Wisconsin Looking Completely Comfortable with New Identity on Tear Through B1G

Frank Kaminsky looked to the sky, then a teammate. Then he hunched over.

This wasn’t an injury reaction. Only the Wisconsin 7-footer's ego was bruised late Tuesday as he accepted a stonewall screen from a teammate, found himself alone at the rim after a dribble … and clanked a dunk that sent the ball rocketing back over his head to the three-point line.

That’s a pretty extreme case of not putting the ball in the hoop, especially the way the Badgers filled it up at Kohl Center against Indiana.

But these are unique and eye-popping times in Madison, where for once the offense seems to flow as fancifully as the snow and the beer. Cheers, these aren’t your older brother’s Badgers as they stand 20-2 (8-1) with a full two-game lead in the Big Ten on Maryland and Ohio State. 

The fifth-ranked team in the nation handled the outmanned, discombobulated Hoosiers, 92-78, in what seemed like a pretty ho-hum home game, but really showed just how insanely different coach Bo Ryan’s program can be right now. 

Andy Manis/Associated Press

The rest of Kaminsky's showcase was just fine (23 points) and what’s being displayed now is an alter-ego of a mature, athletic, crisp team allowing for some of the funnest ball around.

We’ve all heard the talk around college basketball that much needs to be done to fix the offense. But now we’re supposed to be looking to the offbeat, old-school Ryan as some kind of scoring savant?

It seemed like Wisconsin baskets used to have a World Cup-goal feel to them—appreciate every one. They drained the shot clock, ground opponents into doing the same. That was the rep, anyway, even as Wisconsin’s only averaging about one more point per game this year than last. But the two-year swing is a considerable jump from the 60s range of the previous six years.

We still think of three-pointers and precise cutting, plus selfless hot potato with the ball. It’s just at a little higher volume now.

These Badgers still aren’t harkening Loyola Marymount back or UNLV back in the day (YouTube it, kiddos). But just look at UW’s success against Indiana. Ryan is now 11-0 against the Hoosiers at home, 20-4 overall. So we can safely assume he’s had a fair number of chances to successfully control pace of play.

This was the most points UW ever scored anywhere against Indiana in the Ryan era, surpassing the 83-55 win during the 2009-10 campaign. 

Wisconsin this time scored the first nine points and added the opening 13 of the second half. It made 60 percent of its shots, including six of the 11 three-pointers it hoisted, effortlessly spreading the Hoosiers thin with four perimeter players to free up the All-American Kaminsky inside. He scored on his first six touches.

Indiana either fell victim to shaky help defense all over the court (coach Tom Crean probably would’ve liked more communication at several junctures) or did not respect outside shooters; or just plain didn't hustle out to defend.

But these are crazy times to witness UW, or have to scout it. 

Wisconsin stands at almost 125 points per 100 possessions. Its adjusted tempo is still Badger-like 340— both numbers courtesy of KenPom—but it’s looking to score a little faster nonetheless, and looking to get the ball back at a great clip as well.

The length is still there. The marksmanship as well. And Ryan still can stalk a sideline during the game, and spin an old line afterward.

But the offense isn’t the same, many would say for the better (and more appealing to the eye). What may concern him, too—and rightfully so—is the attention to detail on defense. Wisconsin's giving itself more chances to score in part by letting some opponents blow right by for layups, and it happened several times against the Hoosiers.

Indiana was missing freshman leading scorer James Blackmon Jr. (ankle) yet still hit seven of its first 12 shots and pulled within 32-30 after Troy Williams torched Kaminsky for a layup—the sixth consecutive possession IU scored.

Wisconsin players lamented the noticeably soft defense leading up to IU’s visit, and opponents shot nearly 47 percent from the field against the Badgers—the second-worst defensive success rate in the Big Ten, according to Wisconsin State Journal pre-game coverage.

“It’s definitely something that you want to improve on,” UW’s Josh Gasser said when asked about the Badgers' defensive concerns before facing the Hoosiers. “I guess when you’re scoring offensively so much, you can kind of get a little complacent on the defensive end sometimes, and that’s really unacceptable.”

These days, it’s like Wisconsin players can gorge themselves on State Street bratwursts before practice. 

There’s no punishment for doing so.

Indiana shot 58 percent in the first half, but still trailed by eight. It’s been that way several times in league play for Wisconsin, which led by 30 with 10 minutes left but had that sliced to 14 in the next six minutes.

But who needs stops when Wisconsin brings the offense America is dying to see—and even buzzer-beating tip-ins like the one right before halftime:

Ryan may have some work ahead of him convincing these Badgers to buckle down. 

Neither particularly slow nor deliberate, teams are going to have to try to outscore them.

Somehow, that may be even harder than beating them in the old days.