BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — As they walk to midcourt for Tuesday night's opening tip-off against Purdue,
Brad Davison will drape an arm over
D'Mitrik Trice's shoulder and they will engage in prayer reminding each other "to be present in that moment, to be thankful for it, to appreciate it" Davison explained.
Last Saturday, Davison and Trice showed no mercy on Nebraska.
Taking advantage of a porous scoring defense (last in the Big Ten) by touching the post and working inside-out with crisp passing and good spacing, Davison and Trice combined to make 13-of-17 field goals from beyond the 3-point arc in an 81-64 victory over the Cornhuskers in Lincoln, Neb.
Not only did Davison match his career high with 30 points, but he knocked down eight triples (8-of-11) tying the single-game school record held by Bronson Koenig who made 8-of-17 from the 3-point line in an 84-74 win over Virginia Tech in the 2017 NCAA tournament. Koenig finished with 28 points.
When asked about scoring in double-figures in five of six career games against Nebraska, Davison was taken aback and confided, "I didn't know that stat. But I love this arena. It's one of the nicest in the Big Ten that we get to play in. They always have a good atmosphere."
Although he was in the midst of an offensive slump, Davison's jumper was money in the bank — Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln. Over the last four games combined — or since he had 14 against the Huskers in Madison — he had 16 points on 5-of-23 shooting from the field, 3-of-16 from the arc.
Davison had eight 3's in the previous six games (including 4-of-8 vs Nebraska on Jan. 21).
"With shooters, you're going to have some games — and sometimes they're strung together — when you're not making them," said Wisconsin assistant coach Dean Oliver. "But you've got to stay consistent with your work and rely on your discipline versus trying to change anything."
It didn't hurt that the Badgers had five days between games. Or the fact that the players didn't practice Monday or Tuesday. "I had some time to get off my legs," said Davison, who has dealt with a tender ankle and hip pointer. "I tried to do the best I could to take advantage of all of those days."
Davison can be grateful that he didn't play like he practiced leading up to the Nebraska trip.
"Brevin Pritzl didn't miss a shot for two days," said UW coach Greg Gard. "Brad couldn't make a shot for two days. They changed spirits or whatever today because Brad shot it like Brevin had been shooting for two days and Brevin shot it like Brad shot it for two days."
(Pritzl missed his first seven shots and went 1-of-8 against the Huskers.)
"I told them as long as someone in one of our jerseys shoots it well, that's all I care. I think the two days off helped Brad in just trying to get healthier and his mind freshened up a little bit — as it has helped all of us. It was good to see him get in a rhythm because he was feeling it."
Davison got into an early shooting rhythm by making his first shot and two of his first four, a positive development in that he had only two baskets in the preceding two games against Minnesota (0-for-3) and Ohio State (2-for-7). "I just tried to stay aggressive," he said.
That was true in hunting his own shot, and shots for others. Midway through the first half, he slashed off the right wing on the dribble, got into the paint and dropped a pass to Micah Potter who drew a foul attacking the rim. Potter made both free throws.
On the next possession, Davison slashed off the left wing, again using the dribble to get into the paint where he fed Potter who scored and drew another foul. He made the free throw. On the subsequent possession, Davison drove the ball downhill from the top of the key and finished at the rim.
Addressing the sequence, Potter said, "It just opened everything up because they (the Huskers) do a good job on help-side defense, so when their big guy steps up, it leaves me wide open. And then all I have to do is give a little pump fake, get them up in the air and go finish.
"It makes my job a lot easier for Brad to be able to drive and distribute like that."
Wisconsin assistant coach Alando Tucker was encouraged by Davison's approach.
"I was talking to Brad about understanding how to play basketball is contingent on a rhythm," Tucker said. "Everything is based off of rhythm. When he gets in trouble is when he gets in there (the paint) and he plants, and he stays and the ball sticks there.
"When you can make your decision-making early then you can keep the defense guessing, and that's what he did, he kept the defense guessing. And then he found that rhythm. It's funny how that helps with your jump shot and it helps with your confidence."
Meanwhile, Potter had 11 of his 15 points in the first half when Nate Reuvers was in foul trouble. Whether it was Potter or Reuvers (who had 13 points in 16 minutes), the Badgers ran fundamental actions off the low post by positioning a shooter (Davison or Trice) to that side of the floor.
"When they came and collapsed on me, I kicked it out," said Potter acknowledging that the Huskers "invited" perimeter jump shots. "Exactly because they like to get long rebounds and get out and run in transition because that's where they're at their best. We were able to take advantage of that."
The Badgers set a school record with 18 3-pointers (18-34) in their first meeting against the Huskers. They were 15-of-31 from the arc Saturday at the "Vault." And they had the same halftime lead, 39-38, as they did at the Kohl Center before breaking open the game with a 16-0 run.
"We touched the post, that was key for us, even though we were shooting 3's at times," Gard said. "Our best 3's come inside-out. We were able to score at the rim a little when Nate and Micah got a few there. Even though we were going to get some open 3's, we had to put pressure on the rim."
Trice went 3-for-3 on 3's during a pivotal stretch in which the Badgers extended their lead to 17.
"They kind of at times play helter-skelter on defense." Trice said. "We were really well prepared from our coaching staff on the scouting report. And we knew if we fed the post and kicked it out, we'd be able to get the (ball) reversals going. We passed it really, really well today."
Nobody has done a more efficient job distributing the ball lately than Trice. Besides his 15 points (five triples), he had five assists and zero turnovers in 36 minutes while also serving as the principle defender on Nebraska point guard Cam Mack who was only 3-of-13 from the floor.
Huskers coach Fred Hoiberg revealed afterwards that Mack was battling the flu the night before. "He watched the walk-through this morning (Saturday) and then went to the doctor," he added. "They put a couple of IV bags of fluid in him and he was a game-time decision. The fluids really helped him."
That still doesn't take away from the point that Trice continues to draw the toughest defensive challenge from game-to-game, and from opposing point guard to point guard.
"Look at the job that he has done all year and the defensive assignments that he has gotten," Gard said. "I joked with him earlier in the week that when he was a freshman, I was looking for places to hide him defensively. Now, it's, 'OK, who can I put him on?"'
"He's just becoming more and more of a complete guard.
"Obviously I love the way he's playing and trying to lead this team."
Trice's experience has been a stabilizing influence to the season's ebb and flow.
"He's definitely showing a lot of poise out there," Oliver said. "Especially in big moments understanding when other teams make a run what our team needs and how to get it done, whether it's him making a play or getting someone else in the position to make the play."
Often that can go unnoticed.
"When you're doing things consistently," Tucker said, "sometimes it doesn't have flair to it. You're doing all the little things that we need and sometimes it doesn't stand out. But it adds up, it builds. That's what we're starting to see.
"He doesn't have to make the spectacular play.
"He just has to be consistently good at the things that we're asking of him."
After Saturday's win, Trice was asked about Davison's 30 points and he grinned and said, "Man, it feels so good and I already told Brad I'm super happy for him. To finally have a breakout game like that at this time of the year is huge because it can help us finish strong in this Big Ten run."
With six games remaining in the regular season for the Badgers (four at the Kohl Center), it's a run that has the makings of a sprint to the finish line in a gridlocked league starting with Tuesday's rematch against Purdue, a 70-51 winner in West Lafayette.
"Obviously, we laid a goose egg on the road there," Trice said. "But playing at home, I think we're a whole different team and we have to come out with the same mindset that we came out with today (at Nebraska) and against Ohio State (a 70-57 win on Feb. 9)."
Holding serve has never been more consequential.
