If you haven’t heard already, Butler set a new National Championship Game record by shooting just 18.8 percent from the field on Monday night. That’s right, Butler made just 12 of their 64 shots, including just 3 of 31 (9.7 percent!) from two-point range.
You would expect, after that performance, that all of those critics of Wisconsin who used a poor shooting night as proof of fluky success to come out of the woodwork and shout to the heavens that Butler simply didn’t belong, that their (2nd straight) Final Four run was the product of lucky shots and fortunate bounces rather than simply out of grit, determination, and solid basketball.
I spent all night looking for these critics and yet they were nowhere to be found.
Yes, the same writers who bashed the Badgers after a 36-33 loss to Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament and then again after a poor shooting night in the Sweet 16 loss to Butler were not ripping on the Bulldogs for being a party crasher, destined to fall once their good fortune passed. Instead, they were crying the tears, calling out the excuses, and playing the “what if” game in order to somehow use a similar poor shooting night as evidence that Butler not only belonged, but was in fact the better team.
Seriously, why the double standard?
As soon as Wisconsin was eliminated from the tournament by this same Butler team, more than a few “national college basketball writers” used a 30.2 percent effort from the field as foolproof evidence of the Badgers’ destiny for failure.
UW was too dependent on the three-pointer, too dependent on their stars, and unable to win away from home where they tended to struggle from the field.
Never mind the fact this same Badger team squeaked out a victory against a hot Iowa team in Iowa City despite shooting 18 percent in the first half and 35 percent overall.
Never mind the fact this same Badger team beat Michigan while being out-shot by nearly 13 percent.
Never mind the fact the Badgers had shot nearly 46 percent during the first two rounds of the tournament, playing 1,663 miles away from the Kohl Center in Tucson, Arizona.
Just a bad shooting night? No, for the Badgers it had to be something that was destined to happen.
As for Butler: What a shame.
What is it about this Badger program that has media types getting on their every slip?
As much as I would like to have a better explanation, the best I can think of is that Wisconsin basketball is boring.
Not boring in the sense that these “college basketball writers” have been talking about. No, the Badgers are just fundamentally sound and their lack of mistakes gives off the impression of a boring offense. Actually watch a few games and this notion of “Wisconsin basketball” being some sort of boring, stall-oriented system will wash away.
But Wisconsin basketball is boring for these writers. It is boring because there is nothing to write about. No NCAA investigation, no players being suspended, no coaching controversy, no star taking up all the attention, nothing to give a national writer anything resembling a good story.
So in an attempt to meet their quotas, this group of media types has to reapply the word boredom, a word that certain applies to their own perceptions of the Wisconsin program as it pertains to the ease of their own jobs.
The off-the-court tranquility is translated into a “boring offense”, its existence dependent on the shaky existence of a lucky shooting run. Once the bounces stopped going UW’s way, they were destined to lose.
Now don’t get me wrong, Wisconsin and Butler both finished off their seasons with poor performances. Wisconsin’s mistakes were plentiful in New Orleans, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t belong nor does it mean they never had a shot at the Final Four. Certainly it doesn’t mean that the program should completely re-haul its offensive and defensive philosophies simply because the shots weren’t falling one night.
The same goes for Butler. They are no longer Cinderella they have proven they belong. Butler is no longer one of the best mid-major programs, they are one of the best programs, period. Just because the shots weren’t falling on Monday night doesn’t mean they didn’t earn their spot in the final.
Wisconsin’s 13 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances speak for themselves, as do Butler’s back-to-back title games.
Each had a bad night at a bad time. That’s all there is to write about.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
A Championship Tainted
Ok, so it is probably fitting that in a year that saw Auburn go forward from damaging allegations to win the BCS title, Connecticut manages to win the NCAA Men’s title despite facing probation and a 3-game Big East suspension for coach Jim Calhoun.
Ironic? Yes. Acceptable? Absolutely not.
Watching Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith hand over the Championship trophy to Calhoun on Monday night was one of the most disgusting images the college sports fan in me has ever seen. Sure, the presumption of innocence has to be observed and Calhoun has been handed his due punishment, but think about how much harm that scene does to the image of collegiate athletics.
That scene alone washes away any hope of saving college football and basketball from the evils of complete commercialization. The bottom line is clear: Money matters far more than integrity.
I know this is a post-game emotional outburst and perhaps some of you would even dispute my assumption that Butler is indeed squeaky clean, but I still cannot stomach the thought of a coach with a looming suspension and a team on NCAA probation taking home a title that I thought to be the last bastion of hope for the little guy.
The final four was all about contrast. It was the little guys, VCU and Butler, versus not just powerhouses, but controversial powerhouses in UCONN and Kentucky. Thankfully Kentucky’s loss in the semifinal round saved us from another surefire vacation (John Calipari has coached in 2 Final Fours, but he has never coached a Final Four team. No, I did not misspeak).
But with UCONN winning the title, we now have the potential to see a BCS and NCAA basketball title vacated from the same season.
