NFL
By: Melo Williams
Wisconsin men’s basketball team opened up the season with a 75-68 win over Denver winning its 11th consecutive season opener and the 28th time in the last 29 years.
UW is 11-0 in home openers and won those games by an average margin of 22.1 points per game, and 10-1 overall in season openers under Greg Gard.
The Badgers out-scored Denver 46-18 in the paint, matching last season’s high for points in the paint.
Wisconsin also spread the love well, sharing the ball as a team dishing out 20 assists on 31 made field goals.
UW only committed 10 turnovers on the night. Last season the Badgers posted a 21-3 record with 10 or fewer turnovers in a game.
Early in the game the scoring went back and forth between both teams until Wisconsin was able to pull away from Denver around the 4:07 mark remaining in the first half when Owen Foxwell put the Badgers up by 9 with a 37-28 lead.
UW went into halftime leading 44-30 with Foxwell (9 Pts) leading UW in scoring, Eian Elmer (7) Austin Rapp (7).
Eian Elmer opened up the second half scoring seven of the Badgers first 14 points, before Wisconsin went on a four minute scoring drought.
Owen Foxwell ended the scoring drought at the free throw line but the Pioneers kept coming cutting the Badgers lead down to four with a little more than eight minutes left in the game.
That’s when Braeden Carrington took matters in his own hands scoring 11 Pts ending the Badgers scoring drought and the Pioneers run. Carrington knocked down three 3-ptrs along with a fast break dunk that erupted the Kohl Center.
Eian Elmer closed out the game for Wisconsin at the free throw line.
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Player Stats:
Eian Elmer- 18 Pts, 5 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl
Braeden Carrington- 15 Pts, 4 Reb, 4 Ast
Owen Foxwell- 14 Pts, 7 Ast
Austin Rapp- 9 Pts, 5 Reb
Nolan Winter- 6 Pts, 14 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 Blk, 1 Stl
Victory Onuetu- 6 Pts, 4 Reb
Jackson Ball- 3 Pts
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After Game Quotes:
Eian Elmer on offense impact:
“We had a size advantage so just trying to get down there, get in the paint, get paint touches, try to score, try to make plays for our bigs. Our shots weren’t falling tonight, we shot very poor from the free throw line and from three honestly, that’s not really like us. When shots not falling you just got to get to the rim.”
Greg Gard on Eian Elmer:
“I liked his aggression in transition, the first half specifically getting there. He’s a good player. He did some good things and he’s one of the few guys that shot the line.”
Braeden Carrington on what led to his 2nd half spark:
“To be honest, I think it was because I got the dunk. It’s my second dunk of my career, so I was pretty happy about that. I didn’t hit a shot in the first half. I knew it was going to fall eventually, so I just kept shooting.”
Owen Foxwell on team chemistry:
“I think as we play more games, I’ll learn a lot more about my teammates as far as their tendencies in games. But it’s more about the trust. I have complete trust in all my teammates and kind of what they can do on the floor. So, I’m kind of just trying to facilitate and do what I can to get them the best looks, get myself the best looks, and at the end of the day, win the basketball game.”
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Next Up:
Wisconsin vs Delaware
Friday, November 6
6:30 PM
Kohl Center (Madison, WI)
