Greg Gard: ‘The numbers tell the story’
The Wisconsin Badgers have no one else to blame for their recent struggles on the basketball court.
Normally, a 22-point, 11-rebound, four-assist game from one of your top players would be enough to get the job done. Usually, 15 points and 6-7 shooting from a guy that averages under eight points would be a major advantage. A lot of the time, 27 points from anyone would be enough to win.
These have not been the case for the Wisconsin Badgers, who have experienced all of those over the last two games, but are 0-2 with two double digit losses on their resume during that span.
In a 83-73 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes last Thursday, point guard Bronson Koenig was firing on all cylinders, scoring 27 points and hitting five three pointers in a losing effort. Only one other Badgers player scored in double figures that game.
On Sunday, the Badgers fell to the Michigan State Spartans 84-74. Zak Showalter, an under-eight points per game scorer, had 15 on 6-7 shooting, including 3-4 from behind the arc. Leading the way for Wisconsin was Nigel Hayes, who finished with a double double, but also 4-12 from the free throw line.
Little things like free throws, open shots, and extra effort on defense have been the achilles heel for the Badgers during this rough patch, and the numbers are starting to show it.
“The numbers tell the story,” UW coach Greg Gard told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Wisconsin, a 65 percent free throw shooting team, hit just 13-25 in the team’s loss to the Spartans on Sunday, while Michigan State, a 57 percent shooting team, hit 21-23. Sometimes that is just the way it goes, but the struggles at the line have been a consistent problem all season.
“Of course I’ve got to be a lot better,” said Hayes, who has struggled with his shot at the line all year. “It’s something we’ve been saying, our free throws would cost us a game and 4 of 12 is something that will do that.”
Hayes missed eight free throw in their last game, including two that would have cut the deficit to four with just over two and a half minutes left.
Earlier in the Big Ten season, the Badgers’ defense was the reason they were winning games and their offense was the reason teams were staying with them. Now, the Badgers have scored over 70 points in three straight games, but have given up 80+ in two of those.
“Starting this month we were one of the top five defensive teams in the country,” Hayes said. “Now we’re like Swiss cheese out there.”
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The Badgers have showed glimpses of excellence in multiple aspects of the game throughout the season, but have yet to put them all together for an extended period of time it seems. Too many times the Badgers have relied on one player scoring to carry the team.
Wisconsin will get another chance on Thursday to turn the season around in the right direction when Iowa visits Madison.