Seriously, what kind of message does all of this controversial success send?
The BCS is obviously a whole different animal. TCU has its felons, Oregon pays recruits, and Auburn, well we know that they won the Cam Newton bidding war before the went on to take the BCS as well. And Ohio State? Well that episode just takes dishonesty to a whole new level.
But this season basketball joined the party. Tennessee was called out for illegal contact and then ex-coach Bruce Pearl committed another minor violation just days after tearfully apologizing for the major violations. And UCONN, yes that UCONN, was slapped with NCAA probation and a 3 game conference suspension for 2012 was given to coach Calhoun.
To see Connecticut’s tumultuous season come to a championship end is not inspirational, it is disgusting.
Butler needed to win this game to save collegiate athletics. Butler, much like Wisconsin, is known for doing things the right way, for recruiting the right players not necessarily the best players, for recruiting student-athletes and not just athletes who happen to show up at a few classes. They embody the true spirit of what the NCAA should be about, a far cry from the stuff going on at these powerhouse programs that are racking up titles to go along with their notices of allegations.
Butler not only gave hope to the little guy, they gave hope to the 98% of programs out there that play by the rules 100% of the time.
Ironic? Yes. Acceptable? Absolutely not.
Watching Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith hand over the Championship trophy to Calhoun on Monday night was one of the most disgusting images the college sports fan in me has ever seen. Sure, the presumption of innocence has to be observed and Calhoun has been handed his due punishment, but think about how much harm that scene does to the image of collegiate athletics.
That scene alone washes away any hope of saving college football and basketball from the evils of complete commercialization. The bottom line is clear: Money matters far more than integrity.
I know this is a post-game emotional outburst and perhaps some of you would even dispute my assumption that Butler is indeed squeaky clean, but I still cannot stomach the thought of a coach with a looming suspension and a team on NCAA probation taking home a title that I thought to be the last bastion of hope for the little guy.
The final four was all about contrast. It was the little guys, VCU and Butler, versus not just powerhouses, but controversial powerhouses in UCONN and Kentucky. Thankfully Kentucky’s loss in the semifinal round saved us from another surefire vacation (John Calipari has coached in 2 Final Fours, but he has never coached a Final Four team. No, I did not misspeak).
But with UCONN winning the title, we now have the potential to see a BCS and NCAA basketball title vacated from the same season.
Seriously, what kind of message does all of this controversial success send?
The BCS is obviously a whole different animal. TCU has its felons, Oregon pays recruits, and Auburn, well we know that they won the Cam Newton bidding war before the went on to take the BCS as well. And Ohio State? Well that episode just takes dishonesty to a whole new level.
But this season basketball joined the party. Tennessee was called out for illegal contact and then ex-coach Bruce Pearl committed another minor violation just days after tearfully apologizing for the major violations. And UCONN, yes that UCONN, was slapped with NCAA probation and a 3 game conference suspension for 2012 was given to coach Calhoun.
To see Connecticut’s tumultuous season come to a championship end is not inspirational, it is disgusting.
Butler needed to win this game to save collegiate athletics. Butler, much like Wisconsin, is known for doing things the right way, for recruiting the right players not necessarily the best players, for recruiting student-athletes and not just athletes who happen to show up at a few classes. They embody the true spirit of what the NCAA should be about, a far cry from the stuff going on at these powerhouse programs that are racking up titles to go along with their notices of allegations.
Butler not only gave hope to the little guy, they gave hope to the 98% of programs out there that play by the rules 100% of the time.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Taylor, Leuer Named to All-American Teams
While Thursday night’s loss may have ended the Badgers’ season, the accolades keep flowing in for a team that won 25 games in 2010-2011, the third-most in program history. Monday it was about the individual accomplishments as junior guard Jordan Taylor (2nd team) and senior forward Jon Leuer (honorable mention) were both named All-Americans by the Associated press.
Taylor, who becomes just the 4th UW player to earn first or second team honors, finished the season with 18.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game. Most importantly, the junior point guard led the nation with a 3.83 assist-to-turnover ratio, the best in program history and a big factor in Wisconsin being the nation’s second-most efficient offense at nearly 1.16 points per possession.
A consensus first team All-Big Ten selection and a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation’s top point guard, Taylor made his mark this year and figures to be a preseason Big Ten player of the year frontrunner come next fall.
Leuer, a member of the USA Select Team during the summer of 2010, came off of an injury-plagued junior year and more than justified his place among the Big Ten’s best. Scoring in double digits in each of UW’s first 33 games, Leuer led the Badgers with 18.3 points per game, adding in 7.2 rebounds while posting a team-high 6 double-doubles. He, along with fellow senior Keaton Nankivil, was along one of only three players in the Big Ten to knock down 20 3-pointers while putting up 20 blocks. Leuer crossed the 1,000 point mark in early in the season, finishing his career with 1,376 points, 12th in school history.
In addition, Leuer’s 621 points are the third-highest single-season total in program history.
