Wisconsin’s new season opener looked a lot like a team built from the inside out.
The Badgers leaned on Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp to muscle past Denver 75-68 on Monday night at the Kohl Center, getting the kind of low-post presence that can steady a roster still sorting itself out after a busy offseason. Wisconsin did not cruise, and it certainly did not shoot cleanly, but the size and activity around the rim gave the Badgers enough to survive.
Winter and Rapp were central to that. Winter shook off a rough shooting night to finish with six points and 14 rebounds, while Rapp added nine points, nine rebounds and two steals in 30 minutes off the bench. Their work inside opened the door for Wisconsin’s guards, especially first-time Badgers Eian Elmer and Owen Foxwell.
Elmer led Wisconsin with 18 points and five rebounds, while Foxwell posted 14 points and seven assists. Braeden Carrington also made a major impact in his first game for the Badgers, finishing with 15 points, four assists, four rebounds, a block and no turnovers. He was the 15th player added to the roster and was able to play thanks to a court injunction.
Wisconsin shot 46.3 percent overall, but the three-point line was another story. The Badgers went just 6-for-26 from deep and were 3-for-13 in the second half. Even so, they controlled the paint, finishing with a 46-18 edge in points in the paint and a 16-9 advantage in second-chance points.
The game was far from smooth. Wisconsin built a 17-point lead, then watched Denver chip away as the Badgers missed 12 of their first 17 second-half shots, seven of eight three-pointers and eight of nine free throws. Denver got within four points with 9:04 left after going 9-for-10 from two.
That’s when Carrington took over. He buried a corner three to push the lead back to five, then finished an open dunk off a Foxwell assist before knocking down two more threes on consecutive possessions. That burst stretched the lead to 71-58 with 4:18 remaining and stopped Denver’s push.
Foxwell’s first-half play helped Wisconsin create separation before the break. With the Badgers up three and 5:30 left in the half, he attacked the rim three straight times on left-handed drives without the help of a screen, and Wisconsin took advantage of its size inside by going 13-for-20 at the rim in the first half and 19-for-31 for the game.
The Badgers also tightened up defensively late in the half, holding Denver without a field goal over the final 5:30 and allowing only two points at the foul line over the last nine possessions. That stretch helped Wisconsin carry a 44-30 lead into halftime.
Denver still had a big night from Carson Johnson, last season’s Summit League Player of the Year. The junior scored a game-high 27 points and added three steals, two assists and no turnovers.
Wisconsin’s home-openers streak under Greg Gard kept rolling, too. The Badgers are now 11-0 in their first home game under him.
The opener also showed the work still ahead. Wisconsin’s nonconference schedule will keep the Badgers in mostly mid-major territory for the next month as they try to build habits, and this game made clear there are plenty of areas to clean up.
Still, there were positives everywhere you looked. Wisconsin finished with 20 assists to 10 turnovers, and only three of those miscues came from the five bench players.
Next up is Delaware, which visits Friday in the first meeting between the schools. The Fightin’ Blue Hens’ 2026-27 roster includes six returners and nine newcomers, with seven transfers and two freshmen.
Their entire freshman class from last season returns, along with veteran returner Jameel Brown. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m., and the game will stream on Big Ten Network Plus.
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