Wisconsin’s Jahcobi Neath shoots past Stanford’s Spencer Jones during first half action at American Family Park in Milwaukee Friday, Nov. 11, 2022 (AP News photo)
By Michael Roberson
MILWAUKEE, Wisc.– The Stanford Cardinal (1-1) lost a basketball game to the Wisconsin Badgers (2-0) 60-50 on a baseball field on a cold night in the Midwest.
“I do think at the end of the day, we’re going to have a fantastic 3-point shooting team and we’ll be a very efficient offensive team,” Stanford coach Jerod Haase said. “Obviously that wasn’t the case tonight. Certainly Wisconsin gets some credit for how they defended us.”
Both teams were in an unusual position, playing basketball on a Major League Baseball (Milwaukee Brewers) park and on an infield.
The Badgers hail from Wisconsin’s state capital, Madison, nearly an hour West of Milwaukee, so the crowd was mostly in their favor. Standard’s locale in the Bay Area of California doesn’t preclude its alumni and fans from traveling thousands of miles to support their alma mater or team.
The first 20 minutes was indeed a battle, although the Badgers did get out to an advantage as large as 13 points late in the half.
The Cardinal shot an abysmal 0-8 from beyond the arc, while the Badgers converted three out 11 attempts. At the midway point, the nocturnal mammal is peeling the bark off of the tree from Palo Alto, and led by 12, 32-20.
The Badgers managed to hang on to the lead, although the Cardinal attempted to chip away their opponents advantage by cutting the lead to as low as five, However, the adjacent home team held on to be ahead by 10 at the final buzzer.
Wisconsin Badgers 60, Stanford Cardinal 50
The Cardinal was led in scoring by junior forward Brandon Angel with 14 points, and senior guard Michael Jones contributed nine points, four rebound and two blocks.
Jones also spoke about the ambiance, “It’s different playing in an arena like this, it feels like a tournament atmosphere.”
The Badgers were topped by senior forward Tyler Wahl’s 17 points and five rebounds, in addition to junior guard Jordan Davis chipping in 13 points.
Stanford will fly back west and host San Diego State at Maples Pavilion Tuesday, November 15, while Wisconsin hosts state rival Green Bay at the Kohl Center on the same date.
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