Badgers stifle Buckeyes’ comeback attempt to snap losing streak

MADISON — Desperately needing a win to snap a four-game skid that has all but dashed Wisconsin’s dreams of a regular season Big Ten title, the Badgers managed to take a 34-21 lead into the locker room at halftime.

But in the second half, the Buckeyes struck back. With just over 15 minutes to play in the second period, Ohio State had cut what was once a 17-point lead to five. With another winnable game in danger of slipping away, the players, not the coaches, took charge.

“One timeout, I couldn’t get a word in. Which is great. I popped out of the huddle, and Curt grabbed me and goes, ‘That was good. They did all the talking,’” head coach Greg Gard said.

The Buckeyes came out in the second half down double digits and promptly got whatever they wanted on offense. They started 9-for-13 from the field, and at one point scored on 10 straight possessions.

At that point, the nervous energy in the Kohl Center was palpable. Not-too-distant memories of Nebraska erasing a similar deficit in Lincoln began to surface. Would Wisconsin once again come up maddeningly short after looking like an elite team in the first half?

“The start of both halves has been an issue for us this year,” center Steven Crowl acknowledged. “That was a big emphasis for us tonight.”

Consider the Badgers one-for-two in that category Tuesday night. They started the first half firmly in control. The second half, however, was a different story, an all-too-familiar one. Ohio State grabbed all of the momentum and instilled a distinct unease in the home arena.

“I thought it showed really good resiliency on our guys’ part,” Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said. “For us to get it back to a game that was manageable, five points, six points, was really a credit to our guys.”

Leading the charge for the Buckeyes amidst their second half resurgence was point guard Bruce Thornton. Ohio State leaned on its leading scorer and likely its most talented player, and for good reason.

Thornton easily took the most shots for the Buckeyes (19) and played the most minutes (35). The guard finished with 18 points, four rebounds and five assists. Ohio State frequently ran a ball screen action, sometimes utilizing a double screen, to help Thornton get to his spot from the midrange.

“Bruce is a really good point guard,” Chucky Hepburn, who had the pleasure of being matched up with him all night, said. “He knows how to get to his spot, he knows how to keep you pinned on his back.”

The dueling point guards went back and forth all night. But while Thornton looked to score first and foremost, Hepburn was focused on locking down his counterpart.

“It’s just kinda fighting over ball screens. I think we did a really good job; I was able to kind of frustrate him tonight. He’s still a really good point guard. I told him that too; he’s a really good point guard and he has a bright future ahead of him,” Hepburn said.

Thornton has an innate ability to score at will, but Hepburn has a similar penchant for pestering opposing ball-handlers. He’s an absolute nuisance defensively, and while Thornton tallied 18 points, this round went to Hepburn, at least in both coaches’ eyes.

“He’s really active defensively. I thought he really ball-hawked Bruce, made it difficult for him throughout the game,” Holtmann said.

“(Hepburn) did a terrific job of really working him. You really have to work to take 19 shots to get 18 points,” Gard added.

Thornton began to catch fire in the second half, but Hepburn managed to limit the damage he caused. That was a big reason why Wisconsin managed to get back on track after letting its lead wither to five points. After their run of scoring on 10 straight possessions, the Buckeyes were shut out on their ensuing nine.

“The disappointing thing was not getting the necessary scores,” Holtmann said. “We got enough stops, we just weren’t able to get the scores we needed to during that stretch.”

On the brink of seeing its season spiral out of control, Wisconsin weathered the storm in the second half and emerged with a much-needed victory. The mistakes that engineered the four-game slide — namely unforced errors — were still prevalent. But this time? The Badgers were able to emerge victorious. Teams that plan on making deep tournament runs, in their conference and otherwise, need to be able to win games in which they don’t play their best basketball. Tuesday night was a firm step in the right direction.