BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Mike Lucas had a front-row seat for Wisconsin's final regular-season matchup — a 66-49 win against Minnesota — celebrating UW's Senior Day at the Kohl Center Sunday. Here is what he saw from courtside.
PLENTY TO SMILE ABOUT
When Vitto Brown walked on the floor during pregame senior introductions, he was accompanied by his folks, Angelo and Sheila. He also brought along an old friend: a smile. It was not a grin, but a smile; an ear-to-ear, mega-watt smile that has not been a part of Brown's makeup lately.
"After the Iowa game," Brown said, "that was rock bottom for myself and the whole team. I had to do a lot of re-evaluating — talking with my parents and brother. That was the main thing, the main message I got out of it, that we have to be more positive. We talked about that as a team as well.
"So, I felt the best way to do that is to smile. I wanted to make sure … (as he was speaking in the UW locker room, head coach Greg Gard walked up and hugged Brown who paused before completing his thought) … I wanted to make sure I started out the game with that smile and I tried to keep it, too."
Brown made reference to and confirmed a player's-only meeting Saturday. "It was Bronson's and Showy's idea primarily," Brown said of the organizers, senior guards Bronson Koenig and Zak Showalter. "People chimed in here and there. Everybody was on the same wave length throughout the meeting."
What came out of it? "Positivity was the main takeaway," said Brown. "We knew the way things were going it was easy for everyone to self-destruct with their own feelings in their heads. That was the main thing. If we could stay positive, we could get through anything."
Brown pointed out that it went beyond a final hurrah at the Kohl Center. "Moving forward, it was not just for the seniors," he said. "Because of the implications this game had for seeding and going in on the right note to the Big Ten Tournament, we knew that we had to make a change."
With a little over six minutes left in the first half, the Badgers executed the inside-out game with Brown touching the post — Ethan Happ — which influenced Minnesota's Eric Curry to leave Brown and trap Happ, who kicked it back out to Brown for a wide open 3-pointer.
Despite his struggles (.254 from beyond the arc in Big Ten games), he nailed it. That put a ginormous smile on his face, again. "I tried to play it cool but I had to let it out," he said. "It felt good. Ethan passed it to me and said, 'C'mon, V.' I heard him and I knocked it down. It was a great feeling."
So was the postgame senior celebration, especially with a win and No. 2 seed in hand for the Big Ten Tournament. "It felt awesome," said Brown. "We almost forgot what that feeling was like after going on that skid that we did. But to get a win against a team like that and have everyone's family there made it so much better."
Looking ahead to the conference tournament, Brown added, "This is a whole new season starting. Winning this game (against Minnesota) doesn't mean we're going to beat the next team we play. But we know it's definitely better going into that next game on a win than a loss."
THE TRICE IS RIGHT (ANSWER)
At the 14:40 mark of the first half, Koenig was called for a moving screen and it put him on the bench with his second foul. That turned up the heat on freshman D'Mitrik Trice to fill the void at point guard in Koenig's absence. Trice knew what was expected of him and implemented the plan.
"I just had to go in there and do whatever I had to do to help my team at that time," Trice said. "Bronson was out of the game, but he was doing a great job leading from the sidelines — telling us what he saw. I just tried to make plays and make things happen."
Defensively, on switches, the 6-foot, 178-pound Trice wound up several times with 6-10, 260-pound Reggie Lynch on the block. Trice, a top-notch prep football player, did everything he could to keep the ball out of his hands. "It was a little different for me but it was fun," he admitted.
Trice was ready for the challenge. Just like Brown knew that he would be. There were no surprises. "That's what we need him to do and he's always ready," Brown said. "He's mature beyond his years in that way on being ready when his number is called. He did a great job."
Gard mentioned many of the same things after Trice had three steals and two assists during his 15 minutes of playing time in the first half. "He came in and captained the ship," Gard said. "Guys respect him and trust him and he has grown though the season … he's a very trustworthy backup."
It didn't hurt that Koenig was in his ear. "He kept telling me to stay aggressive and keep the ball alive on ball screens," Trice said. "We were coming off (the screens) and hitting the roller (pick-and-roll). We knew Nigel and Ethan can make plays in there. Getting it inside is always our game plan."
Trice credited his football background — he was a quarterback at Wayne High School in Huber Heights, Ohio — for his toughness in some of the loose ball scrambles. "Getting on the floor and diving is what they need me to do," he said. "It comes with playing in the Big Ten and I have to be ready for it."
