The fifth-seeded Wisconsin Badgers defeated the 12th-seeded Washington Huskies 85-82 on Thursday, avoiding a huge upset in the tournament and advancing to the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals against the fourth-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini on Friday.
The Badgers were in control for most of the game and even led by 18 points with 13 minutes left. But Washington fought back and nearly tied the game, sending the game all the way to the final buzzer.
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Here are three takeaways from Wisconsin’s narrow victory over Washington State on Thursday.
quick start
After a strong start, the Badgers easily defeated the Huskies in their first game. Despite being on the road, the Badgers started the game 17-4 and led 36-21 at halftime. With 8 minutes and 16 seconds left in the second half, the lead expanded to 26 points, leading to a 90-73 victory.
The Badgers were in a similar situation Thursday, leading 11-2 in the first 5 minutes, 23 seconds. John Blackwell got things going with a 3-pointer, but points off turnovers proved to be key for the Badgers. Wisconsin scored six points off turnovers early, including three points from Nick Boyd and one from Will Garlock, extending the lead to 9-2. Another Boyd basket extended the lead to nine.
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Two minutes later, Boyd and Brayden Carrington hit three-pointers, and the Badgers chased the score to 17-5. When the Badgers get off to a hot start like Thursday’s, they’re able to weather the scoring lull and show how dominant they can be.
Washington cut the lead to four with less than five minutes remaining as the Badgers fell into a lull. But a strong first half gave them a 10-point lead at halftime, and they eventually went on an 8-2 run.
In the second half, Wisconsin’s offense started to shine, scoring 15 points in the first 4 minutes and 22 seconds to extend the lead to 13 points. With Washington hitting shots and the Badgers defense making some mistakes, Wisconsin continued to maintain its advantage, leading by 18 points at one point.
That fast start proved crucial as the Badgers almost ended the game with an epic collapse that saw Washington cut the lead all the way to one point before Wisconsin held on for an 85-82 win. Consistency will be key moving forward, but it would be nice to see the Badgers get off to a fast start instead of having to pull themselves out of trouble.
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pass
Much of Wisconsin’s offensive success depends on their passing ability. It starts off fast and you see the Badgers create some open shots with good ball movement as players get to their spots. Creates a beautiful look even when the lens is not down.
However, we saw much less ball movement during the team’s breaks. The Badgers went nearly five minutes without a field goal in the first half and missed six straight shots. During that stretch, it felt like Wisconsin was forcing the dribble to penetrate the paint, getting more out of control in search of shots instead of moving the ball like it once did. Shot selection also felt a little too reliant on three, and the Badgers went cold.
How did the Badgers get out of this jam? Attack and kick between John Blackwell and Nick Boyd, with the latter making a three-pointer. Wisconsin then started to end the half with better passing, created better shots, and got the performance they coveted from three.
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In the second half, they excelled because of the passing game, which led to quality shots, and the buckets really started raining early. After shooting 8 of 10 from the field before halftime, the Badgers took a double-digit lead midway through the half.
Once again, though, we see Wisconsin letting its guard down a little bit and trying to squeeze out more of the clock. There, Washington slowly began to extend its lead, getting stops on defense and beating Wisconsin on the offensive glass for its second scoring chance.
Ultimately, the Badgers advance, but you’d like to see Wisconsin move the ball more consistently here to consistently generate the quality shots they’ve proven capable of getting.
rebound
The only major difference in this game was rebounding, which the Huskies did come in the second half.
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Washington grabbed 20 (yes, 20!) offensive rebounds in the game and 12 in the second half, with Hannes Steinbach and Courtland Muldro grabbing four apiece in the period.
The Huskies are not an efficient team. They settle for too many contested mid-range shots and don’t have great shot quality, which rubs off on the coaches. This game wasn’t supposed to be this close, but Washington scored 18 points on second chances, 14 of which came in the second half.
Part of that is size. Wisconsin struggled physically at times and they missed Nolan Winter. But the Badgers have to do a better job on the glass, especially with Illinois leading on Friday.
What about the other part? Foul trouble. With the bench already shorter, the Badgers won’t get into much foul trouble against better teams. Andrew Lord, Austin Rupp, Will Garlock and Hayden Jones each scored two goals in the first half. John Blackwell ended up with four fouls.
Avoiding foul trouble allows for smoother big rotations, which helps with rebounding issues.