Lucas: Badgers locking back in on brink of Big Dance
March 17, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Mike Lucas
‘We’ve redialed back into our goals’ on eve of match-up with Colgate
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — During the post-practice interview session, Brad Davison, Johnny Davis and Steven Crowl were seated at a table in the media room at the Kohl Center. Predictably, most of the questions were directed at Davison and Davis to the delight of Crowl who fielded only two inquiries.
Returning to the Wisconsin locker room after the presser, Crowl stopped and mentioned how much more the players were "locked in this week, just on the little things" in preparation for Friday night's NCAA Tournament game against Colgate at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
"Like Brad said in there (to the media)," he brought up as a point of reference, "working on ourselves has been big. We know they have a lot of shooters and a big guy inside. But the main thing for us is just locking back in after those two losses (to Nebraska and Michigan State)."
And then he did it again while addressing what the NCAA experience means to him. "Like Brad said in there," Crowl repeated. "Everybody wants to make a big thing out of March Madness. But you've got to soak it up and take it in. We've been working our whole lives for this. Have fun. We've earned it."
Minutes earlier, Chris Vogt had echoed some of the very same things. Vogt, a graduate transfer, is the other half of the UW's low post tag team. For the lack of a better designation, the tandem of Chris & Crowl (which sounds like an Irish pub) has been an integral component of the interior defense.
"We've kind of redialed back in and locked back into our goals," Vogt said of the tone that has been set in practice this week by the coaches and players. "In talking with some of the guys, I kind of felt emotionally we were just drained after the Purdue win (clinching a share of the Big Ten title).
"We came out flat the next two games."
Dance floor is down in Milwaukee#OnWisconsin #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/9T0GgitnJ9
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) March 17, 2022
The Badgers played a little bit better against Michigan State in the Big Ten tournament than they had in the regular season finale against Nebraska. They just didn't make enough shots in the loss to the Spartans, especially from the free throw line (12-of-21, .571) and it proved costly.
Equally frustrating, or maybe more so, were all the misses at the rim in both games.
"I felt like there was a lid on the basket the last four minutes against Nebraska and the first half against Michigan State was the same thing," Vogt said. "They were shots that we've made all year. They were shots that we know that we can make. I think it was more mental than anything."
Colgate has an abundance of shot-makers, especially on the perimeter. As a team, they're shooting 40 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. Davison talked about freshman Chucky Hepburn's impact as an aggressive, physical on-ball defender. He called him the "head of the snake."
There's no debating Hepburn's value in helping shut down opponents. But the UW defense, like many, has to be coordinated and connected to be effective. The relationship between the guards and the bigs is only magnified in defending against ball screens, a staple of all college basketball offenses.
"A lot of teams in the country run a lot of ball screens," said the 7-foot Vogt, a fifth-year senior from Mayfield, Kentucky. "That's one area where we have to be great. Especially keeping them out of the lane and trying to limit their penetration so they're not getting drive and kick 3's."
Vogt played his first two seasons at Northern Kentucky and his next two at the University of Cincinnati before landing at the UW. Since he had the same head coach (John Brannen) at his first two stops, the techniques in guarding the ball screen were basically the same. Not so much here.
"At the beginning of the year, I was a little more lost on what I was doing on ball screen coverage," said Vogt who related how he was more accustomed to "icing ball screens" than drop coverage. "But now, I definitely have a better understanding of what they're asking of me."
Crowl has gone through his own learning curve on dealing with ball screens.Headed to Milwaukee today! 💯
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) March 16, 2022
Ready for the #MarchMadnesspic.twitter.com/N0RSZnGWTD
"I think I've gotten a lot better – obviously, there's a long way to go and I still have a lot to learn," said Crowl, a 7-foot sophomore from Eagan, Minnesota. "But just from the first game, I've gotten more comfortable with it. I've gone through, I don't know how many ball screens this year.
"I've been getting more comfortable with the guards. Us communicating is a two-way street.
"Comfortability is a big thing knowing when to switch. Connectivity is a big thing, too."
At the other end of the floor, Crowl and Vogt have another assignment. Setting screens.
If they execute their job, it will create good looks for Davison, Davis and Hepburn.
"Making sure you are set is the biggest thing," Vogt said. "It's the first thing officials look at – if you're moving your feet or sliding or trying to jut your hip out. The first thing is getting your feet planted and set and your shoulders square to where you want them to go."
Bottomline, he said, "Making sure you get good contact with the person guarding the ball."
Crowl confirmed, "You've got to hit bodies. The coaches are always telling us, 'If you don't hit anybody, no one is going to get open.' I just think the biggest thing is setting it legally … to get somebody open or it gets me open on a pop (i.e., pick-and-pop) or on a roll."
Both understand the reality of postseason officiating. Different crews and potentially whistles.
"In the Big Ten, you kind of know who's going to call it or who's not," Crowl said of moving ball screens. "Now, we have no idea. You just don't know how the officials are going to call it in any game. We just have to continue to trust our rules and the trust what the coaches tell us."
To this end, looking ahead to Friday night's matchup with Colgate, Vogt suggested, "Especially the first half of the first game, we're going to have to really pay close attention to how they're calling the game and kind of adjust our game accordingly."
That adjustment is no small thing according to Big Ten Network analyst Robbie Hummel.
"The NCAA tournament is a totally different animal – it's all based on matchups, and it all depends on who's reffing your games," Hummel said. "When I was at Purdue, we had a game out in Portland. We were playing Washington. That's about as non-neutral as you can get.
"There were about 17,000 Washington fans and there was a call late in the game, a block-charge deal. Tom O'Neill, who was a Big Ten ref, had the call. Thank God, it went our way. It was one of those things I'm guessing with the other two refs, we might not have been as fortunate.
"It can matter who's officiating the games just because the Big Ten officiates different than the ACC and the PAC-12 and all those leagues. It's a different deal. And it's a lot of luck, too."
Welcome to the curse and charm of March.
Like Brad said in there (to paraphrase) …
You've been working your whole life for this. Take it all in. Have fun. You've earned it.
"You've got to soak it up," Crowl re-emphasized, "and not let it get too big."
Let the games begin.
