MADISON, Wis. - University of Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard said the first game of the season fell short of the program's standards. Game two came much closer to hitting that mark.

Wisconsin flexed a competent team defensive effort for close to 40 minutes on Friday night, helping the Badgers cover a sluggish offensive night that saw them leave a handful of points on the floor.

"Our gap presence and our team defensive principles have gotten better the month we've been going here," said third-year guard Jack Janicki, whose individual defense was one of the night’s standouts. "I like where we are at with that. It's going to be about getting five guys on the court who are all bought into that."

Holding Delaware to 35.6 percent shooting, Wisconsin (2-0) improved its mark to 16-1 in its last 17 games when it’s held an opponent below 36 percent shooting.

Here are my takeaways from the Kohl Center.

Wisconsin lost 87.5 percent of its games last season when shooting less than 40 percent. The #Badgers' desire to regain a defensive edge proved beneficial on Friday in a 73-64 victory over Delaware. https://t.co/HswINZD0Xc

— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) November 7, 2026

Four-man crew set the tone defensively

While it was still the goal to be an efficient, high-scoring offense, Wisconsin built a different type of roster in the offseason, notably adding a shot blocker/rim presence in Victory Onuetu and players who are more physical on the perimeter to correct some of last year's roster’s defensive holes.

If the law firm of Carrington, Foxwell, Janicki, and Onuetu continues to bring the energy they did on Friday, their standout defense will lead to positive team offensive results.

Braeden Carrington made numerous hustle plays in the second half that directly or indirectly caused turnovers, two coming on Wisconsin's decisive 12-2 run that flipped the game from a one-point lead to a comfortable margin.

Owen Foxwell got into a flow on both ends (16 points, six assists, no turnovers, five drawn fouls) while Janicki spent most of the second half competing, diving, and hustling for loose balls. UW outscored Delaware by 11 when Janicki was on the court in the second half.

"We see it every single day with how Jack approaches the game and approached this program," Foxwell said. "Every single day he's busting his (butt) on the defensive end. That's how he impacts games, and it's a big reason why we blew the game out."

Our spark plug 💥 pic.twitter.com/MLVlTLGGeT

— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) November 7, 2026

The same hustle adjectives go for Onuetu, who went from playing less than 11 minutes in the opener due to foul trouble to finishing with 11 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks, and no fouls in nearly 20 minutes.

"When you play really, really hard, it's amazing how lucky you get or good things happen," Gard said.
Wisconsin still committed lapses that allowed its first two opponents to hang around longer than they should, but the growth is evident for a program that didn't feel like it could stop anyone a year ago.

There's no question that the offense is behind

Wisconsin averaged 96.5 points in its first two games last season, which served as accurate foreshadowing for how the Badgers would operate all year long. These games are a far cry from that high-scoring bunch.

The opening 20 minutes were disjointed and clunky. UW got better production from the perimeter (6-for-18), but it was a struggle in all other areas. UW missed seven of its first nine two-point shots and didn't generate free-throw opportunities.

More striking, the Badgers didn't have a player creating shots on the perimeter. The only real standout was Onuetu's seven points and eight rebounds, a sign of how impactful he can be when he doesn't foul.

It was pretty telling that the best shooting display through the first half was a fan making a free throw, three-pointer, and a 30-footer to win a Culver's promotion.

"We have sputtered," Gard said. "We practice better offensively than what we have played."

Part of the problem is that Wisconsin is still working forwards Will Garlock, Austin Rapp, and Nolan Winter back from injuries or offseason surgeries. Winter is averaging 8.5 ppg on 7-for-19 shooting. Rapp and Garlock were scoreless Friday, with the latter making his season debut.

UW has also seen players overdribble, not play through contact enough, or look clumsy with pick-and-roll timing between guards and bigs on high-low action.

The second half was better, as the Badgers averaged 1.267 points per possession while keeping turnovers low, but it still lacked fluidity.  

"We worked hard on our perimeter players on getting open and working with their tandem on the loaded side of getting better catches," Gard said. "Now our bigs got to raise their level of play. It really revolves around the side we're going to. We're getting in good position for the ball screen and the roll, but we're either way up too high, too early, not in position where we can play on that high low before we go to the other side of the floor."

"We've got to continue to help improve that part."

Only One in Reserve

It's a small sample size, which means there's no need to press a panic button, but the Badgers have yet to build a lot of scoring punch off their pine.

Rapp took advantage of a size mismatch in the opener by scoring nine points on eight shot attempts and grabbing five rebounds. Friday was Janicki's turn with seven points, three assists, and two steals.
The only problem is that the bench has been a one-man wrecking crew. As noted above, Rapp had a scoreless night but did have three rebounds and three assists. UW has touted its guard depth, but the Badgers haven’t received a real impact from Trey Autry, Jackson Ball, or Zach Kinziger. Ball and Kinziger scored a combined one point despite over 28 minutes on the court.

Kamari McGee in 2024-25 and Carrington last season have been the sparking guard off the bench in recent years. Janicki appears to have that role locked down this year, but the Badgers will eventually need more impact.

"It all boils down to energy throughout the entire lineup of those guards," Janicki said. "The last two years we have had really prolific wing players and then guys who supply that energy off the bench. This year we have even more guys who we can roll in and getting everyone on board for how we approach the game in terms of our energy and some of the non-negotiable things.

"All the wing positions on this team have a lot of offensive skill, a lot of playmaking talent. When everyone is locked in together, that rotation can continue to expand, and a lot of guys can get comfortable."