Badgers Made The Most of the Season Despite Loss

As soon as Josh Gasser’s desperation heave missed the mark Thursday night, ending Wisconsin’s season, I knew the Bo Ryan critics would be back out in full force. Yes, despite the fact that the Badgers have just made the Sweet 16 two years in a row for the first time in program history, there is a vocal minority out there calling for the UW head coach to be replaced.

The head coach who became the winningest coach in Wisconsin history with the Badgers’ Big Ten tournament win over Indiana.

The head coach who has never finished outside the top four in the Big Ten in eleven years at the helm in Madison.

It would be one thing if these numbers had taken a hit, but these critics aren’t coming out after a disappointing season. Though many Badger fans are unable to get beyond the four home losses and the “early” NCAA Tournament exit, the 2011-2012 season was one of the more remarkable campaigns in the 100-plus years that basketball has been played at UW.

In fact, I would argue that Bo Ryan had his best season as a coach, taking a team that lost two of its top three scorers and still managing to win 26 games, the third most the program has ever recorded in a single season.

The reason that the critics are out there is clear: Bo Ryan has never reached a Final Four. While a national title is the ultimate goal for every team every season, very few coaches are able to turn the dream into a reality.

Hall of Fame coaches like Gene Keady (Purdue) and John Cheney (Temple) never reached the promise land.

In 37 years at Syracuse, Jim Boeheim has only been to the Final Four three times, winning just one national title. And having a roster filled with future NBA stars certainly helps that cause.

Even John Wooden, considered the greatest coach in college basketball history, spent two years at Indiana State and another 13 at UCLA before making his first run to the Final Four.

Even fewer are able to do so at a school like Wisconsin.

Madison is a great place to go to school: we all know that. But when it comes to recruiting the big names in high school basketball, the tranquility of the Terrace on that infrequent sunny day cant compete with the glitz and glamor of Westwood, the hoops hysteria of Duke and UNC, or the tradition of Phog Allen Fieldhouse and Kansas.

After suddenly becoming one of the preeminent programs in the college basketball world, the Badgers certainly are worthy of the high expectations that fans have begun to levy upon them. But while it would be nice to think that Wisconsin could simply get top talent and start playing a style of basketball conducive to regular Final Four trips, that simply isn’t reflective of the reality in which Bo Ryan and his staff have built a top-notch program that gets just about everything it can out of the circumstances.

As someone who used to be a student at a “powerhouse” basketball school, I can tell you that the grass certainly isn’t greener.

At Wisconsin we have a basketball team that works hard, plays hard, and does things the right way. Oh, and they haven’t done too poorly on the court either.

On the other hand, the big name schools also have big name issues. Top talent comes with big time egos, egos that someone result in a bending of the rules and almost always result in a tenuous battle between national title contention and sudden mediocrity.

Personally, having seen both sides of the proverbial coin, I would choose Wisconsin every time. I would much rather have a team that I can count on being in the NCAA Tournament year in and year out, not to mention doing so within the rules (as far as I can tell).

Since Bo Ryan took over as head coach, no program has had as many years with an NCAA Tournament win (10) as Wisconsin. No one.

Yes, it would be nice to finally get over the hump and make a run to the Final Four. And yes, it hurts to see the Badgers come oh so close and fall short once again.

But don’t lose perspective. What coach Ryan has built at UW is something truly special, something that all of us should be proud to be even the slightest part of. Now is certainly not the time to throw all of that away. 

Syracuse's Best Punch A Knockout Blow to Badgers

If would have told you that Syracuse would outrebound Wisconsin on Thursday, that the Orange would commit the same number of turnovers (6) as the Badgers, and that Syracuse would shoot over 55% from the field, you probably wouldn’t even feel the need to tune in.

But Thursday night in Boston, the Badgers took the best punch that top-seeded Syracuse had to offer and nearly delivered a knockout blow in response.

“It was like a heavyweight fight,” UW senior guard Jordan Taylor said. “We hit them and they hit us.”

Ultimately, the game would come down to its final possession, with Taylor coming up just short on a would-be game winner just before the clock was set to expire. But Wisconsin’s 64-63 loss to Syracuse, its second straight loss in an NCAA regional semifinal, was more about the little miscues of execution that put the Badgers in a ten-point hole than it was that final gasp.

“We were one or two shots away...” Wisconsin sophomore guard Josh Gasser said. “You can’t point to one thing in the game because there were so many things from early on to the end that could have made the difference.”

