MADISON, Wis.—Tyler Wahl scored 19 points to lead four Wisconsin players who scored in double figures as the Badgers spoiled the debut of South Dakota head coach Eric Peterson with an 85-59, season-opening win Monday inside the Kohl Center.
 
It was the first meeting between the two programs. Wisconsin made 12-of-26 three-point shots while South Dakota was 2-of-15. Coyote guard Kruz Perrott-Hunt had 17 first-half points and led all scorers with 21 points on 10-of-20 from the floor.
 
It was Peterson's return to his home state of Wisconsin and also the return of Coyote guard A.J. Plitzuweit, who sustained an injury in February of 2021 and has fought to return to the court ever since. He started and scored eight points in 27 minutes of work Monday. He was 2-of-5 from the field including a 3-pointer.
 
It was also the Coyote debut for North Dakota transfer Paul Bruns, the reigning Summit League Freshman of the Year. Bruns offered 10 points and five boards in 22 minutes off the bench. Freshmen Felix Brostrom and Jeremiah Coleman also earned double-digit minutes in their collegiate debuts.
 
"It was a lot of new guys who haven't played together," said USD head coach Eric Peterson, who grew up two-and-a-half hours away near La Crosse, Wisconsin. "It's not the most ideal situation to come out against a Big Ten team and try to create cohesion. But this was a good game for us and I definitely think we're going to get better because we played Wisconsin. There's going to be things on film that we can show our guys that are easy fixes.
 
"If you look at this game to when we start Summit League play, we are going to be the most improved team and that comes with time together."
 
Perrott-Hunt's 17^th point of the opening half came on an and-1 with three minutes left that cut Wisconsin's lead to 27-24. He and Bruns combined for 24 of the Coyotes' 28 first-half points. But Chucky Hepburn made a pair 3's for Wisconsin the closing minutes and Steven Crowl added a bucket in the paint that pushed the Badgers' lead to 38-28 at the break. Wisconsin led by double-digits the rest of the way.
 
Wahl had a game-high 10 rebounds to go with his 19 points, but South Dakota held its own on the glass against its taller foe. Hepburn and Crowl scored 10 points each in the first half and finished with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Max Klesmit added 11 points for the home team.
 
Plitzuweit's eight points all came after the break as did all six points scored by Tasos Kamateros. South Dakota shot 40 percent from the field (23-of-57) to 51 percent for Wisconsin (28-of-55).
 
South Dakota returns home to host Lipscomb for its home opener Wednesday at 7 p.m. It will be the first game of the season for the Bisons, a 14-win squad from the Atlantic Sun Conference a season ago.