Wisconsin Men's Basketball Holds Off Denver 75-68 in Season Opener

The Wisconsin men's basketball team opened its season with a 75-68 victory over Denver on November 2 at the Kohl Center in Madison. The win extended Wisconsin's record in season openers to 10-1 during Greg Gard's tenure as head coach, while also keeping the program undefeated in home openers under his watch at 11-0.

Although the Badgers built a comfortable 17-point lead during the contest, missed free throws and defensive lapses allowed Denver to narrow the gap to just four points late in the second half. Wisconsin struggled from the free-throw line, finishing the game shooting 39% on free throws with the vast majority of those misses occurring after halftime.

Denver guard Carson Johnson kept the Pioneers competitive throughout the matchup, scoring a game-high 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Despite Johnson's offensive output and a late-game push by Denver, the Badgers managed to stabilize their performance down the stretch to preserve the win.

Wisconsin shot 46% from the field as a team, compared to 44% for Denver. Eian Elmer led the Badgers with 18 points in his official team debut, shooting 7-of-13 from the floor. Owen Foxwell contributed 14 points and added key plays in the second half, while Braeden Carrington provided a spark off the bench with 15 points, including a fast-break dunk following a steal that energized the home crowd.

On the glass, Nolan Winter grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds for Wisconsin, helping the Badgers control the boards with a 22-11 rebounding advantage at halftime. However, Winter struggled to find his rhythm offensively, finishing with six points after going 0-for-4 from the free-throw line.

The victory moves Wisconsin to a 1-0 record to start the campaign as the team looks ahead to its upcoming matchup against Minnesota. Meanwhile, Denver falls to 0-1 as the Pioneers begin their season following their recent move to the West Coast Conference.