The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers 66-49 Sunday to secure the two seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
On Senior Day in Madison, the Wisconsin Badgers needed an offensive spark desperately as they welcomed in the red-hot Minnesota Golden Gophers who were riding an eight-game winning streak.
Shooting woes and stagnant offense has clouded the Badgers over the last couple of weeks, but in Sunday’s matchup with the Gophers- the offense came to life, thanks in large part to the seniors.
The game started off with senior Zak Showalter connecting on a three point shot as he and fellow senior Nigel Hayes scored the first eight points for the Badgers. Then, one of the infamous scoring droughts that Badgers like to endure came quickly as the Badgers were stuck on eight points and fell down 14-8 with around ten minutes remaining in the game.
Missed layups and missed free throws, paired with foul trouble held back the Badgers from really gaining ground and getting a lead as they trailed by two to end the break.
The second half was a completely different story. Minnesota, who had scored 80+ points in four straight games, came out ice cold and playing sloppy on the offensive side, and the Badgers took advantage.
There was an added energy to the building and the team in second half, which really picked up when D’Mitrik Trice connected on a four-point play. Another Trice layup warmed up the Kohl Center and then an ensuing Vitto Brown dunk sent the crowd into a frenzy.
The Kohl Center roof nearly exploded after that dunk by Vitto. To describe the current level of noise in this building...
— BR (@mbrf1417) March 6, 2017
LOUD
From there, the Badgers never looked back. Bronson Koenig went on a flurry of threes- scoring 17 points total, all in the second half.
Badgers seniors:
- Bronson Koenig – 17 pts, 2 stls, 5-8 3-pt
- Nigel Hayes – 12 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast
- Zak Showalter – 12 pts, 5 reb, 2-3 3-pt
- Vitto Brown – 5 pts, 6 reb, 1 blk
What a senior class.
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) March 6, 2017
...and they're not done yet.#OnWisconsin || #Badgers https://t.co/cDrd2IPBEF
With the victory, the Badgers clinched the number two seed in the Big Ten Tournament and a double bye. There is still one game pending until the seeding is finalized.