“I’m proud of Jordan and Jon, as well as the University of Wisconsin, for this recognition,” UW head coach Bo Ryan said. “To have two guys from the same team earn this kind of honor is pretty special. Both players had tremendous seasons and were major contributors to a team that went from unranked to top 10 and won 25 games.”
Leuer was probably a preseason candidate for national acclaim, but the rise of Jordan Taylor among the nation’s elite was not in the forecast, at least outside the inner circles of Wisconsin basketball.
After spending two years in the shadow of guard Trevon Hughes, Taylor broke out of his shell in 2010-2011, emerging onto the national spotlight with 21 second-half points in a come-from-behind win over then-undefeated Ohio State. He then followed that performance up just two weeks later with a 39-point night in Bloomington, willing the Badgers to a conference road win.
“This is quite an honor to be voted as one of the top players in the country,” Taylor said. “I’m humbled by the recognition, but like all individual awards, this is a reflection of the entire team.”
With all that the Badgers were able to accomplish this season, these honors are a fitting way to cap it off. The names on the list might read Taylor and Leuer, but these honors were truly the result of a team effort.
Taylor, who becomes just the 4th UW player to earn first or second team honors, finished the season with 18.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game. Most importantly, the junior point guard led the nation with a 3.83 assist-to-turnover ratio, the best in program history and a big factor in Wisconsin being the nation’s second-most efficient offense at nearly 1.16 points per possession.
A consensus first team All-Big Ten selection and a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation’s top point guard, Taylor made his mark this year and figures to be a preseason Big Ten player of the year frontrunner come next fall.
Leuer, a member of the USA Select Team during the summer of 2010, came off of an injury-plagued junior year and more than justified his place among the Big Ten’s best. Scoring in double digits in each of UW’s first 33 games, Leuer led the Badgers with 18.3 points per game, adding in 7.2 rebounds while posting a team-high 6 double-doubles. He, along with fellow senior Keaton Nankivil, was along one of only three players in the Big Ten to knock down 20 3-pointers while putting up 20 blocks. Leuer crossed the 1,000 point mark in early in the season, finishing his career with 1,376 points, 12th in school history.
In addition, Leuer’s 621 points are the third-highest single-season total in program history.
“I’m proud of Jordan and Jon, as well as the University of Wisconsin, for this recognition,” UW head coach Bo Ryan said. “To have two guys from the same team earn this kind of honor is pretty special. Both players had tremendous seasons and were major contributors to a team that went from unranked to top 10 and won 25 games.”
Leuer was probably a preseason candidate for national acclaim, but the rise of Jordan Taylor among the nation’s elite was not in the forecast, at least outside the inner circles of Wisconsin basketball.
After spending two years in the shadow of guard Trevon Hughes, Taylor broke out of his shell in 2010-2011, emerging onto the national spotlight with 21 second-half points in a come-from-behind win over then-undefeated Ohio State. He then followed that performance up just two weeks later with a 39-point night in Bloomington, willing the Badgers to a conference road win.
“This is quite an honor to be voted as one of the top players in the country,” Taylor said. “I’m humbled by the recognition, but like all individual awards, this is a reflection of the entire team.”
With all that the Badgers were able to accomplish this season, these honors are a fitting way to cap it off. The names on the list might read Taylor and Leuer, but these honors were truly the result of a team effort.
Taylor, Leuer Earn All-American Honors
UwBadgers.com-
MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin junior guard Jordan Taylor was named a second-team All-American, while senior forward Jon Leuer earned honorable mention, the Associated Press announced Monday. Taylor is the fourth Wisconsin player to earn first or second-team All-America honors since the AP began selecting All-Americans in 1948.
“This is quite an honor to be voted as one of the top players in the country,” Taylor said. “I’m humbled by the recognition, but like all individual awards, this is a reflection of the entire team. My coaches and teammates always put me in a position to be successful and I am grateful to all of them.”
Taylor joins Alando Tucker (first-team selection in 2007), Don Rehfeldt (first-team in 1950) and Devin Harris (second-team in 2004) as the only Badgers to earn first or second-team All-America honors.
The AP first team was comprised of BYU senior Jimmer Fredette, Purdue senior JaJuan Johnson Duke senior Nolan Smith, Ohio State freshman Jared Sullinger and UConn junior Kemba Walker. Taylor was joined on the AP second team by Kansas's Marcus Morris, Arizona's Derrick Williams, Notre Dame's Ben Hansbrough and San Diego State's Kawhi Leonard.
“I’m proud of Jordan and Jon, as well as the University of Wisconsin, for this recognition,” UW head coach Bo Ryan said. “To have two guys from the same team earn this kind of honor is pretty special. Both players had tremendous seasons and were major contributors to a team that went from unranked to top 10 and won 25 games.
“Jon lived up to his preseason billing as one of the top players and Jordan Taylor played his way into that same discussion among the nation’s best.”
Taylor averaged 18.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists in leading the Badgers to 25 wins, the third-highest single-season total in school history. A consensus first-team All-Big Ten pick and Cousy Award finalist, Taylor led the nation with a 3.83 assist-to-turnover ratio.
