The Wisconsin Badgers had no business winning the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers after they dug a six-foot deep grave and then lay in it. They were down 20 at one point and 18 at the half. It was the worst half of basketball ever under head coach Greg Gard. He didn't fly into a rage at halftime but was clearly hot with his team, and his message to them helped spark the comeback.
John Blackwell was asked about that message in the postgame press conference. He didn't get into all the details, though, from the various answers from both players and Gard about the comeback; you can see what the message was. However, Blackwell said that the simple message that helped was actually a challenge for the leaders. To communicate, play physical, and lead the team.
Greg Gard challenged his leaders to be better and to communicate better at half-time
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The Badgers went from a 35-17 halftime deficit to the Golden Gophers and ended up winning the game 67-63. The key to the Badgers' win was the defense, and it was the leaders who helped get it started.
Blackwell said, "Coach just challenged our leaders to be better, and I think we did that." Nick Boyd also chimed in under a different question, saying they had to communicate better, and that was a clear emphasis in the second half, to communicate. Which falls on the shoulders of the leaders.
When Greg Gard asked what was different in the second half, he said, "Aggressiveness, physicality, we had a pulse, we initiated things better, we were in attack mode better. I thought we were just tougher in all aspects of the game."
The two guard leaders for the Badgers, Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, combined for a whopping 44 points. Those two truly took it upon themselves to lead the charge back; some important Jack Janicki defensive minutes helped as well, as a near double-double for Nolan Winter, who had nine points and seven rebounds.
Wisconsin now has one more game at home against Ohio State before a two-game road trip in which they will face Indiana and Illinois. They are in the teeth of the schedule, and to pull off future wins, they will actually need two complete halves, not just one. For now, a win is a win.