BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Now that season has wrapped, let's take a look at some of Wisconsin Men's Basketball's top accomplishments. What's No. 1 on your list?
My Candidates for Top Individual Performance
- Brevin Pritzl's double-double (15 points, 13 rebounds) against Marquette
- D'Mitrik Trice's 31 points (11-14 FG, 5-6 triples) against Milwaukee
- Aleem Ford's 19 points (5-8 triples) against Purdue
- Micah Potter's double-double (24 points, 13 rebounds) against Purdue
- Brad Davison's 30 points (11-17 FG, 8-11 triples) against Nebraska
- Nate Reuvers' near triple-double (14 points, 14 rebounds, 9 blocks) against Eastern Illinois
My Answer: Trice's 28-points (10-16 FG, 5-6 triples) against Michigan
A fast start has always been one of the ingredients for a successful road recipe. Trice set the tempo in this regard by making his first five shots against the Wolverines (a complete turn-around from last season when he made only five field goals in two games combined against them). After Michigan made a late 7-0 run to make it a one possession game, Trice showed his poise by nailing a clutch 3-pointer over 6-foot-9 freshman Franz Wagner that stemmed the rally in the final two-plus minutes. Throughout the game, Trice took advantage of mismatches when the Wolverines switched on defense. Playing without guard Eli Brooks, Michigan went "big" with 6-8 Brandon Johns and Trice had repeated success exploiting taller, slower defenders off the bounce. In a classic showcase of Big Ten point guards (Zavier Simpson had a career-high 32), Trice and the Badgers had more answers in leading wire to wire while extending their winning streak to five and snapping Michigan's at five.
Play of the Year
Maryland had the ball and a one-point lead with 13.6 seconds to play at the Kohl Center. Here's what Davison was anticipating and thinking while assessing all the options on the floor: "We knew that we had the possession arrow, so we weren't going to foul right away. We wanted to try and deny the inbounds pass and if they got it in, we were going to try and get a tie-up to get the possession back."
Darryl Morsell was the Terp's in-bounder under Wisconsin's basket. Again, here's what was going on in Davison's mind. "They did a little criss-cross play where I got switched on (Anthony) Cowan and I knew that they were going to try and get the ball to him, so I tried to play a little bit behind him to bait (Morsell) to throw it to him. But I gave Cowan a little too much room so I couldn't grab the ball. But I was able to get a hand on it. Then I realized I got too much of my hand on it and it was going out of bounds. My only choice was to find a Maryland guy to hit it off to make sure we got that possession back. Thankfully, and luckily, Morsell was right there. I tried to hit it off his shin and got lucky."
The ball deflected off Morsell who was still standing out of bounds. On the pressure defense that created an opportunity for the critical turnover, Davison said, "It was a great decision by Coach Gard and that's how we wanted to guard it — to try and deny the in-bounds pass and make a play. That's what it comes down to. The players have got to make plays and that's what we try to do."
Davison wasn't done. He also hit the game-winning 3-pointer against Maryland.
"The kid's a winner," Gard said. "He just makes winning plays."
Game of the Year
Wisconsin 68, Tennessee 48
After five losses, some ugly, outside of Madison, it was the Badgers first road win of the season against a Vols team that had won 32 of its last 33 home games.
Wisconsin 64, Michigan State 63
Playing without Kobe King (who left the program) and Davison (who was sitting out a one game Big Ten suspension for a flagrant foul at Iowa), the Badgers snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Spartans with an inspired team effort at the Kohl Center.
My Choice: Wisconsin 70, Ohio State 57
The Badgers had lost three of their last four, including a lackluster 18-point defeat at Minnesota. Strength coach Erik Helland didn't make the trip to the Barn and later resigned. With storm clouds hovering over the program, instead of pulling apart, the players pulled together. On the strength of a 26-5 run, they took a commanding 38-20 lead into halftime against the Buckeyes and wound up sweeping the season series on a day in which the 2000 Final Four team was recognized at the Kohl Center. It was the first of eight straight victories.
