Madison, Wis. – Wisconsin basketball opened up its 2022-23 campaign at the Kohl Center on Monday night against the visiting South Dakota Coyotes.
Coach Gard and company, who never trailed, jumped out to an early lead and never looked back on their way to win an 85-59 in front of 17,000 fans.
The Badgers shot 50.9% from the floor and knocked down an impressive 12-of-26 shots from beyond the arc (46.2%), with seven different players hitting at least one triple.
Senior forward Tyler Wahl led the way with a stat-stuffing performance, finishing with 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block in 27 minutes. It’s also worth noting that he connected on 9-of-10 free throw attempts.
OH MY GOODNESS TYLER WAHL. 😱@tjwahl01 x @BadgerMBB pic.twitter.com/39FyQMUnrh
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) November 8, 2022
UW also received contributions from Chucky Hepburn, who finished with 14 points, three rebounds, and three assists, along with Steven Crowl and Max Klesmit, who finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
True freshman Connor Essegian also made a strong first impression, connecting on two three-pointers in 14 minutes off the bench.
At first glance, UW looked like a team willing to push the ball up the floor, take open three-point looks when presented and share the basketball. Overall, they won the rebounding battle, made as many free throws as South Dakota attempted, and finished with 14 assists on 28 made field goals.
Wisconsin (1-0) returns to the court on November 11 when the Badgers take on Stanford at Miller Park.
Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion, and analysis. You can also follow Dillon Graff on Twitter @DillonGraff.
