Wisconsin’s offense sputtered Tuesday night, forcing the Badgers to grind out a 56-45 win over UW-Green Bay at the Kohl Center.

Player of the Game: Jordan Davis

Wisconsin’s offense struggled for much of the game, so Davis finally finding his range from deep was key. After not hitting more than one 3-pointer in his career, the junior drilled three of his six looks from beyond the arc. He added three rebounds, two steals and an assist in the win.

The good: 3-point defense

For a third straight game, the Badgers locked down their opponent outside of the arc. Green Bay managed to hit just 2 of its 15 attempts on the night, leaving the opposition 5-for-46 from 3 against Wisconsin.

The not so good: A lot

According to the KenPom rankings, Green Bay is one of the worst teams in Division 1. The Phoenix were coming off blowout losses to Indiana State and Georgetown. And yet, the Badgers allowed them to keep the game close in large part due to an uncharacteristic performance from Tyler Wahl, more shooting issues for Chucky Hepburn and an inability to take care of the ball.

Wahl was limited to 24 minutes because of foul trouble, but when he was on the court, he didn’t look anything like the guy we saw in the first two games. He hit just two of his 11 shots, most of them around the basket, and turned the ball over four times.

Hepburn was even worse from the field, going 2-for-14 against a pesky Green Bay defense. The sophomore point guard is now shooting 12-for-37 on the season, including 7 for 27 in the last two games.

Turnovers were also an issue for the Badgers, as they coughed it up 14 times. The only time they turned it over more last year was in their NCAA Tournament loss to Iowa State.

Stat of the Game: 45-25

Wisconsin outrebounded Green Bay by a 45-25 margin. That included 15 offensive rebounds, which the Badgers turned into 17 second-chance points.

Best Video

"I'm so lucky to have been a part of this program, as it's helped my family more than I could ever imagine."

Former @BadgerMBB star @Brian_Butch talks about how much Greg Gard and the UW program have helped during his son Blake's battle with brain cancer. pic.twitter.com/ImWUfC9ycE

— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) November 16, 2022

Best Tweets

Welcome home, Bronson Koenig! 👏

Tonight’s #WisconsinMBB125 honorary captain is one of UW’s most prolific shooters. Ranked 12th in school history with 1,459 career points, Koenig was a key contributor on back-to-back Final Four teams, and also was part of two Sweet 16 teams. pic.twitter.com/POhOEM7Tfp

— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) November 16, 2022

In Case You Missed It

— Green Bay is coached by Will Ryan, the son of former Badgers coach Bo Ryan. The younger Ryan also spent time on Wisconsin’s staff.

— Prior to the game, UW held a moment of silence for former Badgers wide receiver Devin Chandler and former Wisconsin running back Brent Moss. Chandler was shot to death Sunday night along with two others at the University of Virginia. Moss, the 1994 Rose Bowl MVP, passed away Sunday at the age of 50.

— Wisconsin announced that freshman walk-on Luke Haertle would redshirt this season.

— The Badgers shot just 30.2% from the field, their worst effort in the regular season since making only 30.0% in a loss to Iowa in 2021. It included going 4-for-19 on shots considered layups.

What’s next?

Wisconsin (3-0) will head to the Bahamas next week to play in the Battle 4 Atlantis. The first game will be Wednesday against No. 21 Dayton.