In the second half, Trice triggered an 8-0 run with a four-point play. While sinking his 3-pointer, he was fouled by Jordan Murphy who picked up his fourth personal. Murphy had six double-doubles in his previous seven games. Because of fouls, though, he was limited to six points and five rebounds.
Did Trice know that jumper was going in? "Every shot I take," he said, "I feel like it's going to be good. But when I saw the switch (with the 6-6 Murphy), I knew I could get to my pull-up. I didn't see the shot go in but when I let it go, I knew it felt good and then the crowd reacted."
After Minnesota pulled within two possessions (51-45), Trice drew a charge on Lynch, his fourth, and it reversed the momentum as the Badgers outscored the Gophers, 15-4, to the finish line. It was the sixth time this season Trice had drawn a charge, tying him for the team lead with Showalter.
A NOTE TO QUOTE
The Badgers were 8-of-10 (.800) from the 3-point line in the second half. That was more triples than they had in five of the last six games. Due in large part to Koenig (who was 5-of-8), they ended up with a season-high percentage (10-of-18, .556) from beyond the arc. It was only the third time in 16 games that they reached double-digits and the first time they hit the 50 percent mark since Jan. 21 and the first Minnesota game (7-of-14). Koenig is now among the Top 25 3-point shooters in Big Ten history. With 247, he passed Purdue's E'Twaun Moore and ranks No. 24, two slots behind Sharif Chambliss who had 255, split between Penn State (195) and Wisconsin (60).
A QUOTE TO NOTE
Minnesota's Richard Pitino, who's in the running for Big Ten Coach of the Year honors, was obviously not in the greatest mood after seeing his team's eight-game winning streak snapped. In addition, it was the Gophers seventh-straight loss to Wisconsin. Nonetheless, Pitino was complementary to the Badgers saying, "I've got a lot of respect for those seniors. They've won a lot of games. Tip of the cap to them. I thought they played very well …"
SENIOR MOMENTS
Here are some things that Gard will remember most about his seniors.
On Showalter: "The toughness, the grit. The things that have been the pillars of this program, he has embodied. When you peel back, scrap off all the glitter and you find the things that really matter day-to-day, those are the things that he stood for … that toughness. That's what got him here. That's what caught our eye. I've learned that's vital in a program. You have to have guys like that."
On Brown: "I'll remember how he was able to handle the ups and downs. He didn't get on the floor much his first two years. But he continued to fight and persevere and stick with it. That's one of the things that has jumped out, along with how he has improved as a perimeter shoot. He has hit some big shots at key moments. And he has had to work for everything. Perseverance is the word with Vitto."
On Koenig: "I've known him since he was a freshman in high school and he has really grown as a person. I think his vision of the world and his place in the world has changed immensely along with the impact that he can have with Ho-Chunk Nation and with Native Americans. The way he has grown off the court has stood out besides all the big-time plays and shots that he has made for us."
On Hayes: "He has helped make me a better coach because he has opened my eyes to things that maybe I wouldn't have spent a whole lot of time thinking about, on the court and in society. His social activism has brought attention to areas that need addressing in today's world. His thoughts are in-depth; he's not just rambling or spewing out of information. He understands what he's talking about."
As far as Hayes' basketball impact, Gard added, "He has been able to withstand a pretty bright spotlight. He has guarded all five positions for us this year and last. He's a very good passer and his vision is probably the one thing that is underrated and not talked about enough. He sees the game a step ahead of most. He sees things almost in a coach's eyes. He sees things before they develop."
THE SKINNY ON THE BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
As the No. 2 seed, the Badgers will play on Friday against the winner of No. 10 Indiana and No. 7 Iowa in what will be a rematch of a Feb. 21 game in Iowa City, their only meeting of the season. In a rough-and-tumble affair, the Hawkeyes outlasted the Hoosiers, 96-90, in overtime. Peter Jok had 35 points and set a school record from the free throw line by going 22-of-23. Indiana was whistled for 35 fouls and had four players disqualified, leading to a huge advantage at the stripe for Iowa (39-of-47 versus 16-of-19). The Badgers swept Indiana and lost to Iowa last Thursday.
GARDO SEZ
"We've been good defensively all year. But I thought we took another step here today (Sunday) in terms of really becoming a tough team to deal with at that end of the floor. We're pretty multi-dimensional in that we can exchange a lot of things and our guys are doing a very good job of communicating. That's the thing I noticed in the huddle and at halftime in the locker room. Guys were talking about the right things. That's a huge thing with defense."
