Greg Gard praises Tyler Wahl after Wisconsin win vs. Jacksonville State

It wasn’t always pretty, but Wisconsin pulled out a comfortable 75-60 win over Jacksonville State on Thursday night. After the game, Badgers head coach Greg Gard praised senior forward Tyler Wahl’s performance.

“[Tyler Wahl] did some good things with the switching with [Jacksonville State guard KyKy] Tandy and the ball screens and things that we had to do to keep the ball in front of us,” Gard said. “That’s why he’s such a good player. He’s so versatile, specifically, defensively.”

Wahl finished the game with 16 points and seven rebounds while shooting 58.3% from the field. However, as Gard mentioned, the defense was where Wahl shined. The 6-foot-9 standout constantly caused issues for Tandy, who averages 17.4 points per game, the most on the Gamecocks.

In the win, Wisconsin held Tandy to 16 points. He shot 6-13 from the field and a mere 1-5 from beyond the arc. Of course, Wahl didn’t win the game by himself. Gard was happy with the way his team executed their offensive game plan.

“Our commitment to throwing it inside I thought was good,” Gard said. “I liked the fact that we shot 26 free throws. We dominated in the paint, which you need to do when you have a size advantage.”

The free-throw line wasn’t the only place that reflected Wisconsin’s height advantage. The Badgers scored 40 points in the paint compared to Jacksonville State’s 20. Additionally, Wisconsin tallied more second-chance points and rebounds.

Wisconsin had three players score double figures. The team was led by Steven Crowl, who exploded for 19 points and nine rebounds in just 26 minutes. The win was a much-needed bounce-back victory for the Badgers.

A bounce-back win for Wisconsin

Wisconsin suffered a 98-73 loss to Arizona in its last game. Arizona’s 98 points are the most a program has scored in a single game against Wisconsin since 1994. After the loss, Gard attempted to describe what happened.

“The snowball happened, it kept getting bigger and bigger, and it was hard for us to get it under control,” Gard said. “We’ll learn a lot from this as we go through the tape. I didn’t think we were as good defensively as we have been, but that’s in large part due to Arizona.”

With a win on their side, the Badgers will look to build on their positive momentum. On Dec. 22, Wisconsin will face off against Chicago State at 8 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network.