It had been nearly two full years since Wisconsin had beaten
Iowa and with six minutes left still facing a nine-point deficit, it looked as
if the Badgers were going to add yet another year to the drought. But this time
UW responded to the adversity, tying the game on the strength of an 11-2 run
and eventually heading to overtime after a Traevon Jackson three knotted the
score at 58 with 20 seconds left. Although the Badgers managed just a single
field goal in two overtime periods, they eventually outlasted the Hawkeyes by
making 13 of 14 free throws in the 74-70 double overtime victory.
To say the Badgers (7-3 Big Ten, 16-7 Overall) escaped on
Wednesday night would be a massive understatement. The Hawkeyes (3-7 Big Ten,
14-9 Overall) forced 12 turnovers and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, converting
them into 17 second-chance points and15 points off turnovers. After Wisconsin
built an 11-point first half lead, Iowa took control for most of the duration,
following a technical foul by head coach Fran McCaffery with a 34-14 run that
appeared to be enough for yet another upset in Madison.
Once again, the shots simply weren’t falling for Wisconsin.
UW started the 2nd half 5-for-20 from the field and managed to shoot
just 12-for-45 in the 2nd half and overtime. But after being
outrebounded at one=point by 12, the Badgers started to control the glass and
makes shots, doing just enough to get into overtime. Once there, Wisconsin made
just one field goal in 10 minutes, winning the game at the foul line to the
surprise of many in the Kohl Center crowd.
“To close that gap after we were down 9 and send it to
overtime, “ UW head coach Bo Ryan said. “That was really gutsy by our guys.”
Although at times shaky, the senior core ultimately came
through in the clutch for the Badgers. Senior forward Jared Berggren broke out
of a mini-slump with 16 points , 7 blocks, and 14 rebounds for his 2nd
career double double. After struggling at the free throw line again during
regulation, Berggren made all four of his free throws in the two overtime
periods.
“You get things rolling a bit…” Berggren said of the free
throw success. “It’s a free throw, its an easy shot and it should be
automatic.”
Wisconsin’s comeback was fueled by a quick stretch that in essence
woke up a sleeping giant. Down 9 in the closing minutes, junior guard Ben Brust
hit an open jumper for 3 of his game-high 18 points. Junior forward Ryan Evans
then found Berggren inside for a traditional three-point play just seconds
later, immediately putting the Badgers within a bucket.
“We had two breakdowns immediately…” McCaffery said. “That
changed everything because it makes it a one possession game really quickly.”
“It was good that we got something positive, “ Brust said. “Offensively
we were in a bit of a slump there.”
While it seemed UW might have dodged a bullet by getting the
game into overtime, things did not get any easier heading into the extra frame.
Wisconsin failed to notch a single field goal in the first overtime, sending
the game to a second extra frame on the backs of a 4-for-4 effort at the free
throw line. Once in the second OT, Wisconsin continued to assert itself at the
charity stripe, making 9-of-10 while hitting just a single shot from the field.
Fortunately, that shot was a three-point bucket by freshman Sam Dekker with
just 1:37 left, giving the Badgers a three-point lead they would never
relinquish.
“We just kept working…” Berggren said. “We just kept
working, showed a lot of fight, and did just enough to get the win.
One of the reasons Wisconsin was able to overcome another
poor shooting effort was the defensive effort on Iowa’s leading scorer, Aaron
White. Having dominated UW in the past, White did not have as much of an impact
on Wednesday night, finishing with 13 points but just a 3-for-13 effort from
the floor.
“Overall we did a good job…” Dekker said of the defense on
White. “He almost brought them back at the end.”
The Badgers now continued a brutal stretch of play with
three straight games against ranked opponents starting with Saturday’s game
against No. 3 Michigan. Still squarely in the midst of a tight Big Ten title
race, the Badgers know this was an important victory.
“Its a win that hopefully gives us confidence against
Michigan coming up…” Dekker said. “Hopefully we can ride this wave and get a
streak going.”
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