BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Mike Lucas had a front-row seat for Wisconsin's 71-60 victory against No. 23 Maryland at the Kohl Center Sunday. Here is what he saw from courtside.
OH, WOW, I'M HERE MAKING AN IMPACT
As excited as Brevin Pritzl was to see the lane open up in the paint against Maryland — which led to a dive to the rim, a feed from Ethan Happ and a dunk-and-one — the De Pere, Wisconsin native was almost more excited about getting his picture taken with Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson after Sunday's 71-60 win at the Kohl Center. Nelson, an all-state basketball player in high school (Riley, Kansas), even complimented him on the flush, almost leaving Pritzl speechless. "I was nervous," he admitted.
But he didn't play that way. During a productive 23-minute stint, Pritzl had seven points and seven rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, matching Maryland's total. "Coach (Greg) Gard got on me about crashing the boards at the wrong time (against Northwestern)," said Pritzl, who didn't play at Michigan. "Fortunately, they (the Terps) were so worried about Ethan (Happ) and Nigel (Hayes), boxing them out, I was able to sneak in and get a couple when we needed them."
Late in the first half, Pritzl took advantage of Maryland freshman Kevin Huerter for his first basket — the slam — and it was the result of Huerter's preoccupation with helping on Happ. Huerter collapsed off Pritzl, who was positioned on the 3-point arc, to prevent Happ from turning into the lane and using his jump hook. "He (Huerter) turned his back, I ran behind him, Ethan found me and it was an easy finish," said Pritzl, who completed the three-point play by making his free throw.
On the subsequent possession, Happ stole the ball from Maryland's Justin Jackson and tried to hit Pritzl with a pass in transition. Although it carried too far for Pritzl to make the catch, he was able to tightrope the boundary and deflect the ball off Melo Trimble before crashing into the cheerleaders at the end of the floor. His hustle didn't go unnoticed. "He brought some energy … he was aggressive," Gard said. "Brevin, like all of our guys, is more worried about the team than his individual stats."
Pritzl had a big hand in sealing the victory. Off a Bronson Koenig drive and miss, he scored on the tip-in to give the Badgers a 10-point lead. And after a Hayes steal and miss, he got the rebound to extend a possession that ended with a Koenig jumper, making it 64-52, with 4:41 left. That's when Maryland coach Mark Turgeon waved the white flag and took Trimble out of the game. The crowd roared. "This place was unbelievable … they were as loud as they've ever been," Gard said.
The fans fueled the Badgers, especially when they got on a roll in the second half. How loud was it? "I got goose bumps a couple of times," Pritzl said. "I was thinking, 'Oh, wow, I'm here making an impact.' Those are the moments you live for and I was just happy that I was able to perform."
WELCOME BACK, BRONSON
Although his streak of 84 consecutive starts was snapped, Koenig came off the bench and wound up playing starter's minutes (31; the second most to Hayes, who played 38). Koenig, who didn't score in the first half, had back-to-back baskets, including a triple, in a 15-3 run following intermission, erasing a 33-27 halftime deficit. On the 3-pointer, he touched the post (Happ), Jaylen Brantley dropped off, Happ kicked out and he buried the shot from the right wing. On the next possession, he used a ball-fake to get Trimble out of position and scored from the left wing. "It helps when you have Bronson Koenig coming off the bench," cracked Zak Showalter. "That makes your bench points look a lot nicer."
A NOTE WORTHING QUOTING
The Badgers are 6-0 when Hayes has attempted at least 10 free throws this season. Hayes was 9-of-14 against the Terps. The other wins were against Oklahoma (10-of-13 FT), Green Bay (7-of-13), the first Rutgers game (10-of-10), the first Michigan game (4-of-10) and Nebraska (7-of-11). "I tried to do my best to try and get to the rim and draw some fouls," said Hayes who had his 11th career double-double (21 points, 10 rebounds). "We did a good job of getting to the free throw line. We can always do a better job shooting them." The Badgers were 21-of-37 (.568).
DID YOU NOTICE?
