BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — When the Wisconsin men's basketball team flew home from losses at Michigan State and Purdue in January, the Badgers were disappointed in their play and they knew that they were guaranteed just one thing.
The opportunities for paybacks with the Spartans and the Boilermakers in February.
So far so good in the Kohl Center rematches with another coming up Sunday.
On Feb. 1, Wisconsin got off to an 18-6 start and then held off Michigan State, 64-63, to snap an eight-game losing streak in the series. Four players scored in double-figures, including Aleem Ford, who matched his Big Ten season high with 13 points to go along with four rebounds and two steals.
UW coach Greg Gard called it Ford's best game as a Badger.
It was until Tuesday night, that is.
Whether clearing the glass with a team-high seven rebounds (giving him 26 over the last three games) or scoring a career-high 19 points (on the strength of a personal best five 3-pointers), Ford had his fingerprints all over a 69-65 win that evened the score with the Boilermakers.
"He was the difference in the game in my opinion," said Purdue coach Matt Painter, who stressed that it was not from a lack of respect that Ford impacted the outcome. "It wasn't like we went into the game saying, 'Hey, let Aleem Ford shoot.' He's proven he can knock down shots."
On Feb. 15, Ford took only five shots and was held to three points at Nebraska. But he found other ways to contribute to the 81-64 victory by grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds, something that wasn't lost on Gard who viewed it as another sign of Ford's growth.
"Even though he didn't score much at Nebraska, he was aggressive, he was confident," Gard said. "The biggest thing is confidence and that's for any player. And it's hard for a coach to give it to them. They really have to find themselves. You can only point them in the right direction."
Despite the peaks and valleys, Gard said, "He (Ford) stayed persistent and the coaching staff has done a good job of staying after him and encouraging him to be aggressive because he doesn't come by it by nature. That's not quite his personality, so you're trying to pull that out of him.
"When he shows it, he has nights like tonight."
In yet another round of the February Payback Tour, Rutgers will offer a matinee test here Sunday at the Kohl Center (noon tipoff). In mid-December, Wisconsin got thumped 72-65 in Piscataway where they were out-rebounded 40-26 (14-3 on the offensive glass; 23-4 second-chance points).
The Scarlet Knights will be in a salty mood for the rematch, too.
On Wednesday night, Michigan snapped Rutgers' 17-game home winning streak by rallying for a 60-52 decision over the cold-shooting Knights at the RAC. In the second half, they were outscored, 32-21, and made only 8-of-34 shots (.235), 0-10 from the 3-point line.
"We've got to make sure we come with the same mindset and keep fighting back like we did against Purdue," said Ford, "because we know it's going to be a dog fight with Rutgers as well."
Tuesday's game lived up that billing between the Badgers and the Boilermakers. Every shot was contested. Every 50/50 ball drew a crowd. During two extended possessions, Ford, Nate Reuvers and Brevin Pritzl (twice) came up with critical offensive rebounds that led to late free throws.
After Wisconsin went 19-for-20 from the stripe (15-16 in the second half, 8-8 in the final 28 seconds), Gard said, "To be able to step up to the line down the stretch and handle the pressure and finish it out at the free throw line was good for this team and a step in the right direction."
So was the improved all-around play of Ford, who has scored in double-figures in four of the last six games (corresponding with the departure of Kobe King from the program). In addition, he has become a more dependable rebounder, an element not always associated with his game.
"I've just tried to get into the mix more — that's when balls will fall into your hands or you get an offensive rebound," said Ford, who's averaging 4.1 rebounds (compared to 1.9 last season). "I'm putting myself in the right spots and being aggressive. That's when good things happen.
"Coach Gard has talked about being aggressive. Like when we went to Purdue, they out-rebounded us (42-16) because they kept going after them and kept going and we had to have a similar mentality. When we'd get in our team huddles (Tuesday), we'd tell each other to fight back."
As far as his 3-point splurge against the Boilers, Ford said, "I'd say I'm just shooting with confidence. Once you see one go down, you just have to have the mindset that the next one is going in. If not, you have to have the mindset that the next one after that is going in.
"I feel like I've doing a good job of doing that along with making sure I put the extra time outside of practice. It can be anyone's night on any given night. At Nebraska, it was Brad (Davison who had 30 points). Tonight, I was hitting shots. We feed off each other. That's when we play at our best.
"When one guy gets it going, it boosts his teammates. And we're feeding off that energy, too. Coach Gard talks about just playing the game. Mistakes are going to happen. But as long as you're giving 100 percent, you just have to continue to play with that aggression."
The Badgers have won three straight and four of five in February.
"I think this is the perfect time," Ford said, "for us to be very confident."