A fellow first-team All-Big Ten selection, Leuer led the Badgers with 18.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season. With 1,376 career points, Leuer finished 12th in school history, while his 621 points in 2010-11 ranked as the third-highest single-season total in UW history.
Wisconsin’s AP All-Americans (since 1948)
1950 Don Rehfeldt (first team)
1984 Cory Blackwell (hon. mention)
1988 Danny Jones (hon. mention)
1989 Danny Jones (hon. mention)
1993 Michael Finley (hon. mention)
1994 Michael Finley (hon. mention)
1995 Michael Finley (hon. mention)
1999 Sean Mason (hon. mention)
2004 Devin Harris (second team)
2007 Alando Tucker (first team)
2011 Jon Leuer (hon. mention)
2011 Jordan Taylor (second team)
MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin junior guard Jordan Taylor was named a second-team All-American, while senior forward Jon Leuer earned honorable mention, the Associated Press announced Monday. Taylor is the fourth Wisconsin player to earn first or second-team All-America honors since the AP began selecting All-Americans in 1948.
“This is quite an honor to be voted as one of the top players in the country,” Taylor said. “I’m humbled by the recognition, but like all individual awards, this is a reflection of the entire team. My coaches and teammates always put me in a position to be successful and I am grateful to all of them.”
Taylor joins Alando Tucker (first-team selection in 2007), Don Rehfeldt (first-team in 1950) and Devin Harris (second-team in 2004) as the only Badgers to earn first or second-team All-America honors.
The AP first team was comprised of BYU senior Jimmer Fredette, Purdue senior JaJuan Johnson Duke senior Nolan Smith, Ohio State freshman Jared Sullinger and UConn junior Kemba Walker. Taylor was joined on the AP second team by Kansas's Marcus Morris, Arizona's Derrick Williams, Notre Dame's Ben Hansbrough and San Diego State's Kawhi Leonard.
“I’m proud of Jordan and Jon, as well as the University of Wisconsin, for this recognition,” UW head coach Bo Ryan said. “To have two guys from the same team earn this kind of honor is pretty special. Both players had tremendous seasons and were major contributors to a team that went from unranked to top 10 and won 25 games.
“Jon lived up to his preseason billing as one of the top players and Jordan Taylor played his way into that same discussion among the nation’s best.”
Taylor averaged 18.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists in leading the Badgers to 25 wins, the third-highest single-season total in school history. A consensus first-team All-Big Ten pick and Cousy Award finalist, Taylor led the nation with a 3.83 assist-to-turnover ratio.
A fellow first-team All-Big Ten selection, Leuer led the Badgers with 18.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season. With 1,376 career points, Leuer finished 12th in school history, while his 621 points in 2010-11 ranked as the third-highest single-season total in UW history.
Wisconsin’s AP All-Americans (since 1948)
1950 Don Rehfeldt (first team)
1984 Cory Blackwell (hon. mention)
1988 Danny Jones (hon. mention)
1989 Danny Jones (hon. mention)
1993 Michael Finley (hon. mention)
1994 Michael Finley (hon. mention)
1995 Michael Finley (hon. mention)
1999 Sean Mason (hon. mention)
2004 Devin Harris (second team)
2007 Alando Tucker (first team)
2011 Jon Leuer (hon. mention)
2011 Jordan Taylor (second team)
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Badger Loss Stings, But Season Is No Disappointment
If I had gone around campus saying that the 2010-2011 UW Men’s Basketball team would finish 25-9, beat No.1 Ohio State, and reach the Sweet 16 (and I did), I would have been laughed at. Losing guards Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon, who combined for 40% of last year’s scoring, had many thinking that a “rebuilding year” was upcoming.
Of course if you bothered to read between the lines, UW came into 2010-2011 with the 2nd most experienced roster in the Big Ten, returning 12 letterwinners, including the entire front line.
But none of this seemed to matter with the campus engrossed in a Rose Bowl run and uninterested in a team that was unranked in the preseason AP poll and picked to finish 7th in the Big Ten.
For the most part, the non-conference slate did nothing to change those perceptions of mediocrity. Wins over fairly weak ACC foes NC State and Boston College were balanced by disappointing defeats at UNLV and against Notre Dame in the Old Spice Classic final. The only truly quality win came at Marquette and with that game coming on the eve of finals week, not many seemed to care.
When the Badgers proceeded to start Big Ten play just 2-2, vaulting them outside the rankings yet again, it seemed to many that spring football couldn’t come soon enough.
With the season seemingly going nowhere, the calls for a “rebuilding” were back in force.
Still, that was and never has been an option for Bo Ryan.
“Talking about getting better has never been part of our philosophy,” the 27-year coaching veteran said. “It’s all about doing it.”
In a single Biddy Martin tweet, they started doing just that.
After losing a halftime lead against then-No. 10 Purdue, the Badgers used the momentum of the snow day announcement to finish the game on a 23-10 run over the final 10 minutes to get the victory.