Perhaps it was the five missed free throws. Or maybe it was the seven offensive rebounds that they allowed a Syracuse team not known for its willingness to compete on the glass. And certainly the seven points that the Badgers gave up off turnovers are ones they would like to have back.

However you look at it, the Badgers were just one notch short of the perfection they needed in order to beat the region’s number one seed.

“It seemed like every one of their players was on and feeling it from start to finish,” Gasser said. “We did a pretty good job, just not enough.”

While the emotional hurt was very much palpable in the Badger locker room after the game, UW gave us one hell of a show.

“We can play with anybody in the country…” head coach Bo Ryan said. “I think we played well enough to have this one on our side but it just didn’t work out that way.”

Jordan Taylor, much maligned this season for what many around the country have termed a disappointing effort, was every bit the All-American on Thursday night.

Despite getting off to a slow start, Taylor kicked it into a 2^nd gear when the Badgers went down double-digits late in the first half. Taylor ended the half with a steal and a layup that turned the momentum then capitalized on that momentum by knocking down four three-pointers as Wisconsin mounted a charge that turned a potential beat down into an instant classic.

“He wasn’t going to lose tonight,” Gasser said. “It sucks not to get him a win here.”

Taylor finished the game with 17 points and 6 assists, sharing the team-high in scoring with junior forward Jared Berggren.

Ultimately it was Berggren who had perhaps the biggest impact on the game. The Princeton, Minn native picked up his 2^nd foul midway through the first half with the Badgers leading by 6. He was forced to sit the rest of the half as that six-point lead turned into a six-point deficit.

“I was having some success early on,” Berggren said. “{The 2^nd foul} changed the pace a little bit when we had to bring Frank {Kaminsky} in there for extended minutes.”

Ultimately, Berggren’s absence was yet another “little thing” that led to the Badgers coming up on the short end of the stick.

Trying to reach the Elite 8 for the first time since 2005, the Badgers played a nearly perfect game Thursday night. But with Syracuse bringing their A-game as well, near perfection simply wasn’t going to be enough.

“I think we faced Syracuse’s best, Gasser noted. “That’s why its so tough to swallow.”

Badgers In Familiar Territory Looking To Reach Into Uncharted Waters

Forgive the average fan of Wisconsin men’s basketball if they aren’t overly excited about the Badgers being one of only 16 teams still alive for a national title. After all, Sweet 16 appearances are nothing new in Madison.

With this year’s appearance, UW has now advanced to the 2^nd weekend of the NCAA Tournament in two consecutive years and in three of the last five. Since Bo Ryan took the helm in 2002, the Badgers have been to the Sweet 16 five times. Only Duke, Kansas, Michigan State, and North Carolina have more appearances during that span.

Yet the average college basketball fan and even the occasional “expert” still seem rank the Wisconsin program a solid step below these behemoths of the game. Perhaps this is rightly so. While the Badgers have been a fixture in the Sweet 16, they have failed to get over the hump, losing in the regional semifinal four of those five years and in the regional final in 2005.

“To become a powerhouse program you have to be able to win and we have won…” Wisconsin senior guard Jordan Taylor said. “But definitely we have to start taking advantage of opportunities like this.”

Thursday night, Taylor and the Badgers will have their moment of opportunity as they face top-seeded Syracuse (33-2) in the East Regional Semifinals in Boston.

Although the Orange are without sophomore center Fab Melo, out for the tournament with “eligibility issues”, they remain perhaps the most athletic team in the nation. Playing out of a patented zone that is just as much a part of their offense as it is their defense, the Orange play a style of basketball that is in direct contrast to that of the Badgers.

“I definitely think there will be a learning curve,” UW sophomore guard Ben Brust said of preparing for Syracuse. “But I think we’ve played a lot of different teams this year…so we just have to take everything we’ve learned throughout the year and just apply it to what they’re doing.”

One advantage the Badgers will have is that they are just about the best in the country at taking care of the ball. While Wisconsin is the 2^nd best in the nation, turning the ball over just nine times per game, the Orange are in the top 20 when it comes to forcing turnovers, creating 16.4 per game thus far this season. In two NCAA Tournament games this year, Syracuse has cashed in to the tune of 19.5 points off turnovers per game.

“They force people where they want them to go and I think when you back down from that and just go back into a shell, I think that’s when they impose their will on teams,” Taylor said. “I think we just have to stay aggressive and try to just keep attacking them and go into the teeth of that zone. It’s the Sweet 16. Its definitely not for the faint-hearted.”

