BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin associate head coach Lamont Paris and senior forward Nigel Hayes were both on the same page. The same page of a Badger playbook that has expanded to accommodate just about any style of play.
That was the point Paris and Hayes were making before and after Wisconsin won a "rock fight" against Rutgers in the Big Ten opener Tuesday night at the Kohl Center.
"We have a lot of different ways that we can play," Paris was saying before the tip-off. "We can play in the half-court. We can get up and down the floor a little bit when we need to. And we have some scoring options. Guys have to prove that they can do it on a consistent basis. But I think we have a lot of options offensively if one guy is not playing well. We've got some other guys ready to perform."
That's essentially what Hayes was saying after the 72-52 win in response to Rutgers' first-year coach Steve Pikiell's reference to how the Badgers are programmed "systematically" to play a certain way. It was meant to be a compliment, not an indictment — "They play the right way," Pikiell assured everyone — even though it may have sounded like some of the old stereotyping of Wisconsin basketball.
"My point is, we really don't hold the ball," said Hayes, who led both teams in scoring with 20 points and had one of his most efficient floor games with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a blocked shot. "It's kind of like, we just move it (the ball) around and when you get out of position, then we score on you. We can play up and down. We think we've shown that earlier in the non-conference (wins)."
Sure enough, the Badgers have reached 90 points on three occasions against overmatched Prairie View A&M (95-50), in-state rival Marquette (93-84) and undermanned Florida A&M (90-37).
"It's not that we play slow or that we want to play slow," Hayes continued. "We just try and take good shots. Good shots lead you to high percentage shots and there's more chance that the ball goes in. Some other teams that we play against have a different motto, maybe 'More shots equal more opportunities, more points.' We go with, 'Better shots equals more points.'"
Nobody has been more selective lately than Hayes. Since going a combined 1-of-11 from beyond the 3-point arc against Georgetown and North Carolina in the Maui Invitational, Hayes has resisted the temptation to "settle" for the first open look on the perimeter, no matter how inviting. In five of the last eight games, he hasn't shot a triple. Overall during this span, he's 4-of-6 from 3-point distance.
"I don't think I was necessarily taking bad shots too often," Hayes said.
At that, Hayes has the best 3-point shooting percentage among Wisconsin's starters. On a far smaller sample size, Hayes (13-of-37, .351) has nosed out Bronson Koenig (36-of-103, .350) for that honor. Zak Showalter is coming up fast on the outside. After a 2-for-10 stretch from beyond the arc, Showalter has made eight of his last 16 while scoring in double figures in three of the last four games.
"A lot of teams are trying to hone in on us three — Nigel, Bronson and myself," said redshirt sophomore center Ethan Happ, who had a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) against Rutgers. "They're leaving someone else open and Showy has been delivering for us."
Added Hayes, "You can't guard everyone, so you're either going to help shade my way, help shade Ethan's way or Bronson's way and they're going to gamble and say, 'Alright, we'll let Showy shoot' or 'We'll let Showy make plays.' Showy is going to make those plays and Showy is going to shoot."
Last season, Showalter had a career-high 21 points at Rutgers. He was 8-of-8 from the field.
"In these types of games, he thrives," said head coach Greg Gard. "He likes physicality. He likes to mix it up, stick your nose in, get knocked around, knock some people around."
Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft filed the scouting report on the Scarlet Knights and used the phrase "rock fight" to foreshadow what the Badgers were in for Tuesday. They would play hard, he reported, they would play physical. Gard just wanted to make sure his players threw the bigger rocks. In other words, Gard's own words, it was the perfect matchup for Showalter.
After Rutgers went on an 18-6 run (three triples from Nigel Johnson, two from Mike Williams and a 3-point play from Deshawn Freeman) to cut its second half deficit to 53-44, the Badgers counter-punched with a 14-2 run sparked by Showalter, who had 10 points on a variety of different scoring plays.
Rock'em-sock'em aside, Gard said of Showalter, "His offensive repertoire has grown over the course of his career. He stays within his lane. He doesn't try to do things he isn't capable of. And you never have to worry about how hard he plays, practice or games. Same lunch-pail, hard-hat mentality."
The Badgers will need to bring both when they resume Big Ten action with trips to Indiana (Jan. 3) and Purdue (Jan. 8). These matchups could very well be determined by tempo — style of play — starting with next Tuesday's game at Assembly Hall. "It's going to be intense," Happ said.
Some Kohl Center carry-outs:
- Hayes, who shot 74 percent from the stripe in each of the past two seasons, had made only 14 of his last 29 free throws coming into the Rutgers game. But he went 10-for-10 putting an end to that slump. The conference leaders in attempts are Illinois' Malcolm Hill (74-94, .787), Maryland's Melo Trimble (74-88, .841) and Hayes (55-84, .665). A year ago, Hayes shot a school-record 258 free throws.
- The Badgers had a flurry of steals in the opening minutes, three by Showalter and one by Hayes who finished strong at the opposite end by knifing through two defenders at the rim and laying up a shot with his left hand from a difficult angle. During this sequence, an incensed Pikiell made wholesale lineup changes, including inserting a walk-on, Jake Dadika, who had played only 39 minutes all season.
- Rutgers' sophomore guard Corey Sanders, who led the Scarlet Knights in scoring last year, missed Monday's practice because of a missed flight from his home in Florida and was benched by Pikiell for the first 10 minutes of the game. Sanders, who had just four points (1-of-11), later had to be helped to the locker room after coming down awkwardly on his right ankle.