Five days later, it was Michigan State’s turn to feel the brunt of the newly found Badger momentum as UW started off Super Bowl Sunday by handing the Spartans a 26-point defeat.
Jordan Taylor got the Badgers through a trap game at Iowa, scoring or assisting on 17 of the game’s final 19 points as UW eeked out a 3 point overtime win.
Now having won 6 of 7, it was time to face undefeated Ohio State.
After an adrenaline filled first half resulted in a lead of 6 turning into a 2 point deficit at the break, UW came out of the half cold as the Buckeyes built a 15 point lead and seemed well on their way to victory number 25.
With 13:21 left, it was time for the legend of Jordan Taylor to be born.
Trailing 47-32, Taylor lead the Badgers on a 15-0 run over the next 3:35, scoring 10 of those 15 points and kicking out to freshman Josh Gasser for a tying 3 pointer that ignited arguably the loudest roar in the history of the Kohl Center. Taylor finished with 21 points in the 2nd half alone, a performance that had his name trending worldwide on twitter and proved good enough to force the Cousy Award committee to put his name back on the finalist list.
In less than two weeks, UW vaulted itself from 15-5 tournament hopeful to 19-5 national title contender.
With a Senior Day victory over Northwestern a few weeks later, UW capped off just the third undefeated home schedule in the last 80 years.
But just as quickly as they shot into the national title talk, the Badgers went through a final period of adversity, losing by 28 in Columbus and then famously losing 36-33 to Penn State in the Big Ten quarterfinals.
Heading into the NCAA Tournament off of the 2 worst games of the season, the fourth-seeded Badgers were everybody’s favorite upset pick in an opening round match-up against Belmont.
Seemingly tired of the talk about their inability to shoot away from the Kohl Center and the potential for Belmont’s pressure defense to put the Badgers on the defensive, UW hit 12 of 22 threes and held the Bruins under 37% shooting, cruising to a 14 point victory that had analysts everywhere quickly covering their tracks.
Just two days later, UW proved that it wasn’t just about Jon Leuer and Jordan Taylor. While Kansas State senior guard Jacob Pullen outscored Taylor by 26 in a game that was universally billed “Pullen vs. Taylor”, it was the Badgers who earned a spot in New Orleans, fighting their way out of another 2nd half drought en route to a 70-65 victory capped off in style by a gutsy Taylor block of Pullen’s attempt at a game-tying 3 pointer in the waning moments.
“Everybody stepped up. You can go right down the line,” Leuer said after the win. “Mike {Bruesewitz}’s big three, Tim Jarmusz hit some big shots. Even though Jordan was off offensively he made some huge plays down the stretch. He found Mike on that three. Right before that he got the steal. Josh made some big plays. Just go right down the line of guys stepping up and making key contributions.
That's what you need in March if you want to keep playing, just guys stepping up and, you know, giving you good production.”
All in a weekend’s work, UW vaulted from upset special to championship contender once again.
While the 20-point deficit that the Badgers dug against Butler proved too much to overcome, the Sweet 16 loss was a let down, but far from a disappointment. UW showed the resiliency that got them to that point, working back from that large hole to cut the Butler lead to just 4 before Bulldog guard Shelvin Mack knocked down a contested jumper with a minute to go that erased hopes of another epic Badger comeback.
Despite the loss, a season destined for mediocrity resulted in:
The Badgers’ 13th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament
The program’s 2nd victory over a No. 1 team (their first since 1962)
UW’s 5th Sweet 16 appearance
25 wins (3rd most in program history)
2 First-team All Big-Ten selections (Taylor and Leuer) for the 1st time in UW history
“It's always tough when it ends, when you've got to put the balls away and the uniforms and practice gear. But I'm really proud of these guys...” Ryan said. “When you look at the entire season, just there are things accomplished this year that people never dreamed of with this group.”
Losing in the NCAA Tournament is a heartbreaking finality that 67 teams each year have to deal with. It should not take away from what was an otherwise memorable season for the UW program.
With just 201 days until the first official practice, the road back to New Orleans for the 2012 Final Four is just around the corner.
Of course if you bothered to read between the lines, UW came into 2010-2011 with the 2nd most experienced roster in the Big Ten, returning 12 letterwinners, including the entire front line.
But none of this seemed to matter with the campus engrossed in a Rose Bowl run and uninterested in a team that was unranked in the preseason AP poll and picked to finish 7th in the Big Ten.
For the most part, the non-conference slate did nothing to change those perceptions of mediocrity. Wins over fairly weak ACC foes NC State and Boston College were balanced by disappointing defeats at UNLV and against Notre Dame in the Old Spice Classic final. The only truly quality win came at Marquette and with that game coming on the eve of finals week, not many seemed to care.
When the Badgers proceeded to start Big Ten play just 2-2, vaulting them outside the rankings yet again, it seemed to many that spring football couldn’t come soon enough.
With the season seemingly going nowhere, the calls for a “rebuilding” were back in force.
Still, that was and never has been an option for Bo Ryan.
