BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer

MADISON, Wis. – Greg Gard was wearing a Green Bay Packers jersey, No. 12 Aaron Rodgers. His director of recruiting and scouting, Kyle Blackbourn, was sporting a No. 23 (Jaire Alexander). His director of basketball operations, Marc VandeWettering, was modeling an old school No. 52 (Clay Matthews).
 
Two of Gard's assistants, Dean Oliver and Sharif Chambliss, were also in Green and Gold gear. They were all dressed for success. Or a Sunday afternoon practice at the Kohl Center preceding the NFL rematch (or 41-17 mismatch) between the Minnesota Vikings and the Packers at Lambeau Field.
 
Asked about the Green Bay theme, a Gard go-to, Tyler Wahl sighed, "It's nothing really new."
 
Wisconsin associate head coach Joe Krabbenhoft ignored his colleagues. He was not wearing the Purple. But he tends to wear his heart on his sleeve so there's no mistaking his pro football loyalty. He's a diehard Vikings fan. He's not the only one in the UW locker room. But he's easily the most intense.
 
Wahl and Steven Crowl are in Krabbenhoft's corner. Both are Minnesotans, Wahl from Lakeville and Crowl from Eagan. "I'm not that intense," Wahl said. "But I don't like hearing all the (bleep)-talking that goes on with the Packers and Vikings. I definitely have to give it back when it comes my way."
 
Last year, Brad Davison, a Minnesotan, converted Marcus Ilver into a Vikings fan (Ilver is from Estonia). Still, they're outnumbered by Packer Backers though Carter Gilmore (Bears), Jordan Davis (Eagles) Chucky Hepburn (Bucs), Justin Taphorn (Colts), to name a few, have their own rooting interests.
 
After Sunday's practice, which concluded an hour or so before the opening kick at Lambeau, the Badger players were planning on getting together as a team to watch the Vikings and Packers. "Food and a little banter, it's good for us all," said Wahl, making sure to also stress, "It's all friendly banter."
 
What better way than Vikings-Packers to kick off another rivalry, Gophers-Badgers? The Border Battle between Minnesota and Wisconsin will be renewed Tuesday night at the Kohl Center. The banter isn't always friendly. But the competition is usually keen. The Badgers lead the all-time series, 105-104.
 
Since 2014, Wisconsin has held the upper hand, winning 13 of 15. Gard is 9-2 against Minnesota. But last season's games came down to the final possessions. In Minneapolis, it was tied at 62 with 2:35 left. In Madison, it was deadlocked at 60 with 2:23 remaining. The Badgers went on to win both.
 
Wahl averaged 13.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in the sweep. He had a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Crowl had 20 points (his Big Ten high) at Williams Arena. Growing up, Wahl wasn't really invested in the Gophers. "I was always going to be a Badger," he maintained.

 
Wisconsin recruited Wahl out of Lakeville North High School, the same program that produced one of his former UW teammates, Nate Reuvers (now playing for Pallacanestro Reggiana in Italy). Another Lakeville North Panther is on the way, Nolan Winter, who signed his UW tender in November.
 
Wahl was the campus recruiting host for the 6-10, 190-pound Winter whose dad, Trevor, and mom, Heidi, played basketball and volleyball, respectively, at the University of Minnesota. Wahl has heard nothing but good things about Winter from his old prep coach, John Oxton, a Hall of Famer.
 
"I've heard that he has been playing really well, his confidence is growing and he's playing tough," said the 6-9, 225-pound Wahl, a senior. "He kind of reminds me of myself when I was coming in. Tall, lanky, skinny. But he definitely has no fear. He has got some fight in him. He'll fit in great here."
 
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After the Badgers won a fifth straight and upped their season record to 10-2 with a hard-fought 76-66 win over a physical Western Michigan team last Friday – Crowl had a career-high 25 points – Gard shared some thoughts on what he had seen out of his players leading up to the New Year, 2023.
 
"The thing that jumps out the most is their resilience and just their persistence," said Gard, the 2022 Big Ten Coach of the Year. "We're not perfect. But they just keep swinging. They just keep coming at you. And that's the guys off the bench, and the guys up and down the line-up.
 
