David Stluka / UW Athletics
Tyler Wahl, wearing Badger 5 jersey, with a basketball on the court.
Tyler Wahl is the beating heart of this team.
The 2024 version of the Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team is significantly better than the 2023 version. It seems important to point that out, since even my hoop-head friends aren’t paying much attention to this team. Yet.
That’s understandable. After watching Wisconsin limp through January and February last season, finish with a 9-11 Big Ten record, and miss the NCAA tournament for just the second time since 1999, some of these folks probably took up cross-stitch, murder podcasts, sock sorting…anything to avoid sitting on the couch watching the Badgers clang shot after shot off the rim.
Last year’s Badgers shot 41% during the regular season, compared to 48% in 20 games so far this season. That has translated to an improvement in what basketball nerds call “efficiency,” or points per possession. The authority on efficiency is Ken Pomeroy, who ranks teams in several advanced statistical categories at kenpom.com. He has a formula for offensive efficiency that’s adjusted by the strength of a team’s opponents. In other words, a high points-per-possession number against a good team is more valuable than the same number against a bad team.
The 2022-23 Badgers had an adjusted offensive efficiency of 1.07 points per possession, 140th among 363 Division I teams. This year’s squad is scoring 1.22 points per possession and ranks fourth in the country.
To be fair, under coach Greg Gard and his predecessor, Bo Ryan, Wisconsin has routinely ranked near the bottom of all teams in tempo, or possessions per game. The 2014-15 team, which reached the NCAA finals, ranked first in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency and 345th in tempo.
Why are they better? The addition of sophomore guard A.J. Storr, who transferred from St. John’s, has been big. He quickly became the Badgers’ leading scorer with 15.9 points per game. He’s an offensive threat from anywhere on the floor and is quick enough to fake from outside and then slash to the hoop.
Junior guard Max Klesmit, who transferred from Wofford two years ago, has improved his shooting in every category from last year, despite playing nearly five fewer minutes per game. His 26 points against Indiana on Jan. 19 led to a 91-79 blowout win that wasn’t as close as the score indicated.
But the beating heart of the team remains fifth-year senior forward Tyler Wahl, the captain. With a veteran’s arsenal of drop steps and pump fakes, Wahl has always been dangerous when he gets the ball inside. But opponents were able to limit his effectiveness a year ago simply by fouling him, since he shot just 63.4% from the free throw line.
That is up to more than 69% this year and it’s a big reason why Wisconsin leads the Big Ten in free throw percentage. It’s also the reason the Badgers were able to pull out a close one in Minneapolis on Jan. 23. Wahl sealed the 61-59 win with a pair of free throws with five seconds left.
