This recap is a little belated since the Badgers were able to win on Thursday and Saturday nights in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Next up in the Sweet 16 is the Butler Bulldogs but before we look forward to that game in the next couple of days here is a brief look back at the win over Belmont and Kansas State.
Belmont
The Badgers beat Belmont on Thursday night 72-58. Going in I was nervous about this game. Belmont played uptempo, forced turnovers, had depth and was very effective from three. All of those factors worked in favor of a potential upset but the Badgers came out ready to play and controlled the game. Before I get to the stats it did look like Bo Ryan tweaked his approach ever so slightly. There was a lot more subbing in the first half than we have become accustomed to as a way to prevent the team succumbing to the constant rotation by Belmont. I also noticed the Badger defenders aggressively closing out on the three point shooters. Usually Wisconsin closes out under control to prevent the offensive player from driving around them but in this game the Badgers were very aggressive in preventing good three point looks.
Offensive Efficiency: Wisconsin 119.2, Belmont 96. The Badgers per possession offensive efficiency was 119.2 to 96. Belmonts efficiency of 96 was their lowest since January 25, their last loss. The 119.2 OE of the Badgers was the highest allowed of the season for Belmont.
Effective Field Goal%(eFG%) : Wisconsin 65, Belmont 42.9. This was Belmont’s third worst shooting performance of the year.
Turnover%(TO%): Wisconsin 23.2, Belmont 11.6. Belmont did succeed in turning Wisconsin over which was a major reason they were able to stay in the game.
Offensive Rebound%(OR%): Wisconsin 28.6, Belmont 11.6. Wisconsin did an okay job grabbing their own misses and did an outstanding job of preventing Belmont from getting any of their misses. In fact 11.6% is the lowest allowed offensive rebounding for Wisconsin all season.
Free Throw Rate(FTR): Wisconsin 62.5, Belmont 44.9. This was the third highest FTR of the season for Wisconsin. Belmont takes a lot of chances for steals which did force some turnovers but also sent a great free throw shooting team to the line too often.
The win can mostly be attributed to Wisconsin’s ability to defend Belmont’s three point shooters, rebounding and free throws. A very good opening round win for Wisconsin.
Kansas State
The Badgers survived against Kansas State 70-65. Jacob Pullen played great in the loss and it is too bad a player playing at the highest level of his career is done, but that is better than the alternative. I felt this was a good matchup for Wisconsin and Bo Ryan. Kansas State is very athletic but are prone to losing track of shooters and fouling. I thought the discipline of Wisconsin could win out here and it eventually did.
Offensive Efficiency: Wisconsin 124, Kansas State 115.2. This is right around where Wisconsin belongs for OE, while 115 is a highly efficient game for KSU.
Effective Field Goal%(eFG%) : Wisconsin 51, Kansas State 52.1. Wisconsin has won six games all season when they were outshot and this is one of them. In six of their losses they were outshot.
Turnover%(TO%): Wisconsin 8.9, Kansas State 14.2. You can afford to be slightly outshot if you only turn it over on 8.9% of your possession. This number is a little bit insane and it was the lowest turnover rate of the season for Kansas State’s defense.
Offensive Rebound%(OR%): Wisconsin 32.8, Kansas State 30.2. Not a huge edge here for Wisconsin but a tiny enough edge to get them just enough more shots.
Free Throw Rate(FTR): Wisconsin 45.8, Kansas State 46. Virtually dead even.
These stats display how even this game was. For all of the grief the committee gets when selecting and seeding teams this matchup was a four versus a five and completely lived up to that. These teams were nearly dead even with a slight turnover and rebounding edge allowing Wisconsin the extra opportunities needed to get the win.
For a last little HORAY for Wisconsin let me throw in my two cents regarding this win. I have seen Kansas State play a lot of games over the last month. I have seen Jacob Pullen go off similar to how he played against Wisconsin. In those games Kansas State blew out Kansas, who many consider the best or second best team left, and Texas who should have advanced to the Sweet 16 to face Duke. When Pullen plays well Kansas State not only wins, but dominates. For Wisconsin to pull out a win when Pullen was this on fire is a remarkable achievement.
Great Job Badgers!