- Khalil Iverson was used in multiple ways on defense. With Showalter in foul trouble, he briefly checked Trimble. He also played some at the 4 with Hayes at the 5 ("We were a little more mobile and quicker," Gard said). Iverson didn't score, but he matched his career high with seven rebounds.
- D'Mitrik Trice and Maryland's Anthony Cowan looked like they could have been cloned. Both are true freshmen. Both wore 0 on their jersey. Trice is listed at 6-foot, 178 pounds. Cowan is listed at 6-foot, 170. As it turned out, Trice, making his second start, outscored Cowan, 7-4, who was averaging 10.7.
- Trimble used a catlike cross-over dribble to get past Koenig on a drive to the glass only to have Koenig recover on the play and block his shot in the first half. To prove that it wasn't a fluke, Koenig also rejected one of Cowan's shots in the second half. They were Koenig's first blocked shots in 13 Big Ten games.
- The Terps freshmen starters — Huerter, Cowan and Jackson — were "limited" to a combined 16 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists. In eight previous road games (the only loss coming at Penn State), they had combined to average 33.9 points, 16.1 rebounds and 8.6 assists per game.
- Maryland coach Mark Turgeon, who thought his center Damonte Dodd had been fouled, was given a technical by official Terry Oglesby for protesting the non-call at 9:31 of the second half. Showalter missed the first throw, and made the second, dropping to his knee to "will" it through the net.
- Former UW tailback James White, the "real" MVP of the Super Bowl, was introduced during a first-half timeout. White signed a football and flung it into the student section, reminiscent of his 3-yard touchdown throw to Sam Arneson out of the Barge formation against Nebraska in the 2012 Big Ten title game.
- Hayes scored on an uncontested dunk with 16 seconds remaining. Afterwards, he admitted, "I thought there was above 30 seconds left, which would mean we would have to shoot the ball anyway. So, I went ahead and dunked … I want to apologize to coach Turgeon and the Terps players for that."
A QUOTE WORTH NOTING
After the Terps were out-rebounded, 44-27 (18-5 on the offensive glass, a 19-9 disparity in second-chance points), Turgeon cited the stellar play of Happ and Hayes who combined for 41 points and 17 boards. Praised Turgeon, "They were good. They were terrific. We couldn't guard them. We couldn't double them. We couldn't guard them head-up. They were great."
THE SKINNY ON OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes are reeling after Saturday's 58-57 loss to Nebraska at Value City Arena. It was their third-straight defeat, dropping their Big Ten record to 5-10, assuring that Ohio State will finish below .500 in league play for the first time in coach Thad Matta's 13 seasons in Columbus.
Glynn Watson's 3-point play with 12 seconds remaining was the difference as the Cornhuskers rallied from a seven-point deficit in the final four minutes. The Buckeyes had the final shot but they couldn't get the ball to Marc Loving and Jae'Sean Tate was forced to take a desperation jumper.
Tate (14 points), Loving (13) and Trevor Thompson (13) finished in double-figures. But the Buckeyes were guilty of 18 turnovers (leading to 23 points) and shot only 41 percent (5-of-17 from the arc). The Huskers, who won for the first time in eight trips to Columbus, dominated bench scoring, 23-8.
On Jan. 12, in Madison, the Badgers crushed Ohio State, 89-66, on the strength of 21 offensive rebounds and 28 second-chance points. Koenig was 5-of-7 from the 3-point line and had 21. (By the way, he now needs four triples to break Ben Brust's school record). Hayes had 15, Vitto Brown had 12.
Wisconsin last played at Value City Arena in March of 2015 in what Frank Kaminsky labeled a "statement" game going into the postseason tournaments, Big Ten and NCAA. Kaminsky had 20 points and Koenig had 15 as the Badgers overwhelmed the Buckeyes, 72-48.
GARDO SEZ
"We finished around the rim and we didn't fade away. We went strong through people. We drew fouls and when we do … that makes us really good. I just thought we played more maturely in the second half, maybe we grew up in the 15 minutes we sat in the locker room."