“Talking about getting better has never been part of our philosophy,” the 27-year coaching veteran said. “It’s all about doing it.”
In a single Biddy Martin tweet, they started doing just that.
After losing a halftime lead against then-No. 10 Purdue, the Badgers used the momentum of the snow day announcement to finish the game on a 23-10 run over the final 10 minutes to get the victory.
Five days later, it was Michigan State’s turn to feel the brunt of the newly found Badger momentum as UW started off Super Bowl Sunday by handing the Spartans a 26-point defeat.
Jordan Taylor got the Badgers through a trap game at Iowa, scoring or assisting on 17 of the game’s final 19 points as UW eeked out a 3 point overtime win.
Now having won 6 of 7, it was time to face undefeated Ohio State.
After an adrenaline filled first half resulted in a lead of 6 turning into a 2 point deficit at the break, UW came out of the half cold as the Buckeyes built a 15 point lead and seemed well on their way to victory number 25.
With 13:21 left, it was time for the legend of Jordan Taylor to be born.
Trailing 47-32, Taylor lead the Badgers on a 15-0 run over the next 3:35, scoring 10 of those 15 points and kicking out to freshman Josh Gasser for a tying 3 pointer that ignited arguably the loudest roar in the history of the Kohl Center. Taylor finished with 21 points in the 2nd half alone, a performance that had his name trending worldwide on twitter and proved good enough to force the Cousy Award committee to put his name back on the finalist list.
In less than two weeks, UW vaulted itself from 15-5 tournament hopeful to 19-5 national title contender.
With a Senior Day victory over Northwestern a few weeks later, UW capped off just the third undefeated home schedule in the last 80 years.
But just as quickly as they shot into the national title talk, the Badgers went through a final period of adversity, losing by 28 in Columbus and then famously losing 36-33 to Penn State in the Big Ten quarterfinals.
Heading into the NCAA Tournament off of the 2 worst games of the season, the fourth-seeded Badgers were everybody’s favorite upset pick in an opening round match-up against Belmont.
Seemingly tired of the talk about their inability to shoot away from the Kohl Center and the potential for Belmont’s pressure defense to put the Badgers on the defensive, UW hit 12 of 22 threes and held the Bruins under 37% shooting, cruising to a 14 point victory that had analysts everywhere quickly covering their tracks.
Just two days later, UW proved that it wasn’t just about Jon Leuer and Jordan Taylor. While Kansas State senior guard Jacob Pullen outscored Taylor by 26 in a game that was universally billed “Pullen vs. Taylor”, it was the Badgers who earned a spot in New Orleans, fighting their way out of another 2nd half drought en route to a 70-65 victory capped off in style by a gutsy Taylor block of Pullen’s attempt at a game-tying 3 pointer in the waning moments.
“Everybody stepped up. You can go right down the line,” Leuer said after the win. “Mike {Bruesewitz}’s big three, Tim Jarmusz hit some big shots. Even though Jordan was off offensively he made some huge plays down the stretch. He found Mike on that three. Right before that he got the steal. Josh made some big plays. Just go right down the line of guys stepping up and making key contributions.
That's what you need in March if you want to keep playing, just guys stepping up and, you know, giving you good production.”
All in a weekend’s work, UW vaulted from upset special to championship contender once again.
While the 20-point deficit that the Badgers dug against Butler proved too much to overcome, the Sweet 16 loss was a let down, but far from a disappointment. UW showed the resiliency that got them to that point, working back from that large hole to cut the Butler lead to just 4 before Bulldog guard Shelvin Mack knocked down a contested jumper with a minute to go that erased hopes of another epic Badger comeback.
Despite the loss, a season destined for mediocrity resulted in:
The Badgers’ 13th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament
The program’s 2nd victory over a No. 1 team (their first since 1962)
UW’s 5th Sweet 16 appearance
25 wins (3rd most in program history)
2 First-team All Big-Ten selections (Taylor and Leuer) for the 1st time in UW history
“It's always tough when it ends, when you've got to put the balls away and the uniforms and practice gear. But I'm really proud of these guys...” Ryan said. “When you look at the entire season, just there are things accomplished this year that people never dreamed of with this group.”
Losing in the NCAA Tournament is a heartbreaking finality that 67 teams each year have to deal with. It should not take away from what was an otherwise memorable season for the UW program.
With just 201 days until the first official practice, the road back to New Orleans for the 2012 Final Four is just around the corner.
Friday, March 25, 2011
New Orleans Blues
By: Parker Gabriel
NEW ORLEANS—In the Badgers first two possessions Thursday night, what seemed like reason for optimism actually served as a grim foreshadowing of what was to come.
On each of UW's first two trips, Wisconsin worked the ball into the post and got good looks from senior forward Jon Leuer. He missed each, but usually going inside ensures some level of consistency.
Not on this night.
Wisconsin fell behind early and looked flustered throughout. It was a bad shooting night from its two top scorers until late in the second half, but Butler opened up a commanding lead and held on late to top UW 61-54 and end the Badgers' season.
