Three quick takeaways from Wisconsin basketball's win over Providence

This Thanksgiving afternoon, the Wisconsin Badgers beat the Providence Friars 104-83 in what was a necessary bounce-back game after a rough loss to BYU last Friday. The Badgers are now set to face the TCU Horned Frogs in the Rady Children's Invitational championship game Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET, 4:30 pm CT.

Providence has not been the most impressive Big East team this season, but it has still played in multiple close contests against Power Four competition, including a win over Penn State. Beating the Friars was crucial for the Badgers, who looked lost offensively last Friday against the Cougars, with a plethora of missed three-pointers and botched layups at the rim.

That changed against Providence, as the Badgers posted their highest-scoring game of the season with 104 points, 36 of which came from transfer guard Nick Boyd. In addition, the Badgers converted 35% of their 3-pointers, which was much improved from the BYU matchup (24%).

Before fans shift focus towards Friday's game against TCU, here are three quick takeaways from the Badgers' big win over the Friars.

Wisconsin's offense needs to run through Nick Boyd

Star guard Nick Boyd not only proved that he is capable of scoring at a high level on Thursday, but he also proved that he can impact the game in multiple areas. In addition to 36 points, he grabbed seven rebounds, tallied seven assists, and turned the ball over zero times. John Blackwell was expected to be the star for Wisconsin this season. That can still be the case, but the offense has to run through Nick Boyd both as a scorer and a facilitator.

Wisconsin must stay aggressive in transition

Wisconsin scored 32 fast-break points on Thursday, compared to Providence's 14. That success in transition was a clear area that helped the Badgers secure the decisive win. Nick Boyd scored a lot of his points in transition, while some of the Badgers' key defensive plays also came in that area.

Wisconsin is playing much faster than normal. The team utilizing that speed and acceleration to its advantage as it progresses through the season will be huge in games against turnover-prone squads.

Three-point shooting is streaky; off-days will happen

Transfer forward Austin Rapp had his best game as a Badger, scoring 20 points on 5-11 shooting from beyond the arc while also blocking three shots. Against BYU, Rapp went 0-of-7 from the field and missed all five of his three-point attempts. That performance was one to forget, and Rapp clearly put in the work since that outing to improve.

The transfer forward is a streaky three-point shooter, as seen during his freshman year at Portland. That means that he will certainly have some off-games. However, fans need to have confidence in this coaching staff and players to find form when needed. The win over Providence game proved that Rapp has as high a ceiling as one can have in college basketball.

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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Takeaways Wisconsin basketball's big win over Providence Friars