Lucas: Don’t tug on Superman’s cape

BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer

MADISON, Wis. – Considering his competitive zeal and insatiable hunger to do whatever it takes to be successful, there was always the suspicion that Wisconsin sophomore Johnny Davis, a serious national Player of the Year candidate, would give the shirt off his back for a win.

That was the case in Tuesday's night's 70-62 victory at Michigan State. After Marcus Bingham inadvertently ripped Davis' No. 1 jersey late in the game on a block-out, Davis switched to No. 51. It didn't slow him down. Instead, it only confirmed the moral of this story. Don't tug on Superman's cape.

Davis was the model of efficiency in scoring a game-high 25 points on only 11 field goal attempts (8-of-11 FG) – compared to the 25 points that he had on 20 shots (8-of-20) in an earlier loss to the Spartans in Madison. His UW teammates confirmed what they saw and already knew about Davis.

"I just think he's the best player in the country," Tyler Wahl said. "That's the bottom line."

Davis made his own argument with 18 points and 5 rebounds in the second half.

"He was incredible," chimed in Brad Davison. "That's why he's one of the top players in the country – it's his ability to score at all three levels. It's his ability to stay aggressive. And he did a really good job defensively, too, in getting rebounds and running guys off the line (3-point arc)."

Davis was coming off his least productive performance of the season. He made only 2-of-13 shots against Penn State last Saturday at the Kohl Center. While he had 9 rebounds in the 51-49 win, he finished with just 4 points, the fewest he had scored since last season's Big Ten tournament loss to Iowa.

Before leaving the Breslin Center locker room for the player introductions, Chucky Hepburn, the unflappable freshman, turned to Davis and reminded him that he was due. "You're about to have a big one," Hepburn said. Davis nodded his head and reassured Hepburn, "I got it."

Big Ten battle at Breslin#HeresJohnny pic.twitter.com/5kerGiwnhr
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) February 9, 2022

It didn't take long for Wisconsin to set the tone on the defensive end. There were three, 50/50 balls or scrambles in the early possessions. And the Badgers won all three – prompting Michigan State coach Tom Izzo to lament afterwards, "They punked us from the very beginning."

Diving on the floor and winning such loose-ball sequences are usually about heart and hustle which have always been characteristics of Izzo-coached teams, especially when playing in front of the Izzone. But he later admitted of the Badgers, "The way they physically manhandled us was disturbing."

Maybe the tone was actually set during the UW's shootaround over the noon hour. In what has become the team's signature practice drill – wall up a shooter, take a charge and dive for the loose ball – coach Greg Gard jumped in and took part. He scraped his hand, drawing blood, and skinned his knee.

Izzo confided that he didn't have his team ready. And said so, "I mean that. Write it. Say it."

The Badgers spoke with their actions. As shown by their readiness in winning the 50/50's.

"Huge, they set the tone," Davison said. "They set the standard for how the game is going to go. We want to be the enforcer. Especially against a team like that. They're physical, they're strong. It's what they're known for. It's their identity. But that's what we're known for, too."

Added Wahl, "That's something we hang our hat on. We may have gotten away from it in some of the closer games. But that really set the tone tonight in not only getting us going – the people playing – but also our bench was really into it which is helpful when you've got the whole team behind you."

In the first half, the Badgers played defense in front of their bench. That was Wahl's sight line in the first game against Michigan State. Because of an injury, he could only sit and watch. On Tuesday, he had 11 points and 5 rebounds and put on a clinic on how to pass out of the double and triple teams.

"My teammates were in the right spots – I just know where they're going to be because that's what we practice – credit to them because they were able to make plays out of it," said Wahl whose post-up game and jump hooks accounted for some key baskets whenever Michigan State made a push.

As it was, the Badgers led from wire to wire. The Spartans got within one, 45-44, midway through the second half. But Davis countered with a jumper. They got within two, 47-45, but Davis punched back with a 3. They got within three, 52-49, but Davison hit a 3 with 4:30 left. The Izzone never blew the roof off Breslin.

"That was really important," Wahl said, "making sure they didn't get too much into the game."

Praising Gard for the game plan and assistant Joe Krabbenhoft for the detailed scouting report, Davison said of the UW's priorities, "We tried not to let the crowd get involved. We tried to take them out of transition. We tried to take away their easy buckets and play our tempo."

It was @JohnnyDavis' night. 😤

The @BadgerMBB star chats with @TheAndyKatz about the statement win at No. 17 Michigan State. pic.twitter.com/XVMASL4bld
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) February 9, 2022

In the first meeting, the Spartans dominated the transition points, 21-2. It was a totally different story in the rematch. Wisconsin outscored Michigan State, 9-8, in fast breaks and held MSU to zero transition points in the first half. The Badgers purposely slowed it down with the exception of Davis who had a green light, per usual.

There was just one instance of Davis trying to do too much in the open floor when he lost the ball on a 1-on-4 break. He was the 1. It was the only turnover that he had in 34 minutes. "I would definitely say this was as efficient as I've played just because I was a lot more patient than usual," Davis said.

Meanwhile, Davison kept hunting his shot even though he was 0-for-6 in the first half.

"I'm confident with my shot, they all feel so good," he emphasized after hitting a pair of critical second-half 3s. "I got some good looks that I thought were going to go in. But sometimes that's the nature of the game. Averages always average out. My teammates kept finding me and I'm not going to lose confidence. I'm going to let it fly."

Confidence does not appear to be an issue with Hepburn, either. Not only did he score 11 points and pull down three rebounds, but he had two steals and three assists without turning the ball over once in 30 minutes. First-time visitors to Breslin tend to shrink. Not Hepburn.

"Honestly, my mindset is the same every game – just zone out the crowd, zone out the people and just play my game and be calm," said Hepburn, who went to school on what he learned from that 88-74 loss to the Spartans in which Tyson Walker and A.J. Hoggard combined for 24 points, 10 assists.

"I learned how to guard ball screens a little better and how to guard their transition – they beat me downhill that first game," conceded Hepburn, who was the best point guard on the floor Tuesday. Walker and Hoggard combined for 8 points. "I needed to learn how to (shut them down)."

Hepburn had two gorgeous assists to Ben Carlson, one of the many contributors off the bench. Gard utilized nine players. They all had at least one rebound. Eight scored. And they all followed the plan. "It was just a complete team effort on the defensive end," Davison said. "That was special."

Nobody was more special than Davis. Asked if he had any desire to continue wearing jersey No. 51, he grinned and said, "It was all right. But I'm definitely going to stick with 1." As Hepburn foreshadowed, he went out and had a big one, too, a big game on a big stage. That's the bottom line.

University of Wisconsin Athletics

Lucas: Don’t tug on Superman’s cape

Related News

Players Mentioned

Ben Carlson

Johnny Davis

Brad Davison

Chucky Hepburn

Tyler Wahl

Related Videos