The Bulldogs will face Florida Saturday night for a trip to the Final Four.
Wisconsin caught fire late and trimmed what was a 20-point gap to just four with 1:38 remaining when junior guard Jordan Taylor hit a three. The junior finished the night with 22 points on 6-19 shooting (3-10 three-point attempts).
However, before the late-game frenzy, UW's offense was lethargic at best.
Leuer frequently caught the ball in the post, but where the First Team All-Big Ten performer usually converts on a near-automatic basis, he found unfriendly results with Butler.
The Orono, Minn. native finished the game with an ugly 1-12 mark from the field (1-6 on three-point attempts) and three points.
"Overall, if you look at a shot chart, I like most of the shots we got," Ryan said. "At some point, you just have to make some of them."
Leuer certainly was not alone in his struggles, though.
In one stretch that spanned the final portion of the first half and beginning of the second half, Wisconsin went 10:05 without a field goal.
"We touched the ball in the post four out of five times [to start the second half] and came up with nothing," Ryan said.
Junior point guard Jordan Taylor—who struggled shooting in a 2-of-16 performance last Saturday against Kansas State—added carelessness with the basketball to shooting woes against Butler.
The point guard, despite his astounding numbers when it comes to protecting the ball—he entered the game leading the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.18—was credited with two turnovers in the first half and generally forced the issue on the offensive end.
"We made [poor] plays that are uncharacteristic of how we play," Leuer said. "We tried to force some things offensively … and just did some things [we] normally don't."
Butler capitalized nearly every time UW stumbled and led 33-24 at the half, largely because the Bulldogs outscored UW 15-1 in points off turnovers.
As uncharacteristic as the cough-ups were for Taylor, he also missed four free throws in the first half. Coming into the season, Taylor converted his free throws at an 85 percent clip.
The junior finished the night with 22 points on 6-19 shooting.
The Bulldogs got exceptional play from senior forward Matt Howard, who finished with 20 points. In addition to scoring, he grabbed 12 big rebounds (three offensive) and seemed to track down the ball whenever the situation required it. Howard scored inside and outside and aptly closed out on Wisconsin shooters like senior forward Keaton Nankivil, who scored nine points in his final game as a Badger.
"We just needed to put a few more minutes together here tonight so we could keep dancing," Ryan said. "Unfortunately, the music stopped playing."
As a team, UW shot just 30.4 percent from the field (17-56) and 24.1 percent from beyond the arc (7-29)
The Badgers exceeded expectations this whole this season. Needless to say, though, Thursday's performance fell short.
NEW ORLEANS—In the Badgers first two possessions Thursday night, what seemed like reason for optimism actually served as a grim foreshadowing of what was to come.
On each of UW's first two trips, Wisconsin worked the ball into the post and got good looks from senior forward Jon Leuer. He missed each, but usually going inside ensures some level of consistency.
Not on this night.
Wisconsin fell behind early and looked flustered throughout. It was a bad shooting night from its two top scorers until late in the second half, but Butler opened up a commanding lead and held on late to top UW 61-54 and end the Badgers' season.
The Bulldogs will face Florida Saturday night for a trip to the Final Four.
Wisconsin caught fire late and trimmed what was a 20-point gap to just four with 1:38 remaining when junior guard Jordan Taylor hit a three. The junior finished the night with 22 points on 6-19 shooting (3-10 three-point attempts).
However, before the late-game frenzy, UW's offense was lethargic at best.
Leuer frequently caught the ball in the post, but where the First Team All-Big Ten performer usually converts on a near-automatic basis, he found unfriendly results with Butler.
The Orono, Minn. native finished the game with an ugly 1-12 mark from the field (1-6 on three-point attempts) and three points.
"Overall, if you look at a shot chart, I like most of the shots we got," Ryan said. "At some point, you just have to make some of them."
Leuer certainly was not alone in his struggles, though.
In one stretch that spanned the final portion of the first half and beginning of the second half, Wisconsin went 10:05 without a field goal.
"We touched the ball in the post four out of five times [to start the second half] and came up with nothing," Ryan said.
Junior point guard Jordan Taylor—who struggled shooting in a 2-of-16 performance last Saturday against Kansas State—added carelessness with the basketball to shooting woes against Butler.
The point guard, despite his astounding numbers when it comes to protecting the ball—he entered the game leading the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.18—was credited with two turnovers in the first half and generally forced the issue on the offensive end.
"We made [poor] plays that are uncharacteristic of how we play," Leuer said. "We tried to force some things offensively … and just did some things [we] normally don't."
Butler capitalized nearly every time UW stumbled and led 33-24 at the half, largely because the Bulldogs outscored UW 15-1 in points off turnovers.
As uncharacteristic as the cough-ups were for Taylor, he also missed four free throws in the first half. Coming into the season, Taylor converted his free throws at an 85 percent clip.
The junior finished the night with 22 points on 6-19 shooting.
