The 129th season of Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball got off to an up-and-down start inside the Kohl Center on Monday night. Streaky shooting, inconsistent defense, and a poor performance at the free throw line allowed the Denver Pioneers to stay within striking distance until the very end.
“First half, I thought we did some good things,” Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard said in his postgame press conference. “Second half, I thought we were having some out of body experiences.
“And we didn’t play to our standard. Regardless of score, regardless of opponent, we talk about how we want to play the game, and we didn’t. And they—I didn’t have to say—I mean, I said it in the locker room, but they know it.”
Although the Badgers (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) finished the night with a 75-68 victory over the Pioneers for Gard’s 11th-consecutive home-opener victory in as many seasons at the helm in Madison, both he and his team walked away unsatisfied on Monday evening with an understanding that there is time and room to grow in a long college basketball season.
Wisconsin basketball ends rocky first-half on high note
