The Wisconsin Badgers were up three at the half. It wasn't a pretty first half, but it was just enough to go into the half with some momentum. Then Oregon came out of the second half with all the defensive energy, and Wisconsin had nothing. The Badgers looked like they could sleepwalk through the game and still get the win, but the Ducks weren't gonna let that happen.
Here's why the Badgers lost based on rapid reactions:
1. Oregon out-hustled Wisconsin the entire second half
The Oregon defense was tighter and more in control than the Badgers. Energy-wise, it wasn't even close. The Ducks really played like they had nothing to lose, while Wisconsin decided to sleepwalk. They went cold, played weird offensive possessions, but also didn't play strong defense at all. The Ducks shot more than 50% from the field and 44% from three, but most of those Oregon points were in the paint. Even allowing Oregon to score more than 80 is just crap defense.
Oregon's defense just looked way better, and they clearly had a plan for Nick Boyd. Takai Simpkins deserves some credit, but Wisconsin deserves some blame for not adjusting.
2. The Badgers relied way too much on the 3 and they weren't following
About 2/3 of Wisconsin shots came from behind the arc. That's a wild amount of non-penetrating offense. That strategy may work when the shots are falling, but they weren't for everyone but John Blackwell, though even his six came on 14 attempts. The Badgers went 14-45 from 3-point land, which is a terrible 31%.
The attempts were coming because they weren't trying to penetrate into the lane or get the big man touches, just jacking up threes. Awful offensive performance.
3. Turnovers in the second half
Wisconsin struggled to hang onto the ball in the second half. That's partly because of Oregon's defense forcing it, but there were plenty that were absolutely sloppy by the Badgers. Wisconsin ended the game with 12 but had nine of those in the second half. That's just not a recipe for winning, and it gave Oregon all the life and momentum they needed to win.
It'll go down as another quad-2 loss for Wisconsin and officially their worst loss of the season. Right when the Badgers need to impress, they flounder instead.