Lucas’ 3-Pointers: Wisconsin at Michigan State
December 24, 2020 | Men's Basketball
Three things to know before Badgers face Spartans on road
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — The Badgers continue Big Ten conference play on Friday at Michigan State in the Breslin Center. Here are three things to know:
1. Davison Channels Inner Pete Maravich
Not only has senior guard Brad Davison scored 10 or more points in four straight games, his longest double-digit scoring streak since his sophomore season (2018-19), but he also has been effective distributing the ball. While averaging nearly 16 points during this span (with a high of 23 against Rhode Island), he has 13 assists and just two turnovers. In addition to scoring a team-high 15 points in the Big Ten opener against Nebraska, he had a career-high seven assists, one of which was jaw-dropping. Davison explained, "In the second half when I started getting it going (making four of five shots, including three triples), they were trying to run me off the 3-point line, so it gave me the opportunity to get in the lane. Whether it was to create shots for myself or create shots for others. I was just trying to get the best shot for our team." On one such foray into the paint off the dribble, Davison drew the Cornhuskers help defender and delivered a sweet behind-the-back bounce pass to Aleem Ford on the baseline for an easy lay-up. This was Maravich-like, sans the floppy socks, circa the late '60s. Or Steve Nash-like (for a more contemporary generation). Quizzed on it afterwards, Davison admitted, "That's one thing that is not in the scouting report. I've never done that before. I'm not sure why I did it — it just kind of happened. I'm glad it worked out, otherwise Coach (Greg) Gard probably would not have been a happy camper."
More Davison: "Every game is big. After what we went through last year, every single game we play now in the Big Ten, we're playing for a championship … Michigan State is a great team year-in and year-out … We're going to have to play our game. We have to do what we do best and play Wisconsin basketball … It's a game for us seniors, us old guys in the locker room. We've never won at the Breslin Center. It's a game that we've circled for that."
2. D-Up and Don't Sweat The Scoring
More than 12 minutes into the first half against Nebraska, the Badgers had five points and 15 missed field goal attempts. But there was no flinching. From the players. Or the head coach. Volunteered Gard, "As I told them after the game, don't let missing shots raise your blood pressure … You can't get frustrated and become tense on the offensive end. My mentor (Bo Ryan) a long time ago said, 'You can't yell them into shooting better.' I can get frustrated and upset about a lot of things. But if we're getting good looks, we just keep encouraging (them) and stay positive. Having an older group helps … They don't get flustered if the offense isn't going as well." Ford turned 23 on Tuesday. D'Mitrik Trice is 24. Trevor Anderson is 23. Micah Potter and Nate Reuvers are 22. Although many opposing Big Ten fans probably feel like Davison has been around for a decade or three, he's only 21. All of that seasoning has factored into another strong defensive core. Opponents are shooting only 36 percent from the field and averaging just 57.5 points through eight games.
More Gard: "They understand how important it is. They take pride in that. They want to be the best defensive team in the country. That's an everyday challenge. Obviously, experience helps because you've got a lot of guys, other than Johnny (Davis, a true freshman), who have had a lot of reps. It takes a long time to become a good defensive team, and a lot of reps and a lot of film … The versatility of this group — specifically when we play with just one big and we're ranging from 6-foot-1 to 6-8 across the other four spots — gives us the ability to exchange and switch a lot of things. In today's game that is important."
3. Too Young To Remember
The last time was March 2, 2004. A few days earlier, Jonathan and Jordan Davis had turned 2. That was the last time that the Badgers beat the Spartans in East Lansing. On the strength of 18 points each from Devin Harris and Mike Wilkinson — and a clutch triple in overtime from Clayton Hanson — they spoiled what was to be a title-clinching celebration by the home team. A Big Ten championship banner, which hung in the rafters over the UW bench, was ready to be unfurled during a post-game ceremony that never took place ("In all honesty, we didn't deserve to win, and they did," said MSU coach Tom Izzo). When asked why the Badgers have struggled since then to win at Breslin, Gard pointed out, "The biggest reason why we haven't won there is because they're really good. I know that sounds simplistic, but it's that simple. It's why our home record has been (so impressive at the Kohl Center) ... we've been really good. You look at any good program, they should have a good home record. I'm sure probably a lot of teams have had struggles with Michigan State, whether it's home, road, neutral, Mars, the moon, wherever. It's because they're good."
