The Wisconsin Badgers lost to the James Madison Dukes 72-61 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, finishing their season on a disappointing note after earning a No. 5 seed in the South Region.
It was an ugly game from the beginning for the Badgers, who dealt with turnover issues as they couldn’t deal with James Madison’s physicality.
A.J. Storr and Chucky Hepburn, who were the heroes for the team during the Big Ten Tournament, struggled, and the Badgers could never really get a rhythm during the loss.
The defeat to James Madison sends Wisconsin home during the first weekend once again, as they’ve now failed to make the Sweet Sixteen since 2017.
Although they ended the season with promise entering the tournament, they’re now heading home as the second Big Ten team to lose in the first round, joining the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Here are three quick takeaways from the Badgers’ 72-61 loss to James Madison.
Slow start
Wisconsin had one of the ugliest halves of their season, putting up just 20 points in the first half, while shooting 6/23 in the period and 1/6 from three.
From the jump, Wisconsin looked sluggish and was no match for James Madison’s physicality, leading to a number of early turnovers.
That, added to the intensity of a crowd that favored James Madison, led to Wisconsin starting extremely slow and unprepared.
A.J. Storr really struggled in the first half, shooting just 2/9 and forcing a number of shots at the rim that didn’t go his way.
Add in a scoreless half from Chucky Hepburn and the Badgers got minimal contributions from their top two players to begin the game.
Overall, Wisconsin didn’t seem to match the toughness that James Madison presented, coughing up the ball consistently as they tried to penetrate the lane and failing to convert inside the paint.
Steven Crowl was the lone player who saw success early, but the Badgers didn’t provide him with many touches.
After scoring eight points on 3/4 from the field over the first 11 minutes of the first half, Crowl didn’t get a shot for the next 8:50. When that opportunity came, it was on a three-pointer, which missed.
Despite having the size advantage in that matchup, Wisconsin didn’t go to it early, while the Dukes did a good job of playing physical to deny entry passes.
Now, James Madison didn’t have a stellar first half by any means, as they shot just 37.5 percent from the field in the period and only 25 percent from deep.
But, they found a way to fight for six offensive rebounds and took advantage when opportunities were there, especially off turnovers (more on that in a minute).
That led them to have a 33-20 lead going into halftime, with the Badgers being lucky that it wasn’t more, given their struggles.
Turnovers
Turnovers were the difference in this game.
After averaging just 9.7 turnovers a game entering March Madness, the Badgers coughed up the ball seven times in the first eight minutes of the game.
They ultimately turned the ball over 13 times in the first half, and James Madison scored 20 of their 33 first-half points directly off turnovers.
A.J. Storr had three turnovers himself in the first half as he tried to force the issue by attacking the paint, where he was met with a number of prying hands.
The turnover concerns related to the physicality issues, as Wisconsin coughed up the ball as they were met by James Madison’s stifling defense, which killed their energy early on.
When the Dukes were struggling offensively, the Badgers fueled their opponent’s offense with the number of turnovers leading to points for James Madison.
Wisconsin turned the ball over six more times in the second half, marking one of their worst games of the season in regard to takeaways.
James Madison themselves were sound enough with the basketball, turning it over 12 times overall, with only five coming in the first half.
If the Badgers don’t turn the ball over 13 times in the first half, they’re probably right in the midst of the game, even with their ugly shooting numbers. But, their giveaway woes were an essential factor in them losing the game.
Top players struggle
In the Big Ten Tournament, Wisconsin relied on A.J. Storr and Chucky Hepburn, who delivered time and time again, with the former averaging 22.5 points over the four games, while the latter put together back-to-back 20-point performances in the final two games.
However, the duo greatly struggled against James Madison.
Storr never got into a rhythm early as he did in the previous games. He finished the first half shooting just 2/9 from the field, while taking two questionable three-pointers and forcing the issue at the rim.
Then, he was primarily a non-factor in the second half, finishing with 13 points on 5/14 from the field, although four of those came during the final two minutes with Wisconsin down double-figures.
Hepburn, on the other hand, was scoreless in the first half, and scored a majority of his points late in the game with Wisconsin down nearly double digits.
The Badgers needed both of those players to show out, but they ultimately struggled in Wisconsin’s lone NCAA Tournament game.
Tyler Wahl’s struggles from the field continued on Friday, as the forward finished with five points on 1/5 shooting.
Wahl missed a number of layups in the paint, while hitting only 1/5 of his free throws in the loss.
Steven Crowl had things going early, but ultimately didn’t get many opportunities overall. After scoring eight points in the first half on 3/4 shooting, which all came in the first 11 minutes, the Badgers center didn’t get a touch over nearly a nine-minute stretch to end the half.
Then, in the second half, Crowl took just one shot, finishing the game with 10 points on 4/6 shooting.
Down the stretch, the Badgers elected to post up Tyler Wahl on a number of occasions over Crowl, which I thought was an intriguing choice given the center’s success early in the game.
Ultimately, he needed to get more touches and didn’t with the Badgers needing points.
Max Klesmit was the one who kept Wisconsin in the game during the second half, scoring 18 points over the final 20 minutes, while knocking down five three-pointers in the period.
But, his efforts weren’t enough to cut the lead, as the Badgers consistently pondered between being down eight to 13 points over the final 15 minutes of the game.
In the end, Wisconsin needed more from their starters, but fell short in a disappointing first-round finish.
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