But the necessary tradeoff for any zone comes on the glass and Syracuse is as susceptible to giving up offensive rebounds as just about any team in the country. Even in the Big East, a conference not exactly known for physical play underneath the basket, the Orange gave up nearly 15 offensive rebounds per game. While they won their 3^rd round matchup with Kansas State, Syracuse gave up a staggering 20 second-chance points to the Wildcats, who were only able to score 59 points in total.

“Part of the reason why they give up so many offensive rebounds is the reason why the defense is so good. Its so active and they are flying around that at times they get themselves out of position,” UW assistant coach Gary Close said. “I think it’s going to be important for us to get offensive rebounds because they are so good at shutting down the first shot.”

Having come full circle from January 9^th, when they stood at just 1-3 in Big Ten play, the Badgers are now just two games away from a Final Four appearance that would be their first since 2000.

“We’ve come this far,” sophomore guard Josh Gasser said. “Might as well finish this thing off.”

Victory Sweet For Badgers As They Defeat Vandy

ALBUQUERQUE, NM-For the second straight season, Wisconsin men’s basketball is headed to the Sweet 16 after a 60-57 defeat of 5^th seed Vanderbilt Saturday at The Pit. In one of the more physically and emotionally intense game in recent memory, the 4^th seeded Badgers (26-9) overcame a late Commodore charge as senior guard Jordan Taylor erased a one-point deficit with a fade away three as the shot clock expired with 1:42 left in the game.

Vanderbilt junior guard John Jenkins would eventually get an open look to win the game with less than five seconds left, but could only watch as the ball clanked high off the rim and back down into the hands of Wisconsin junior forward Ryan Evans.

“No way, I wasn’t going to let him get that rebound,” Evans said. “He missed it and they weren’t going to get that rebound.”

The Badgers got Vanderbilt’s best on Saturday. While Jenkins and senior forward Jeffrey Taylor were held to just 7-of-25 shooting, senior forward Festus Ezeli dominated in the interior all afternoon. The Benin City, Nigeria native finished the game with 14 points and 11 rebounds, really opening up lanes for the sharpshooters on the Commodore perimeter.

“Jenkins and Taylor, they got off a little bit. And Ezeli is a monster,” UW junior forward Mike Bruesewitz said. “We just tried to contain those guys and not let them get off like they have so many times before.”

But while the finale look from deep by Jenkins was an open one, most of the shots that the Commodores (25-11) were able to get were tightly contested. The Badgers closed out quick on shooters and drew six offensive fouls underneath, frustrated a Vanderbilt offense that came into the game averaging over 73 points per game.

“That last shot was the one time we didn’t have {Jenkins} covered…” UW head coach Bo Ryan said. “That is what we do with people who are good shooters…It doesn’t always work, but I like our percentages.”  

Although it was Vanderbilt with the lead before Taylor stepped up for UW, the Badgers controlled the game for nearly the entire 40 minutes. Vanderbilt did not lead until Taylor hit a step back jump shot on the Dores opening possession of the second half and after Wisconsin responded with an 8-0 run, Vandy did not lead again until an Ezeli layup with just 2:19 left.

“We are playing with a lot of confidence,” Bruesewitz said. “I didn’t think at any point we were going to lose this game. They made a run but I knew somebody was going to step up and hit a big shot. It just happened to be Jordan today.”

All told, the Badgers led all but two minutes and nine seconds of the game. But the only lead that mattered was the one they had when the clock finally hit all zeros after junior forward Jared Berggren was able to deflect a last-gasp inbound thrown by Commodore senior Lance Golbourne into the air to bring the game to a close.

“I’ve never played in a game like that,” Evans said. “Most intense game of my life. It was a great feeling to dive on the floor, take charges and also be effective on the offensive end.”

Once again, UW found production from multiple sources. All three frontcourt starters finished in double figures, with Taylor ultimately leading the Badger scoring with 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Sophomore guard Ben Brust came up big off the bench, adding 11 second-half points and four strong rebounds in just 20 minutes of action.

Beyond the five Badgers who finished in double digits, Wisconsin got a serious boost from sophomore guard Josh Gasser. Gasser, who was a game-time decision having dealt with flu-like symptoms throughout the night, finished with just two points and three rebounds, but those two points were crucial as they saved an otherwise ugly Badger possession and turned it into a bucket that would force a quick Vanderbilt timeout. Gasser’s 2^nd offensive rebound was perhaps even bigger, coming with just 19 seconds remaining and after a Taylor missed three that nearly led to a Vandy fast break.

“We know he didn’t have a pleasant evening,” Ryan said. “But there was no way that Josh Gasser wasn’t going to play.”

