Kim English, Providence Look for an Early Statement Win Versus Wisconsin
Providence’s victory at Wisconsin two years ago was a massive metrics boon for a Friar team that started the season 21-2, and eventually went on to win the Big East regular season title in 2022.
The victory, which came in the third game of the season, also kicked off a narrative that dogged Providence throughout a magical season. The Badgers were without All American Johnny Davis in that game. A few weeks later, PC knocked off Connecticut in Hartford (a Huskies team playing without Adama Sanogo), then caught a Seton Hall group coming off an extended Covid pause. By the time January rolled around and Providence had a home game against UConn and road trips to Seton Hall and Creighton cancelled, the rest of the Big East and many in the national media poked holes in their credibility until they reached the Sweet 16.
The “lucky” narrative all started in Madison — on a night in which Nate Watson dominated inside (24 points) and Al Durham showed early signs of becoming PC’s closer with a late 3-pointer to put the game away.
Two years later, Providence welcomes Wisconsin to Rhode Island in what will be the Friars’ (2-0) third game of the season. They’d love to build similar momentum this year with an early-season win over the Badgers.
PC will look to improve to 5-1 all-time against Wisconsin on Tuesday. It’s a Badgers club that returned all but one of its rotation players from a 20-15 squad a season ago. Wisconsin started the year 11-2, but faltered late, missing the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in Greg Gard’s eight-year tenure.
Wisconsin more than made up for the departure of Jordan Davis and his five points per game last year by bringing in AJ Storr. The 6’7 Storr was very good as a freshman at St. John’s last season, averaging 8.8 points per game and hitting threes at a 40% clip. Storr looks primed to put his full game on display this season. He gets to the rim, hits from the mid-range, and buries threes from four feet behind the arc at times.
Gard can rely on a rotation loaded with experience. Junior point guard Chucky Hepburn has started since his freshman season. He reportedly trimmed down and is quicker after a year in which he averaged 12.2 points per game and shot 40% from three. Hepburn is a strong point guard who will post up at times.
Wisconsin has great length in the frontcourt. Seven-foot center Steven Crowl is a senior who averaged around 12 points and 7 boards last year, while 6’9 forward Tyler Wahl put up 11 and 6. They have good size in the backcourt as well, with a pair of 6’4 guards with experience in senior Max Klesmit (8.4 points, 38% shooting from 3 last year) and sophomore Connor Essegian. Essegian started nearly 30 games last year as a freshman, and scored over 11 points per game on 36% shooting from deep. He is currently nursing a back injury, however.
In their season opener this year, Gard’s club broke a Kohl Center record by scoring 105 points against Arkansas State. They shot 65% from the field for the game.
The Badgers are playing a loaded non-conference schedule. They fell, 80-70, at home to #9 Tennessee on Friday night, and after traveling to Providence they will also face Virginia on a neutral floor, host #4 Marquette, and head to #3 Arizona.
Wisconsin will post up regularly on Tuesday night, and it won’t just be Crowl and Wahl on the interior. They had 20 post possessions against Tennessee and went to players like Hepburn and Storr on the block.
Defensively, this is traditionally one of the best programs in the country. Their defensive efficiency ratings over the past five years: 4th, 17th, 15th, 34th, and 19th nationally. They usually play at one of the slowest paces in the country (ranking 300+ nationally in most seasons under Gard), but they vowed to play faster this year — and they were 41st in the country in tempo through two games.
What to watch for from Providence on Tuesday: