BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Mike Lucas had a front-row seat for Wisconsin's loss to Michigan State 84-74 on the road Sunday. Here is what he saw from courtside.
TRICE THE FUN FOR BROTHERS
Standing not far from the Wisconsin locker room, Travis Trice Jr. was waiting on his little brother, D'Mitrik, to shower and dress after Sunday's game in East Lansing. After playing four seasons for Tom Izzo — exiting the Michigan State program with over 1,000 career points — Trice Jr. didn't need help finding his way around the Breslin Center, his home away from home. The elder Trice brother currently lives in Australia where the playoffs just ended for his team — the Cairns Taipans of the National Basketball League.
"I literally landed (in the States) less than 24 hours ago, and I'm tired — I was ready to fall asleep during the game — but it was fun and I'm just happy that I got to see him play," Trice Jr. said of D'Mitrik, a UW freshman guard. "Actually, I got to watch as a fan today. It was weird. I was sitting over there cheering for the Spartans. But then he does something good and I cheered for him, too.
"I just liked how composed he is, how poised he is. This is not an easy place to play, especially the way Michigan State is playing right now (winners of six of the last eight). I think that they're starting to make their run like they usually do come this time of the year."
D'Mitrik Trice, who played 14 minutes, had five points, three rebounds, and one assist in Wisconsin's 84-74 loss to the Spartans. "It would have definitely been an even better feeling if we had won," he said of his first visit to Breslin as a player. "Just to be in that atmosphere and have my whole family here for the first time in a long time really meant a lot. It was fun and exhilarating."
With Michigan State leading by 13 points, Trice drained a 3-pointer at 5:38 of the first half that sparked a late rally as the Badgers outscored the Spartans, 14-2, closing the deficit to 38-37, at intermission. During this stretch, the UW didn't allow any points over the last three minutes and 34 seconds. The only MSU basket scored over the final six minutes was compliments of a goal-tending.
Following the UW's 10th straight loss at Breslin (dating to 2004), what would Trice Jr., 24, tell D'Mitrik about the vagaries of college basketball? "Just stay the course and trust his coaches," he said. "He's playing for a great university and a great coaching staff. Trust the process and keep working."
DID YOU NOTICE?
- The Badgers held Michigan State without a field goal for six minutes and 25 seconds of the second half — between the 8:09 mark and 1:44 — and used a 7-0 run to pull within six points (72-66) but couldn't get any closer because of empty possessions, in part due to untimely misses from the free throw line where they were 13-of-25 (.520). The Spartans, only .646 in the Big Ten, went 21-of-23 (.913).
- After failing to score at Ohio State, for only the second time in 28 games, Zak Showalter bounced back by making all four of his shots in the first 20 minutes, including 3-for-3 from the arc; the last triple coming in transition on an assist from Bronson Koenig with three seconds remaining in the half. Showalter ended up with 15 points, the second most that he has scored in league play this season.
- While Nigel Hayes and Ethan Happ were struggling from the free throw line (a combined 4-of-15), Koenig was a season-high 6-for-6, one shy of his career high. Last season, he was 7-for-7 at the line as part of a 27-point explosion against the Spartans at the Kohl Center. Sunday, he had 17 points and six rebounds, the second most that he has pulled down all season. He had seven boards against Indiana.
- Prior to the player introductions, coach Greg Gard hugged Michigan State senior guard Eron Harris and offered a few words of encouragement. Harris, who was on crutches, suffering a season-ending knee injury at Purdue. The Badgers actively recruited Harris out of Indianapolis. In the closing seconds, Harris symbolically entered the game and kissed the logo at center court, an MSU tradition. Showing their respect, the UW players who were on the floor exchanged some fist bumps with Harris.
A NOTE TO QUOTE
Showalter had a team-high three steals, giving him a career-high 40, four more than he had in 35 games last season. The Badgers had eight steals, the most that they've had in the last five games, and it translated to a 11-9 advantage in points off turnovers. They've had more than eight steals once in the last 13 games (10 in overtime at Nebraska). Happ, the Big Ten leader, continued his streak with two steals. He has now had at least one steal in 18 straight games and 26 of 29 overall.
A QUOTE TO NOTE
On the problems that Hayes and Happ can pose to a low-post defense, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said, "They're not an easy team to cover. They're very physical and those guys have experience down on the block. Every time, we'd double down, they'd hit a three. Give Greg (Gard) a lot of credit. Where they looked awful against double teams a few weeks ago, they've struggled and made adjustments. The way they moved Hayes around, it was hard to double. I just thought we left guys down on an island there (in single coverage) and they did their job."
THE SKINNY ON IOWA
First, there was J-Bo (Jason Bohannon). Then, there was Z-Bo (Zach Bohannon). Both brothers played at Wisconsin. Now, there's Jor-Bo? J-Bo 2.0? J-Bo the sequel? How about Baby-Bo? That's what Jordan Bohannon is answering to in Iowa City. The youngest Bohannon, a 6-foot, 182-pound freshman, and yet another product of Linn-Mar High School in Marion, Iowa, had 24 points in the Hawkeyes' 83-69 win at Maryland. Bohannon was 8-of-10 from the 3-point line, one triple shy of Chris Kingsbury's school record. (Jason Bohannon is one of 11 players to hold the UW single-game record with seven triples).
"He knows who he is," UW assistant Lamont Paris said of Baby-Bo, "and he plays to that."
Bohannon, a 23-game starter, has the second most 3s on the team behind senior Peter Jok, the Big Ten's leading scorer (20.6 points). The 6-6, 205-pound Jok is one of the toughest players in the league to guard because of his 3-point range and ability to score off the bounce and/or draw fouls. Jok has made more free throw than anyone in the conference, going 142-for-154 (.922). In an overtime win over Indiana, Jok had 35 points and was 22-of-23 from the line.
"He's a guy who can score in his sleep," Paris said of Jok, who has scored 30 or more points five times, including a career-high 42 against Memphis (8-of-11 on 3's, 12-of-12 FTs). "They get him a lot of touches. They have guys who know how to find him and how to screen for him."
The Hawkeyes have only one other player among the top 30 scorers in that the Big Ten. That is 6-9, 253-pound freshman Tyler Cook who had 21 points and 10 rebounds against Maryland. Defensively, the Hawks limited Melo Trimble to 10 points. He was only 1-of-9 from the 3-point line (same as Koenig vs. Michigan State). As a team, the Hawkeyes were 16-of-26 (.615) from the arc. Wisconsin won the only meeting last year, 67-59, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Koenig had 15 points and Hayes added 10.
GARDO SEZ
On free throw shooting: "It's mental. We've been down that road. We've addressed all of that in practice. There just comes a point where you have to step up and make them. We'll get back to work on it when we reconvene Tuesday and put them on the foul line. We can simulate it only so far in practice and then there comes a point in games when you have to step up there and splash them in."
