– By Joey Bonadonna (@JoeyBonadonna)

The Wisconsin Badgers opened their schedule with a 78-62 exhibition victory over the UW-River Falls Falcons on Wednesday night at the Kohl Center.

The win moved the program to 20-0 all-time against WIAC opponents and continued their streak of 51 consecutive victories in exhibition matches, dating back to 1992.

Newcomer John Tonje paced the Badgers in scoring with 15 points with Steven Crowl right behind him at 14.

River Falls native and Augustana transfer Zac Johnson led all scoring with 23 points (9-15 FG, 3-4 3PT, 2-4 FT). No other Falcon had more than six points.

While the Badgers never trailed, it was not an easy process to get to the win. Wisconsin only held an 11-point lead at the half and the margin was cut down to as low as two in the second half.

Over the next nine minutes, Wisconsin opened their lead up to as much as 23, leading 75-52 with under four minutes to go.

Three Positives to Take Away:

Wisconsin wants to and is able shoot the three-ball. Over half of the Badgers’ field goal attempts (32/57) came from beyond the three-point line. They got three-pointers from eight different guys, including multiple from the unlikeliest of heroes in Carter Gilmore (3-3 3PT) and Markus Ilver (2-3 3PT). 

Gilmore’s buckets came at a timely point in the contest as all three were a part of the run late in the second half to help seal the victory.

“I think that’s something the coaches have harped on us a good amount… we’re shooting the ball this year and not passing up open looks,” Gilmore said.

“Simple math [says] three worth more than two,” Greg Gard said. “That’s where the game has gone.”

Gard emphasized how he wants to set up the inside-out game more this season, and we saw a lot of that on Wednesday night.

John Tonje looks ready to take on a big workload. When AJ Storr left for Kansas, there was a large hole left in the Wisconsin lineup, particularly at the wing. Enter Tonje. The transfer from Missouri and Colorado State positions himself as an athletic wing that can stretch the floor, much like what Storr did last season. 

Tonje got to the rim often in the second half and River Falls had no choice but to foul him. He knocked down all six of his free throws attempts that he took in the second half.

As one of the newer faces in the program, Tonje said that chemistry will have to come with time. 

“I think it’s very important for our team to get to know each other on and off the court,” he said. “We’re getting closer each and every day.”

Kamari McGee is doing all the right things. It was reported during camp that McGee was the guard most likely to take on a bigger role because of his consistency throughout the offseason. While he didn’t start, he looked every part of those expectations when his time did come. 

“I told him when I was deciding who I was going to start tonight, I wanted to make sure he had that same energy,” Gard said. “For him to come in and do the simple things… that’s good guard play.”

McGee finished with just five points, but tallied six assists and no turnovers, as well as 4 rebounds and a block.

Three Things to Work On:

This team has “a long way to go defensively.” That’s what Greg Gard said about his squad in his opening comments postgame. “It shows who’s more ready and who needs to get ready,” he said.

Gard singled out Gilmore, McGee and redshirt freshman Jack Janicki as the few who looked ready to do the simple things defensively against River Falls.

“That’s something that newer guys don’t completely grasp early in their careers how important the little things are and that’s the difference in terms of having success defensively,” Gard said.

The 62 points given up by the Badgers in an exhibition game since 2018, when they surrendered 70 to the UW-Oshkosh Titans.

The stars struggled from the field. Max Klesmit, John Blackwell and John Tonje have been the three players expected to take a bulk of the jump shots this season. They shot a combined 4-25 from the field, including a 2-15 clip from deep.

Gard ensured that he’s seen enough from those three in practice to feel confident in their ability to score, but this was a tough opening act on the season, especially with the expectations that are sitting with their abilities.

The Badgers were able to supplement those struggles with great scoring performances from their frontcourt, but they will need more scoring punch from the guards when the regular season begins.

The Badgers struggled to dominate on the glass. In a matchup where Wisconsin’s average height trumps their D-III opponent, one would expect them to be able to clean things up on the boards. It was not the case tonight. 

Wisconsin was able to pull away towards the end of the game in this statistic, but they struggled to impose their will rebounding for much of the contest.

The Falcons were able to haul in nine offensive rebounds and won the second chance points battle 11-9. The Badgers will have to clean this up once they see bigger D-I teams on their schedule.

What’s Next? 

The Badgers will begin their regular season schedule by welcoming the Holy Cross Crusaders on opening night of the college basketball season. Wisconsin is 9-0 in season openers under Gard and have not lost one since 2015, when they fell 69-67 to the Western Illinois Leathernecks.

The Badgers’ exhibition opponent that season? The UW-River Falls Falcons.