The Bulldogs got exceptional play from senior forward Matt Howard, who finished with 20 points. In addition to scoring, he grabbed 12 big rebounds (three offensive) and seemed to track down the ball whenever the situation required it. Howard scored inside and outside and aptly closed out on Wisconsin shooters like senior forward Keaton Nankivil, who scored nine points in his final game as a Badger.
"We just needed to put a few more minutes together here tonight so we could keep dancing," Ryan said. "Unfortunately, the music stopped playing."
As a team, UW shot just 30.4 percent from the field (17-56) and 24.1 percent from beyond the arc (7-29)
The Badgers exceeded expectations this whole this season. Needless to say, though, Thursday's performance fell short.
Dont Blame The Style
NEW ORLEANS—You can say whatever you want about the so-called "Wisconsin style" of basketball, but whatever your views, Thursday's Sweet 16 loss at the hands of Butler was not a failure of the system. It was a failure to execute that system.
Wisconsin didn't score 29 points in the first 30 minutes of the game because "Wisconsin basketball" is too slow and too boring, they scored 29 point in those 30 minutes because they didn't execute the system that got them to New Orleans.
When people speak of Wisconsin Basketball, its usually about limiting turnovers, using the shot clock, getting to the foul line, making free throws and playing tough defense.
But on Thursday night, the Badgers never consistently executed on any of those principles: Eleven turnovers leading to 17 Butler points. Six missed free throws. Plenty of quick looks.
Largely the result of the late spurt that saw UW climb within four in the waning moments, junior guard Jordan Taylor paced the Badger scoring with 22 points on six of 19 shooting. But, and I doubt he would argue the point, Thursday was one of his worst performances of the season.
There is a lot of truth in the oft-mentioned axiom, "As Taylor goes, so goes the Badgers." But it isn't about scoring: Its' all about executing.
UW missed six free throws, shooting just 68.4 percent to close out a year in which they shot over 80 percent from the line. Add those six free throws and it's a whole new contest.
UW committed eight turnovers in the first half, leading to 15 Butler points as the Bulldogs built a nine-point halftime lead. Keep in mind this is a Wisconsin team that averaged just 7.5 turnovers per game throughout the season. Take even a portion of those 15 points away and it's a ballgame.
Despite failing to execute, the Badgers still had a good shot to win if not for an abysmal shooting night. While the looks UW got were, for the most part, fairly good, they managed to shoot just over 30 percent from the field, hovering closer to the 20 percent mark for most of the second half before finishing the game with a 25-9 run.
If they shot the ball the way they are capable of, UW would probably be facing Florida on Saturday. Had played Wisconsin basketball, had they executed the basic fundamentals as they have all season, the Badgers very likely would have been able to overcome the lid being on the basket seemingly all night.
Thursday night, Butler beat Wisconsin. This doesn't mean the UW approach should be altered nor does it mean that the Wisconsin system is destined for games like this.
Thursday night, all that happened was that the Butler Bulldogs executed the fundamentals better than Wisconsin.
Wisconsin didn't score 29 points in the first 30 minutes of the game because "Wisconsin basketball" is too slow and too boring, they scored 29 point in those 30 minutes because they didn't execute the system that got them to New Orleans.
When people speak of Wisconsin Basketball, its usually about limiting turnovers, using the shot clock, getting to the foul line, making free throws and playing tough defense.
But on Thursday night, the Badgers never consistently executed on any of those principles: Eleven turnovers leading to 17 Butler points. Six missed free throws. Plenty of quick looks.
Largely the result of the late spurt that saw UW climb within four in the waning moments, junior guard Jordan Taylor paced the Badger scoring with 22 points on six of 19 shooting. But, and I doubt he would argue the point, Thursday was one of his worst performances of the season.
There is a lot of truth in the oft-mentioned axiom, "As Taylor goes, so goes the Badgers." But it isn't about scoring: Its' all about executing.
UW missed six free throws, shooting just 68.4 percent to close out a year in which they shot over 80 percent from the line. Add those six free throws and it's a whole new contest.
UW committed eight turnovers in the first half, leading to 15 Butler points as the Bulldogs built a nine-point halftime lead. Keep in mind this is a Wisconsin team that averaged just 7.5 turnovers per game throughout the season. Take even a portion of those 15 points away and it's a ballgame.
Despite failing to execute, the Badgers still had a good shot to win if not for an abysmal shooting night. While the looks UW got were, for the most part, fairly good, they managed to shoot just over 30 percent from the field, hovering closer to the 20 percent mark for most of the second half before finishing the game with a 25-9 run.
If they shot the ball the way they are capable of, UW would probably be facing Florida on Saturday. Had played Wisconsin basketball, had they executed the basic fundamentals as they have all season, the Badgers very likely would have been able to overcome the lid being on the basket seemingly all night.
Thursday night, Butler beat Wisconsin. This doesn't mean the UW approach should be altered nor does it mean that the Wisconsin system is destined for games like this.
Thursday night, all that happened was that the Butler Bulldogs executed the fundamentals better than Wisconsin.
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