BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — When Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard and senior guard Bronson Koenig passed each other in the hallway outside the media room at the Kohl Center here Tuesday night, Gard noticed the band-aid on Koenig's chin and suggested that it was covering up his first stitches as a basketball player. Koenig nodded in agreement and responded that he welcomed more.
It was that type of game against Michigan.
"Once we got punched in the mouth," Ethan Happ said, "we started hitting back."
The Badgers almost waited too long before counter-punching — falling behind by eight points less than eight minutes into the second half. But they rallied behind some inspired, gritty defense and the "spurtability" of Koenig who scored 10 straight (two converted drives to the rim and two triples) during a 15-0 run that paved the way for a hard-earned 68-64 victory over the Wolverines.
"I was pretty frustrated the whole game because I wasn't getting many looks and I knew I had to get myself going somehow, especially the way the game was going," said Koenig, who finished with a team-high 16 points. "I kind of told myself to say aggressive. I've taken over games before so I knew I was capable of it. I just needed to stay confident and stay on the attack."
Koenig took only three shots during an uneventful first half which saw Wisconsin take a 26-21 lead by limiting Michigan to its lowest point total of the season. But after the Badgers scored the first basket of the second half, they didn't score another one for over seven minutes. While they were missing seven of eight shots, the Wolverines were making seven of nine and outscoring them 17-4.
"Once you look up at the score and you see that you're down six or whatever it was, with not that much time left, that's when the adrenaline really starts to pick up," said Happ, who picked up his third personal foul at 17:23. While he was on the bench, Michigan went on an 11-1 run and led 36-30.
Happ was thinking only one thing, "When is coach going to let me go back in?"
With 12:48 remaining, Happ re-entered the game and the Wolverines extended their lead to 38-30 on a Zak Irvin jumper. But after freshman D'Mitrik Trice grabbed a defensive rebound and was fouled by Moe Wagner (Michigan's 10th team foul), the momentum began to swing in Wisconsin's favor.
Trice made the first free throw and missed the second. Happ, though, threw aside Mark Donnal and out-positioned Irvin for the offensive rebound and kicked the ball into the left corner to Trice who buried a 3-pointer. Suddenly the Kohl Center was alive and energized. So were the Badgers.
That was the first turning point. The second came with 6:19 remaining. Gard calling a timeout leaving him with only one. With the Badgers trailing, 49-43, he felt the urgency to remind his players that they needed some defensive stops and had to win all the 50/50 scrambles.
"And I thought that's what we did," said Koenig, who led by example which accounted for the cut on his chin. "Vitto (Brown) told me that my chin was bleeding. I didn't even know that it was. It must have been in a scramble … We kept our poise, we kept our cool and we kept fighting."
Zak Showalter, per usual, was in the middle of the rally. After scoring on a put-back, he blocked an Irvin shot and Koenig converted a lay-up at the opposite end. Showalter then harassed Irvin into a miss close to the rim and Koenig converted again on a baseline drive for a 49-all tie.
(Note: the Badgers are 30-0 under Gard when leading or tied with five minutes to play.)
That forced Michigan coach John Beilein to burn a timeout to regroup. But it was to no avail as Koenig slipped through a double high-post screen from Happ and Vitto Brown and nailed a triple at 4:50. "My teammates did a great job of screening and closing the door," said Koenig.
Seconds later, Nigel Hayes got dribble penetration and fed Koenig in the corner for another 3-pointer. "Nigel had a good drive and kick — he's really good at drawing defenders," said Koenig, also explaining, "I just tried to stay on the attack and stay aggressive."
Over the final 11:55, the Badgers made 12 of their last 16 field goal attempts. Down the stretch, Hayes locked up Irvin and Jordan Hill hit some clutch free throws to help close out the Wolverines. It was the second consecutive strong outing from Hill, who had eight points against Ohio State.
"That can be a tough position the one that he's in," Koenig said of Hill's backup role. "I love to see him do well because I know how hard he works. To not get down on himself can be tough at times, but he has provided us with a big spark off the bench the past couple of games."
Some Kohl Center carry-outs:
- Defensively, the Badgers chased the 6-foot-11 Wagner and 6-10 D.J. Wilson off the 3-point line. Wagner had four triples against Nebraska and was shooting 48 percent. Wilson had made 11-of-18 (.611) in Big Ten games. Combined, they went 0-for-6 from beyond the arc.
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- Hayes has become somewhat of a defensive wildcard for Gard, who can put him on the opponent's hottest shooter depending on the matchups. Late in the game, Hayes drew Irvin and said, "I took it personal to not let him continue on his roll. He was definitely keeping his team in the game."
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- More than one player mentioned the crowd. After a choppy first half and an intermission performance from a limbo contortionist, there wasn't much happening in the building. But the fans got engaged after a couple of hustle plays. "Man, that crowd was great tonight," Happ said.
