Five Takeaways from No.23 Wisconsin's 70-69 Win at Maryland

Life in the Big Ten hasn’t been easy for the University of Wisconsin … but it’s been pretty darn successful in 2022.

Playing its third game, second on the road, in seven days, the Badgers squandered an early 21-point lead but made enough critical plays and avoided some devasting ones to escape with a 70-69 victory over Maryland at the Xfinity Center Sunday night.

“Credit to our to guys to continue to find the grit and resolve to make things happen when things weren’t going well,” head coach Greg Gard said. “Fortunately, we were able to make enough plays and hit enough shots down the stretch to hang on.”

Close games are becoming the norm for No.23 Wisconsin (13-3, 4-1 Big Ten), which has now won five in a row and won them by an average of 4.4 points. Of UW’s 13 wins, eight have come by six points or less as the Badgers are now 8-1 in two possessions games. They aren’t always pretty, but they are invaluable confidence builders.

Here are my five takeaways from the victory.

Having seen Johnny Davis just tear up opposing defenses with consistency this season, it would appear unnerving for the Badgers to see the star sophomore locked down. While he did finish with 19 points, Davis needed 19 shots to get there and commit a trio of turnovers.

Needing someone to step up with Davis being hounded by Maryland, junior Tyler Wahl was the one to rally the troops with a career-high 21 points to go along with five rebounds, two assists, one block, and no turnovers.

Wahl scored 10 of his points in the final 11:13, including one when he delivered a dunk off an inbound pass on a hard cut to the basket. The only reason UW had the ball out of bounds was Wahl knocked a loose ball off Fatts Russell’s foot like he was playing croquet. That run was paint points on nine of 10 possessions for Wisconsin to reestablish control.

“Brad and Johnny were struggling a little bit, and Chucky (Hepburn) was struggling,” Gard said. ‘We were having a hard time getting the ball to go in … That was big for him to find gaps, be able to drive it, and finish plays.”

For a team looking to take some pressure off their star, Wahl has submitted his application for the role, scoring in double figures in back-to-back games and four of the last five.

Brad Davison was just 3-for-10 from the field and 1-for-7 from 3-point range but the senior was making things count by going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final 30 seconds, critical considering the first free throw was the front end of the bonus.

An 87.5 percent free-throw shooter entering the night, the Badgers had to feel good with him at the line nursing a one-point lead with 3.9 seconds left. That backfired when he missed his first free throw in Big Ten play this season. UW called timeout and, with Maryland out of timeouts, instructed Davison to intentionally miss the second one. He succeeded.

In a situation Wisconsin does practice, the ball went to Eric Ayala (who had all 19 of his points in the second half). Davison forced him toward the sideline and Hepburn cut him off at midcourt, forcing a half-court heave that did not threaten UW’s winning streak.

“It’s experience and mental toughness, not afraid in the moment,” Gard said of Davison. “If it’s ever in doubt, he wants the ball in his hands.”

Playing on the road in an environment that usually comes off as hostile, Wisconsin quieted a frustrated fan base with an opening 10 minutes that was dominant on both ends. UW led 7-0, 20-6, and went into the under-8 timeout leading 29-10. On the offensive end, the Badgers were shooting 64.7 percent (11-for-17) from the floor and 4-for-7 from 3-point range. UW built that edge without the benefit of an offensive rebound and Tyler Wahl leading the team in scoring (nine points).

On defense, Maryland started 2-for-5, missed nine of its next 10 shots, and was 5-for-19 overall. Not only did the Terrapins not make a 3-point shot, the hosts had zero assists, six turnovers, and eight fouls.

The problem was the Badgers didn’t sustain it. Trailing 29-8, the Terrapins went on a 15-0 run over the next 4:52 to cut the lead to six entering the final media timeout. Scott scored eight points on the run, including a four-point play that injected some life into the crowd. UW attempted just five field goals during the dry spell that included two turnovers.

UW started 1-for-7 in the second half which included four missed 3-pointers (the only make was a driving layup). When Ayala hit a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions, the Terrapins were on a 28-6 run to take their first lead with 15:27 remaining.

Gard said as much after the game, but the Badgers went away from converting at the rim, where they were unofficially 14-for-17 on layups and dunks.

“The post had been so good to us in a variety of ways, and we got out of that,” Gard said. “They realized it but once you get out of it, it’s hard to get back into it.”

Wisconsin has shot under 30 percent from 3-point range in six of the last seven games. Even against Indiana, when UW successfully erased a 22-point deficit, the Badgers were 5-for-23 from the perimeter. UW is winning games when its guards attack the low post or feed the ball into its forwards.

One of those forwards who is starting to get his feet underneath him is sophomore Steven Crowl, who delivered one of the best weeks of his career. After taking his shots against 7-foot-4 Purdue center Zach Edey (literally) on Monday and going 6-for-8 shooting with three assists and no turnovers Thursday, Crowl finished with nine points and a team-high eight rebounds against Maryland.

He made two big plays in the final four minutes. The first was setting aside his 28.6 3-point shooting percentage to hit a 3-pointer with 4:03 remaining, putting the Badgers up for good. The second was arguably one of the biggest defensive stands of the night when he stood tall outside the restricted circle and forced Ayala to attempt a low-percentage shot with 1:15 remaining and UW leading 64-61.

Sitting either unranked or in the low 20s this season in the AP Poll, the Badgers are likely due to get a nice boost after knocking off No.3 Purdue in Mackey Arena Monday and besting Iowa Thursday. But now that the Badgers avoided a letdown against a winless Big Ten team, Wisconsin could soar when the poll is released Monday afternoon.

Not only did UW finish a 3-0 week but seven of the 10 teams directly ahead of UW (No.20 Colorado State, No.18 Tennessee, No.16 Kentucky, No.16 Providence, No.15 Alabama, No.14 Alabama, and No.13 Ohio State) all lost a game this week and none registered a statement win like UW did last Monday.

Gard and UW won’t care, and they would probably prefer to stay under the radar, but there’s no denying that Wisconsin is playing like one of the top teams in the country right now. Bet you didn’t think you’d say that about UW hoops this season.

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