"It has been a group that embraces everything … They know who they are. They know how we have to play to be successful. And they've given us everything they have every single day. I don't have to coach effort. And, as a coach, that's always what you want. That lets us focus on basketball.
 
"They've been a great group to coach. It's the grit, the persistence, the toughness that has helped elevate us (to No. 14 in the polls). And this group is the definition of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. They're connected. They're together. And it shows with how they play."
 
Krabbenhoft was of the same thinking. "I like the way they compete every day," said the former UW power forward. "They're a group of young men that have completely embraced who we need to be and what Coach Gard has tried to implement from Day One dating back to last spring …
 
"They've completely bought into who we are – and into each other. We're nowhere near where we need to be. We have to keep getting better every day. But the strength of this team is that they believe in everything we're telling them, and they believe in each other."
 
Wahl, the UW's leading scorer (14.1) and rebounder (6.8), has observed many of the same attributes. "I really like our toughness," he said. "Every game, we're coming out here with energy. And I like our ability to learn. Every day, we're coming to practice, looking at film and we're taking it to heart.
 
"The things that Coach says that we need to work on … we work on them. We have a really good group of guys, a bunch of guys who are coachable and want to get better. But we still have a long way to go. I like the progress and what we've done so far. We just have to keep sticking to what we're doing."
 
It's only fitting that Tuesday's honorary captain is Joe Chrnelich, who personified toughness from a bygone era of Badger basketball (1976-80). The industrious Chrnelich was a two-time team captain and MVP. A four-year starter, he didn't back down from anybody – setting the tone for others.
 
Addressing the toughness that applies, then and now, Wahl said, "With Wisconsin basketball, you're not going to have the guys who jump out of the gym. But you need the guys who aren't going to back down from people … who just go in there and not have a fear … that's what toughness really is.
 
"We've had a whole bunch of different games this season in which we've found ways to win. Down by a lot. Up by a lot. We've also had some rock fights. But the resilience, the toughness and the no fear … that's something we've really worked on. We talk about staying in the present and competing."
 
The Badgers have played seven games decided by five points or fewer, including three overtimes. And they've won five of them. They're also 5-1 outside of the Kohl Center, a continuation of a trend from last season when they were 9-2 in true road games and won a share of the Big Ten title.
 
"We can't get consumed with the end goal," Wahl cautioned. "We have to stay in the moment."
 
Spoken like a true team leader. Which Wahl is. Which Krabbenhoft willing vouched for.
 
"His confidence is at an all-time high at both ends of the floor – he is the leader – and he has the whole coaching staff's trust in what he does," Krabbenhoft said. "Because his heart is always in the right place, he's able to go out there and just play aggressively.
 
"He'll get caught gambling and trying to make plays. But it's a players' game – Coach has said that from the beginning – and Tyler Wahl is out there making plays. We'll live with his mistakes here and there because his effort and his heart are unquestioned."
 
Krabbenhoft added on Wahl, "He has grown so much. I couldn't be more proud of the leader that he has become over his career here. He's learned from some really good ones in Brad Davison and D'Mitrik Trice and so on. It's just his ability to continue to connect with guys.
 
"To see him take a guy like Connor under his wing has been so much fun to sit back and watch."
 
Connor is Connor Essegian, a true freshman shooting guard from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Whereas the Gophers have four freshmen in their rotation, each averaging between 17 and 25 minutes, Essegian is the lone first-year frosh contributor for the Badgers. He's averaging 22 minutes and 10.4 points.
 
"Connor Essegian has been a very pleasant surprise," Krabbenhoft admitted. "We knew that he could shoot it. I think everybody in the country who watched him in AAU or in Indiana (at Central Noble High School) knew he could shoot. But we didn't know how quickly it could translate to this level.
 
"As quick of a release – and as strong of a game he has – his heart is just as big. He's got a competitive spirit to him that allows him to go out every single night and help us win. It starts with his ability to shoot ... But the way he moves, sees the game and cuts, makes us a better offensive team.
 
"Even if his shots weren't going in at the rate that they are, he really makes everyone else better around him because he's moving so well without the ball. Defensively, the spotlight has been on him for what he can't do. But he understands what he needs to do.
 
"Like any freshman, who has been here, he's going to make mistakes.
 
"But he covers up a lot of mistakes with his fight, grit and effort."
 
Things that define this Badger team as a whole.