Western IL shocks No. 17 Wisconsin 69-67 in opener

That forced WIU head coach Billy Wright to call timeout.

Game over. Those back-to-back Final Four runs?

However, the second half would be a major struggle for Wisconsin.

Wisconsin would only get two more possessions the rest of the way as two fouls on defense gave the Leathernecks almost a minute-long possession that ended in Covington’s free throws. And most of all, no one expected them to lose to a team that finished last in the Summit League a year ago.

With the return of juniors Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig and a matchup against an opponent that was predicted to finish last in one of the NCAA’s weakest conferences, it seemed nearly inconceivable that the Badgers would end falling in their home opener, but the loss will serve as a wake up call for the the team as it faces a much tougher road ahead.

“If you just look at the free throw numbers, we did what we were trying to do, but when you get there, you’ve got to shoot in the 70s, at least”, Ryan said.

“I think we just didn’t move our feet well enough”, Koenig said”. Brown scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds, blocked two shots and had a pair of steals.

Western Illinois’ shocking 69-67 victory won’t doom UW to a disappointing season, but it did show everyone that it’ll take awhile for the Badgers to get up to speed after their heavy roster turnover. That added up to a defensive efficiency of 1.19 points per possession for Wisconsin, a number that has been rare under a Ryan-coached team.

Wisconsin shot 35 percent for the night and just 25 percent in the second half. “I just thought offensively we would be a little better and we could handle not being very good defensively at this point”. If nothing else, the game sent the Badgers a clear message that they need to work even harder.

Ready or not, the calendar said it was time for the Badgers to start the season. Special mention goes to guard J.C. Fuller, who dropped 20 points, including 4 of 4 from beyond the arc. They are two holdover starters from last year’s Final Four squad. But we knew our footwork primarily coming off ball screens – because that’s what this game is going to come down to this year with the shortened shot clock is ball screens – (was important) and they’re going to attack our bigs.

Hayes went scoreless in the second half, missing all five shots from the field during the period. Happ, who finished with four points and six rebounds in his first career game, and Koenig scored on consecutive layups to put Wisconsin up 48-44. “But I think you see now”.

Freshman standouts Charlie Thomas and Khalil Iverson also had growing pains on the offensive side of the ball, as they finished the night shooting a combined 3 of 13 from the field and a combined 4 of 9 from the free throw line.

“We play again Sunday, we play again Tuesday, and we’ll see what we can find”, Ryan said.

Wisconsin hosts Siena Sunday night at 7:00 p.m.at the Kohl Center.