[Notebook] Wisconsin Basketball Escapes Vaqueros; Plus, Some Questions for Luke Fickell

John Blackwell scored 30 points to avoid the UTRGV upset bid Monday night at the Kohl Center

Madison, WI - Well, that sure was a turn of events after upsetting the Arizona Wildcats on Friday. An 87-84 victory for the Wisconsin basketball program over the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros left every fan inside the Kohl Center breathing a sigh of relief as the final buzzer sounded.

After a far-from-perfect game by his team, Badgers head coach Greg Gard said, "It's what you fear when you watch them on tape." The game challenged Gard to get away from his conventional rotations and required players to bounce back after a dismal defensive effort in the first half, but, ultimately, UW walked away 5-0 - its best start since the 2018-19 season.

You can read my full game recap for Athlon Sports here: https://athlonsports.com/college/all-badgers/wisconsin-basketball-narrowly-avoids-utrgv-upset

Paid subscribers can stick around to the end for my full notebook from last night’s game, which includes some notes on the officiating (rough), Xavier Amos’ weaknesses, and UTRGV’s most impressive player.

Otherwise, here’s a couple of other stories from yesterday’s BANGER of a press conference by Luke Fickell after firing offensive coordinator Phil Longo:

• Fickell’s Fascinating Announcement of the Interim Offensive Playcaller

• Wisconsin Football Fans Get Their Jokes Off About Fickell’s Eyebrow-Raising Announcement

• Watch Luke Fickell’s Weekly Press Conference in Full

And without further ado, the full notebook from Wisconsin basketball’s victory over UTRGV…