The 8th ranked Wisconsin Badgers didn’t have Josh Gasser last season after he went
down with a serious knee injury before the season began. But Gasser is back and he led the defensive charge in helping Wisconsin beat Virginia 48-38 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in Charlottesville.
Gasser scored 11 points and junior center Frank Kaminsky added 9 points and a career-high 12 rebounds as the Badgers ran their record to a perfect 9-0. The win comes despite 28.8% shooting from the field.
But Gasser and the rest of the Badgers did a number on the Cavaliers defensively. Virginia shot just 23.4% from the field and senior guard Joe Harris was held to two points on 1 of 10 shooting. Gasser drew the defensive assignment on Harris, who scored 22 points in Virginia’s Challenge win over the Badgers in Madison last year.
Offensively, Gasser was 2 of 2 from the field (both 3-pointers) and 5 of 6 from the free throw line.
Only eight other coaches has won 300 games at a Big Ten school and only former Indiana coach Bob Knight has a better winning percentage.
The Badgers shoot for their 10th straight win when they host Marquette on Saturday.