CHAMPAIGN — Wisconsin guard Johnny Davis didn’t set the world on fire as a three-star recruit.
But the Badgers’ sophomore has put the college basketball world on notice this season, bursting onto the scene as one of the country’s most electric players, averaging 21.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
On Wednesday night, Davis and No. 11 Wisconsin (17-3, 8-2 Big Ten) will be in Champaign to do battle against No. 18 Illinois (15-5, 8-2 Big Ten) for pole position headed down the stretch in conference play.
To earn a second straight home win over a ranked opponent, the Illini will almost certainly have to limit Davis’ impact on the game.
Brad Underwood singled out Davis and what it will take to stop him on his radio show on Monday night, telling Voice of the Illini Brian Barnhart that the La Crosse, Wis., native has changed a ton since his freshman season.
“He was very fortunate this summer, he was on the (United States) Under-19 team, and it gave him just a shot of confidence,” Underwood said. “Physically, he’s just fallen in love with the weight room. He’s matured physically. He’s very strong. He scores in post-ups. He scores off the dribble. His mid-range game is really special, and that’s rare.”
Wisconsin veteran Brad Davison called his younger teammate “the best player in the country” after Davis tallied the Badgers’ final six points of a 66-60 home win over Minnesota on Sunday, scoring in the lane, knocking down two free throws and hitting a jumper to ice it. Davis finished with 16 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.
Like Illini center Kofi Cockburn, Davis was named to the Wooden Award late-season top-20 watch list. The two are also contenders in the Big Ten Player of the Year race.
Davis excels in transition, which has given Wisconsin a bit more dynamism than in past years. The Badgers are known for playing slow, grind-it-out basketball that relies on taking their time in the half-court offense, but Davis can stretch the floor and run a one-man fastbreak with ease.
“What’s scary with him is once he rebounds it, he does not outlet it,” Underwood said. “So Wisconsin is playing a little faster because of that and his ability in the open court to get to the rim. You put that speed and his athleticism around his ability to drive, and they shoot 3s pretty good.”
At just under 200 pounds, Davis has bulked up over the past year, which is seemingly aiding in his ability to finish at the rim.
“He reminds me a little bit of the body type of Andrés Feliz,” Underwood noted.
The Illini could elect to put either or both of Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams on Davis, though Williams — at 6-foot-3 — won’t give up as much size to Davis, who is 6-foot-5.
Underwood is taking more of a damage control approach, rather than telling his team they need to focus on Davis alone.
“He’s going to score some points,” Underwood said. “You’ve just got to try and make it hard and not give him anything easy. That’s easier said than done.”
Big, bad Badgers
Davis is drawing the headlines and will be at the top of the Illini’s scouting report, but Wisconsin has a strong supporting cast around him that has helped the team win nine of its last 10 games.
Davison, a fifth-year senior, is playing perhaps his best basketball as a Badger. He’s knocked down 15 of his last 27 three-pointers and is averaging 15.7 points per game.
“Brad Davison seems like he’s been around forever, and he’s having a great year,” Underwood said.
“He’s so savvy that he’s only going to take the ones he knows he can make,” Underwood added. “He’s a very good post-up player. That’s one thing this team is doing an elite job of, in their swing offense, is posting (up) everybody.”
Then, there’s the one-two punch of 7-foot post players Steven Crowl (9.1 points, 4.6 rebounds per game) and Cincinnati transfer Chris Vogt, a veteran who is more of a factor defensively.
And Underwood is also wary of 6-foot-9 forward Tyler Wahl, who is third on the team in scoring (10.8 points per game) and second in rebounding (5.8 per game).
“Tyler Wahl in their last five games has about 15 points per game, about nine rebounds,” Underwood said. “He’s a menace in the post. He’s a problem.”
The Badgers also hardly turn the ball over, averaging a national-best 8.4 turnovers per game. That shrinks the margin of error for the Illini, who are tied for No. 206 in Division I with 13.3 turnovers per game.
Nobody has won more Big Ten games in recent times than the Illini, who have 22 wins in their last 25 conference games. But the Badgers have the makings of a surefire conference title contender in Underwood’s eyes.
It’s clear that Wednesday night’s showdown could be instrumental in deciding the conference title, with the victor taking sole control of first place with nine games remaining.
“(Wisconsin) just finds a way to win,” Underwood said. “Their system is what it is. You don’t want to get very far behind because they’re hard to come back on. And then they’ve won a lot of close games.”
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February 01, 2022 at 09:00PM
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Difficult assignment: Illini tasked with stopping Davis, new-look Badgers - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette
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