Badger Shooting Woes Resurface As Buckeyes Finally Win In Madison

If there is one thing that we know about the 2011-2012 Wisconsin men’s basketball team, it is that we really don’t know anything. In one of the more Jekyll-and-Hyde seasons in recent memory, the Badgers have pulled off unexpected wins and while suffering a seemingly equal amount of unexpected defeats. While Saturday’s 58-52 defeat at the hands of No.3 Ohio State (8-2 Big Ten, 20-3 Overall) was far from an upset, the manner in which the Buckeyes came out of Madison certainly not what many had seen coming.

Looking at the numbers, it is actually a surprise that Wisconsin had a chance down the stretch. The Badgers did manage to hit the magic 40% mark from the field, but shot just 18% (5/27) from three-point range. More importantly, UW only got to the free throw three times the entire afternoon, the first Badger free throw coming with just 6:46 left in the game.

“It had to be at least 90% {good shots}…” UW head coach Bo Ryan said. “But I thought they shut off stuff going to the rim so then you’ve got to go to what’s next.”

To make matters worse, UW turned the ball over 10 times while only forcing 9 turnovers out of the Buckeyes. For a team built upon their ability to take care of the ball, a few careless passes were the unexpected difference down the stretch as Wisconsin tried to erase a deficit that seemed to stay at seven for most of the second half.

Even with everything going the way of the Buckeyes, Wisconsin had a chance to steal the victory late in the game. A three-pointer by junior forward Mike Bruesewitz, the Badgers’ first three ball in over eight minutes, got UW within one with 3:46 left. OSU sophomore guard Aaron Craft missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity at the other end and the Badgers had a chance to take the lead for the first time since the 5:10 mark of the first half.

“We were playing with fire…” OSU head coach Thad Matta said. “We told them we had to stick to what we were doing. I thought Aaron up on the ball was tremendous.”

But unlike last season, the Buckeyes responded to the threat. Craft got pressure on Taylor on the right wing and forced a bad pass inside to UW junior forward Ryan Evans. Buckeye sophomore forward Jared Sullinger intercepted the weak entry and OSU got a big time three-pointer from senior guard William Buford to quiet the crowd and extinguish the threat.

“That was obviously a big time shot…” Matta added. “I’ve got great faith in William but that was obviously a big, big shot for us.”

While it was Buford who put the Badger comeback bid to bed, it was Sullinger and fellow sophomore forward DeShaun Thomas that carried the Buckeyes to their first win at the Kohl Center since 2000. Sullinger, a year removed from the so-called “spitgate” incident, imposed his will early by scoring the first nine points for OSU. Sullinger finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds while Thomas added 16 points and 6 boards of his own, including a few second chance looks that seemed to squash every opportunity the Badgers had at making a run.

“If anybody thinks that’s what we said we were going to do coming into that game,” Ryan added. “Then you weren’t at practice watching what was going on.”

OSU’s ability to dominate the battle on the interior was ultimately what got them out of Madison with a victory. UW junior forward Jared Berggren struggled all day trying to contain Sullinger and limit his post touches. After holding similarly heralded big men Cody Zeller, Tyler Zeller, and Myers Leonard well below their season averages, the Princeton, Minn native couldn’t handle the much more physical Sullinger.

“{Sullinger} got the ball early, got a couple easy ones, and got himself going…” Bruesewitz said. “We had to limit his touches and make sure he didn’t get the ball as deep as he did.”

Wisconsin has now lost four games at home in a single season for the first time since the 1995-1996 season, when the Badgers were still playing in the Fieldhouse and Dick Bennett was just a first-year coach, having taken over for Stan Van Gundy at the beginning of the year.

But despite their struggles at home, the Badgers are not out of the hunt for a Big Ten title and a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. With road games ahead against Minnesota and Michigan State, the next two weeks will once again be make or break for UW.

“Its not over…” Taylor said. “You have to go and try to beat Minnesota on Thursday. They have a good team and they are playing well. Its definitely no time to feel sorry for yourself.”