Wisconsin Basketball: Takeaways from opening loss to Saint Mary’s

3. Nate Reuvers is ready to be a star.

This was not a bad loss. Yes, Wisconsin could have easily come away victorious considering how they played, but this will not be a resume-crushing result. Saint Mary’s is a good basketball team and will likely make the NCAA Tournament this season. To put it simply, this was a missed opportunity for the Badgers to come away with a quality non-conference neutral-site win. As a result, it would be a mistake to draw a ton of negative conclusions from this contest.

While my other two takeaways might be construed that way, this one should not. Over the course of this contest, Nate Reuvers showed that he is ready to take on a significant role within the offense. The Badgers consistently ran sets through their junior big man and he responded in a big way. His box score statistics of 22 points, six rebounds, and four blocks were impressive but he also showed the ability to avoid fouling.

Over the course of the last two seasons, Reuvers averaged 4.76 fouls per 40 minutes. Yet, in this season-opener, he was able to play 42 total minutes while committing just two fouls. Considering the Badgers could be without Micah Potter for the next several games, that is a huge development in Reuvers’ game. Redshirt freshman Joe Hedstrom only played one minute in this game as the lone true reserve at the center spot.

Asking Reuvers to play 35+ minutes in every game is definitely concerning as he could wear down throughout the season, but he showed that he is capable of carrying a massive load on both ends of the floor. Trice and Davison might be Wisconsin’s top returning scorers from last season but Reuvers will be the star this season if this performance is any indication of what is to come.

In my opinion, Reuvers’ play was the biggest positive takeaway from this game for the Badgers. There were some concerning aspects of the performance, for sure, but Wisconsin forced overtime against an experienced top-25 squad in the Gaels. That shows potential moving forward. This matchup definitely featured a disappointing finish but the team’s performance against a nationally-ranked opponent should inspire confidence for the coming weeks.