The Badgers now prepare to head to Boston where they will face top-seeded Syracuse, a team that has lost just twice this season. But with forward Fab Melo inactive due to eligibility issues, the Orange are vulnerable, a vulnerability that was on full display when they needed some timely help from the officials (and a mental mistake on a free throw) in order to outlast 16-seed UNC-Asheville in their tournament opener.

Given where the Badgers were back on Janurary 8^th, having just lost a third straight conference game to fall to 1-3 in Big Ten play, this Sweet 16 run is already special. But just having surpassed the expectations of many doesn’t mean that the Badgers aren’t hungry for more. Wisconsin has not made it beyond the Sweet 16 since 2005.

Now playing their best basketball of the season, the Badgers are ready to put an end to that drought.

“There are just some programs that have a way of doing things. They keep working hard and then sometimes every once in a while, things fall into place,” Ryan said. “That is what the tournament is all about.”

Badgers To Play Vanderbilt For Sweet 16 Spot

With their victory over Montana on Thursday, Wisconsin men’s basketball is now into the Round of 32 at the NCAA Tournament for the 10^th time in the past 11 seasons. Although it seems many Badger fans have begun to take tournament appearances and first round victories for granted, UW is in rarified air as the only school in the country to have as many second-round appearances during that span.

This time around the Badgers (25-9) face perhaps the hottest team in the country in 5^th seed Vanderbilt. The Commodores (25-10) swept through last weekend’s SEC Tournament in New Orleans, handing top-ranked Kentucky their first loss of the calendar year with a 71-64 win in Sunday’s championship game.

“I think momentum is really what carries you in the tournament,” Wisconsin junior forward Ryan Evans said. “You get a hot team and they can go win it all.”

Getting off to that hot start has been a key for the Badgers all season. Wisconsin is 21-2 this season when either leading or tied at the half. On the other hand, UW is just 3-7 when trailing at the midway point.

“I think it does help to be a hot team. If you get on a roll a little bit, sometimes guys are feeling good about their shot and they are playing with confidence…” UW junior forward Jared Berggren said. “But that can change within a game. If we get a good start and get them out of their rhythm at the start of the game, that can go away quick.”

While the NCAA Tournament is fraught with unfamiliar matchups, the Badgers should feel comfortable against a Vanderbilt team that looks like it would fit in perhaps even better in the Big Ten than it does in the SEC.

“I’d say they are kind of a Big Ten team in general with the way they are physical inside…” Evans said. “But every team has its own flaws.”

Though the Commodores get nearly 50% of their 73.1 points per game from the duo of junior guard John Jenkins and senior forward Jeffrey Taylor, it is the interior presence of senior Festus Ezeli that really makes Vanderbilt go.

“He is a big key to their offense,” UW senior guard Rob Wilson said. “He’s a physical guy who gets their shooters open a lot and gets rebounds on the glass. We just have to match his intensity.”

“I think Jared’s ready for it,” UW senior guard Jordan Taylor said of the matchup with Ezeli. “Ezeli’s a big guy and he’s deserved all the credit he’s garnered throughout his career. But Jared’s faced {OSU sophomore} Jared Sullinger and {Michigan State senior} Draymond Green throughout the year and they’re no slouches either.”

While Ezeli sets Vanderbilt’s offense up for success, it is Jenkins who is the threat to throw down a dagger. In Thursday’s win over Harvard, Jenkins did just that, scorching the Crimson for 27 points on 7-of-12 shooting. But this type of threat is far from foreign for UW, having faced prolific shooters throughout the Big Ten season.

“He’s definitely one of the best offensive players around,” Wisconsin sophomore guard Josh Gasser said. “But we’ve obviously faced tough players, so that’s definitely going to help going against him.”

“What a prolific scorer,” UW head coach Bo Ryan said of Jenkins. “When they use that term, Ive heard them use it about a lot of guys, but for him, if you looked it up, you’d see his picture.”

Unlike the Badgers, Vanderbilt is in unfamiliar territory, having just won a tournament game for the first time since 2008. While it is still about the game, there is definitely an advantage to having been in this position and knowing what to expect.

“Its real big,” Wilson said. “We know what to expect and we know its not going to be an easy game when you get this far in the year.”

Putting matchups and experience aside, the Badgers know that Saturday is about one thing and one thing only: winning.

“Whatever it is, there are people who try to figure out ways to be successful. And there’s a lot of different ways to do it…” Ryan said. “What you have to do is figure out the best way for your team to come out on the left-hand side.”