Wisconsin 89, Mocs 45

The Mocs did not shoot the ball well and Wisconsin was lights out from the floor. End of story. There's really nothing else that needs to be said. On top of that, the Mocs collected just three offensive rebounds and were beaten on the glass by an incredible, 49-21.

There's really nothing else that needs to be said. After all, the Mocs were playing against a team that went to the Final Four a year ago and could be a national title contender this year.

The Mocs knew going in that they would need to play a near perfect game. They simply did not play anywhere near perfect. Honestly, Wisconsin almost did. The Badgers shot 53.3% from the floor and made 44.4% from three point range. How do you compete with that? Well, one way would have been for the Mocs to win the rebounding battle. As was said earlier, that didn't come close to happening.

The Mocs could have forced a bunch of turnovers. Wisconsin turned the ball over just nine times.

Look- not many teams at the Mocs level are going to be able to compete with the size of the Badgers. The Mocs have a lot better size than a lot of teams in the SoCon and with how well Justin Tuoyo has been playing, there is reason to believe the Mocs will have many better days ahead. Tuoyo, not known for his offense, scored in double digits for a second straight game, though he only collected three rebounds in this one. He made two threes.

Rico White also made three threes and led the Mocs with fifteen points. Casey Jones looked like he pretty much belonged against Wisconsin as well. He made five of fourteen from the floor, but showed some decent moves in getting to the basket.

The Mocs need some other people to step up for them to compete in games like this. Greg Pryor and Tre McLean played 45 minutes, going zero for ten from the floor and scored no points.

This game was a measuring stick for the Mocs. They were playing one of the top teams in the country. They got hammered by 44 points. There is no sugar coating this. The Mocs are not there yet. We knew that. The truth is the Mocs will be much better by the time January rolls around and hopefully better by March. The Mocs are at least that far away from being able to compete with the best in the country, and possibly even a full year away.

The good news? No other team on the schedule is that good. Butler, Georgia, UAB, Middle Tennessee and others are plenty good. None are as good as Wisconsin. There should not be another showing like that for the Mocs this year.

We can all hope.

GO MOCS!