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Wisconsin basketball: Badgers win fourth game in France 85-69

The Wisconsin Badgers leave France victorious in all four exhibition games.

Matt Belz

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After beating Lyon Towers on back-to-back days last week, the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team returned to action on Monday against Azurea Club de Golfe.

The contest in the city of Nice went according to plan for the Badgers, as they were able to conclude their French trip undefeated with an 85 to 69 win.

Previous game recaps:

Entering the game, Greg Gard and the Badgers once again shuffled their starting lineup to see different combinations on the court together. On Monday, the starting five was:

  • Chucky Hepburn - PG
  • Isaac Lindsay - SG
  • Jordan Davis - SF
  • Tyler Wahl - PF
  • Steven Crowl - C

Per UW, the next five in during substitutions were Kamari McGee, Connor Essegian, Max Klesmit, Markus Ilver, and Chris Hodges.

Leading the way on Monday for the Badgers was junior guard Jordan Davis and true freshman Connor Essegian. Both players finished with 14 points to pace the team and help Wisconsin pull away for the 26-point win.

For Davis, it concludes a successful trip in France, as he tallied eight or more points in all four contests. Working to earn a starting spot entering the season, Davis put together a consistently strong performance overseas. He only averaged 6.5 minutes per game a year ago, and the expectation is that he will surpass that number with relative ease in 2022.

For Essegian, the young shooting guard stood out in the final three games of the trip. He finished in double-figures in each, displaying an ability to shoot the ball well, and also grabbed a couple of key offensive rebounds on Monday.

According to Brandon Harrison of UW Communications, three other Badgers finished with 10 or more points., while Davis and Essegian each went on personal scoring runs during the game.

Steven Crowl finished with 11 points, representing his fourth-straight game in double-figures. After averaging 8.8 points in 2021, he will be one of the primary scorers on the roster this year.

Carter Gilmore also added 11 points off the bench and reportedly had a great and-one through contact. Gilmore's versatility to guard multiple positions should make him a rotational player this year for Wisconsin.

Wofford transfer Max Klesmit put together his best statistical performance on Monday as well. The 6-foot-3 junior wound up with 10 points, which is a significant development as the Badgers search for help at shooting guard. He scored seven-straight points for Wisconsin late in the contest to help seal the win.

Chucky Hepburn and Markus Ilver each contributed seven points as well. Tyler Wahl (four points), Isaac Lindsay (three points), and Kamari McGee (two points) rounded out the scoring production for Wisconsin.

Overall, the Badgers will head home victorious in all four games in France, with some added experience gleaned from the trip. For a young team looking to find some cohesion and needing new faces to step up, the trip could not have come at a better time for Greg Gard and Wisconsin. 

One emerging storyline from the French tour was the balanced scoring that the team found in Europe. The Badgers had five players in double-figures against Azurea Club on Monday but had different players step up throughout the 10-day trip to France. Wisconsin had some struggles last season when it came to bench scoring and it will be interesting to see if that is remedied this fall. 

It is also important to note that senior Jahcobi Neath did not participate in any of the games as he recovers from off-season surgery. He should provide the team with another viable option at shooting guard and small forward.  

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Matt Belz
MATT BELZ

Title: Publisher, Beat Writer for AllBadgers.com, a Sports Illustrated Channel Hello, my name is Matt Belz, and I am the site manager at All Badgers. I previously wrote for multiple years at Buckeyes 5th Quarter and have been the leading publisher here since March of 2022.  When I am not covering the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams, I enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends.  You can follow everything I write about on several different platforms. First and foremost on our site...AllBadgers.com You can follow me personally on Twitter at @savedbythebelz or check out our Facebook page at Wisconsin FanNation on Sports Illustrated.

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