Why the Badgers offense has evolved in recent years

The Wisconsin Badgers have been one of college basketball’s best offenses in the past few years, ranking inside the top-20 in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency in each of the past three seasons.

This season, they currently have the No. 18 offense in adjusted efficiency. Last year, they had the No. 13 offense. And in 2023, they had the No. 17 offense. Those are easily the three-highest marks in the Greg Gard era, as we’ve seen a shift in philosophy to an offense that is more focused on threes, shots at the rim, and getting to the free-throw line.

Currently, Wisconsin is third in the Big Ten in points per game (83.0), first in three-point makes per game (11.3), first in three-point attempts per game (31.9), sixth in three-point percentage (35.5 percent), and third in free throws percentage (77.7 percent).

They have the fourth-highest offensive adjusted efficiency in the Big Ten behind Illinois, Purdue, and Michigan, and have even upped their tempo to become one of the quicker offenses in the country, capitalizing in transition.

Why did head coach Greg Gard and staff see the need for change, and what was the cause behind the direction of their new offense?

“Yeah, analytics drive a lot of it,” Gard acknowledged this week, via 247Sports’ Nick Osen. “It’s knowing where we’re at our optimal best. We look to be close to 50 percent or more of our field goal attempts from three. That varies a little bit from game to game. But, by and large on average, around 50 percent. There might be times where we take close to 50. We have taken 45, and I wasn’t dissatisfied with that or anything. 

“So, I think it is never about a certain quantity, but the quality of them. Making sure you are taking really good shots, and when we take the right ones, we are very intentional with our potential and about who we put on the floor, and spacing. We speak to the science behind it, too, so we are with the team on it. Here are their whys, and here is why we don’t do this.”

That philosophy has completely shaped Wisconsin’s rosters over the past few years. In 2023-24, the Badgers brought in AJ Storr, whose explosiveness fueled Wisconsin’s efforts at the rim and at the free-throw line. They also had a plethora of good three-point shooters with Max Klesmit (39.8 percent from three), John Blackwell (45.5 percent from three), Chucky Hepburn (32.2 percent from three), and Steven Crowl (44.8 percent from three).

In 2024-25, we saw that philosophy grow even more. The Badgers added an elite shot-maker with John Tonje, who got to the free-throw line a ton, hit threes at a high rate, and could be the leader of an efficient offense.

But they also had Blackwell, who was good at getting to the rim and the line. They had Crowl and Nolan Winter for their stretch bigs, with Carter Gilmore and Xavier Amos off the bench. They had Max Klesmit and Kamari McGee (45.9 percent from three), who could both shoot the three well. That team was quite deep with quality defenders, shooters, and aggressive attackers.

This year, Wisconsin had to re-haul their roster in a big way. But they’ve looked to improve the system, while maintaining that philosophy. Wanting to play faster, they added Nick Boyd, whose speed has given the Badgers another dimension in transition. He’s another player who can shoot, but is best getting to the rim and the foul line.

Blackwell has seen a big increase in his three-point efficiency in a high-volume role and also can get to the rim and the foul line. Nolan Winter, Austin Rapp, and Aleksas Bieliauskas all have the capability to shoot the three as bigs. Braeden Carrington and Andrew Rohde have been quality shooting guards. While this team is younger and not as deep, we’re seeing the Badgers be a dangerous threat because of their offensive philosophy.

With the change in college basketball, Greg Gard has continued to look to evolve, especially on the offensive side of the ball. And we’ve seen that play out this season with the uptick in tempo.