up completely in the box score and advanced stats. He had an emphatic dunk off a beautiful pass from Koenig, as well as played his usual strong defense on the perimeter. Iverson led the team in offensive rebounds with 2 and also had 2 assists, and stepped up playing 25 minutes. Grade: B+
Charlie Thomas
Thomas continued to show his potential on Sunday night, shooting the ball from the floor and free throw line much better. He scored his points inside and on a midrange jumper, while rebounding the ball very efficiently as well in 16 minutes. The freshman did have three fouls, but his defense was solid throughout and included a block. Grade: B+
Zak Showalter
He had a pretty standard Showalter performance, including a put-back dunk to end the first half, drawing two charges, and hitting a three-pointer. He shot the ball well as you’ll see in the advanced stats, and the main concern was his foul trouble. Grade: B+
Nigel Hayes
Hayes picked up two fouls early in the first half, which led to him only playing 21 minutes total. Regardless, Hayes had an incredibly efficient game, and he flashed his post moves and went to the rim much more in comparison to Friday. The foul trouble and lack of rebounding is a bit concerning, but he still put together 14 points with very high shooting numbers. Grade: B
Alex Illikainen
Illikainen had one of the most efficient nights on the court in his 7 minutes, but he didn’t look quite that amazing on the eye test. He’s a bit undersized, and it showed on his missed shot attempt, but he still had a nice game. The freshman will now obviously not redshirt, and it will be interesting to see his development this season. Grade: B-
Jordan Hill
Hill saw 12 minutes on Sunday night, which was 11 more than he played on Friday. He took two shots and had a turnover, but he played solid defense in his time on the court. With more playing time, Hill will become more comfortable on the court. Grade: C
Ethan Happ
Happ also was in foul trouble for the second straight game, and it limited him to only 18 minutes. His inability to move his feet correctly on defense led to the fouls, and he really needs to work on it. After the game last night, Bo Ryan said Happ went against Kaminsky last year and they wouldn’t really call the fouls in practice, so he’s just getting used to them being called. He also only shot 3-6 from the field (not great for a player like Happ), but was rebounding the ball well once again. Grade: C-
Brevin Pritzl
Pritzl, another guy that will officially not redshirt, unless he only plays in 30% or less of the team’s games and is granted a medical redshirt, played after breaking his foot over the summer. As both Bo Ryan and Pritzl have alluded too, Pritzl really isn’t in “basketball shape” quite yet, and it showed against Siena. He was beat off the dribble twice for layups, and he turned the ball over on a double-team on his first touch on offense. Once he gets in shape, Pritzl will be a huge weapon for this team, just not quite yet. Grade: D+
Others: N/A due to lack of minutes.
Advanced Statistics: Methodology
- Game Score= Points Scored + (0.4 x Field Goals) – (0.7 x Field Goal Attempts) – (0.4 x (Free Throw Attempts – Free Throws)) + (0.7 x Offensive Rebounds) + (0.3 x Defensive Rebounds) + Steals + (0.7 x Assists) + (0.7 x Blocks) – (0.4 x Personal Fouls) – Turnovers
- (+/-) = Difference in score with player on court
- Effective Field Goal % = (FGM + 0.5 * 3PM) / FGA
- True Shooting % = Points / [2 (FGA + 0.44 * FTA)]
- Offensive Rebound % = 100 * [Player’s Offensive Rebounds * (Total Team Minutes Played / 5)] / [Player’s Minutes Played * (Team Offensive Rebounds + Opponent’s Defensive Rebounds)]
- Total Rebound % = 100 * [Player’s Total Rebounds * (Total Team Minutes Played / 5)] / [Player’s Minutes Played * (Team Total Rebounds + Opponent’s Total Rebounds)]
- Assist/Turnover Ratio = Assists/Turnovers
- Usage Rate = 100*[(Team Minutes)/(5*(Player Minutes))]*[(Field Goal Attempts)+0.44*(Free Throw Attempts)+(Turnovers)/[(Team Field Goal Attempts)+0.44*(Team Free Throw Attempts)+Team Turnovers)]
Advanced Statistics: Breakdown
As you’ll see below, Koenig, who led the team with a career-high 23 points, had the team’s highest game score at 18.1. He shot the ball very well, and managed to have more assists than turnovers, while scoring the highest usage rate among starters and the main seven-man rotation in his 34 minutes of play. Hayes also put together a strong performance in only 21 minutes, leading the starters in shooting numbers, falling second in game score, and had zero turnovers. Showalter and Thomas also shot the ball exceptionally well in their limited attempts, while Thomas and Iverson had solid offensive rebounding showings for the second straight game. Brown had a fantastic performance, but it didn’t show up completely in the advanced stats besides leading the team in +/- at +31. Still, he did have a high rebounding rate, game score, and usage rate. Lastly, Illikainen came in and had productive minutes in his season debut, shooting the ball well and actually holding the best usage rate on the team.
| Wisconsin Badgers | Game Scores | (+/-) | Effective FG % | True Shooting % | Offensive Rebound % | Total Rebound % | Assist/Turnover Ratio | Usage Rate |
| #10 Nigel Hayes | 15.3 | 17 | 91.67% | 90.20% | 7.62% | 9.07% | (4/0) | 19.40% |
| #22 Ethan Happ | 6 | 13 | 50.00% | 58.14% | 8.89% | 14.11% | (0/0) | 20.06% |
| #24 Bronson Koenig | 18.1 | 30 | 67.86% | 66.62% | 4.71% | 9.34% | (4/3) | 28.96% |
| #3 Zak Showalter | 5.7 | 29 | 87.50% | 81.97% | 6.67% | 10.58% | (1/1) | 12.86% |
| #30 Vitto Brown | 10.3 | 31 | 50.00% | 63.29% | 5.16% | 14.34% | (0/2) | 24.79% |
| #15 Charlie Thomas | 6.7 | 15 | 66.67% | 73.53% | 10.00% | 19.84% | (0/0) | 15.62% |
| #21 Khalil Iverson | 4.8 | 18 | 50.00% | 52.08% | 12.80% | 7.62% | (2/1) | 14.19% |
| #11 Jordan Hill | -2.4 | 4 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | (0/1) | 13.12% |
| #25 Alex Illikainen | 3.9 | 0 | 66.67% | 77.32% | 0.00% | 0.00% | (0/0) | 29.10% |
| #1 Brevin Pritzl | -1 | 3 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | (0/1) | 0.00% |
| #35 Riley Dearring | 2.6 | -5 | 0.00% | 113.63% | 0.00% | 63.49% | (0/0) | 23.10% |
| #20 T.J. Schlundt | 0.7 | -4 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | (1/0) | 0.00% |
| #2 Jordan Smith | 0 | -5 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | (0/0) | 0.00% |
| #13 Jackson Bax | 0 | -6 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | (0/0) | 0.00% |
| #5 Aaron Moesch | 1.7 | 1 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | (0/0) | 0.00% |
| #0 Will Decorah | -1.4 | -6 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | (0/1) | 0.00% |
| Team | 63.20% | 69.49% | (12/10) = 1.20 |
Wisconsin takes on North Dakota at 7 PM at the Kohl Center on Tuesday.