Five Takeaways from Wisconsin's 67-60 NCAA Tournament Victory over Colgate

MILWAUKEE – Chucky Hepburn learned early in his first season that sometimes it’s best to just give Johnny Davis the ball and get out of his way.

It’s a lesson that has served the true freshman guard well and a game plan that guaranteed another 40 minutes in the NCAA Tournament for the University of Wisconsin.

Having its hands full with upset-minded Colgate in the tournament's first round, the Badgers’ sophomore All-American scored a game-high 25 points, including his team’s final 14 points, to lift them to a 67-60 victory over the Raiders in front of a partisan crowd at Fiserv Forum.

"I love playing with him," said a gushing Hepburn. "That's one of the best players I've ever played with and I love this last journey with him."

But while Davis’s finish made him the start, it was his supporting cast that gave the Badgers a date with No.11-seed Iowa State Sunday with a berth in the Sweet 16 on the line.

Here are my five takeaways from courtside.

Asked in every media availability the status of his injured ankle leading into the tournament, it was evident that Davis wanted to put the issue to bed as quickly as possible. The sophomore’s start wasn’t helping matters. Davis was just 3-for-11 in the opening half, spending more time complaining about non-calls and forcing shots than he was actually generating offense.

Most of the second half wasn’t much better, as Davis only had three points through the first 14 minutes. But with the Badgers clinging to a one-point lead, Davis became the dominant force over the final six minutes.

Scoring on a three-point play off an offensive rebound seemed to ignite Davis. He fired up the crowd three possessions later when his uncontested dunk capped a 10-0 run to put the Badgers up six with 3:54 remaining.

The next four possessions were more of Davis. He delivered a driving layup, converted a pair of free throws, and, after an offensive foul, delivered a clutch three-pointer with 1:26 to put UW up 65-56 with 1:26 remaining.

Cold-Blooded Assassin.

“I would say he hates losing more than he likes winning,” head coach Greg Gard said of Davis. “I've always said he's very competitive and that's probably No. 1 on his skill set. He likes to compete, and he doesn't express his emotions too much. Hopefully, he does it with how he plays, and I thought he got going pretty good in the second half there and fortunately took good shots, got to the foul line, 3-point play was big off one of those offensive rebounds. He does what great players do, when the lights get bright, they step up.”

Gard joked that assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft was going to have a heart attack during one of the early media timeouts of the second half. Krabbenhoft had the scout for Colgate and watched the Raiders – who made only four 3-pointers in the first half – hit six of their first seven attempts from beyond the arc because the Badgers were playing too soft on the ball.

Over the final 10:30 seconds, Colgate went from being 8-for-11 from the field to 2-for-11 from the field as the Badgers pulled away.

Davis said it was a matter of UW no longer being “lazy” with its defense and fundamentals. Gard said it was more guys just not being aggressive enough in those situations. When UW picked up the intensity, it led to instant offense with eight fast-break points in the second half.

“Any time we can get our defense to turn into some offense, (Johnny is) really good in transition,” Gard said. “Chucky's good in transition, Tyler is, so if we can get that, especially with how good Colgate is in terms of squeezing the floor, if we can get some buckets before they get set, Johnny specifically is pretty dynamic in transition.”

Chucky Hepburn deserves a lot of credit, too. Playing in his first NCAA Tournament game, Hepburn had eight points, a career-high six rebounds (all in the first half), and five assists to no turnovers. More importantly, he shut down Colgate leading scorer Nelly Cummings in the second half. Admitting he let the senior get too comfortable early, allowing Cummings to score 14 of the Raiders’ 28 first-half points, Hepburn held the senior to just six points on 2-for-6 shooting in the second half.

“Cummings is a great player,” Hepburn said. “I love the way he plays. I let him get comfortable the first half and in the second half I told my team I was going to shut him down, so I did.”

Not only was Wisconsin the final game to tip off in the NCAA Tournament’s first round but the start of the game was pushed back over 50 minutes, making a capacity crowd eager to cheer for something. UW gave them some moments in the first 20 minutes but not nearly enough in what was an uneven offensive half of basketball

Wisconsin managed only two points on its first 10 possessions, digging a 9-2 deficit with multiple one-and-done possessions. UW eventually pieces together some rhythm, scoring eight points around the rim on four straight possessions, but the Badgers averaged just .933 points per possession in the second half.

The poor starts have been a frequent trend for the Badgers as the season wore down, trailing by 12 points in the first half in the loss to Nebraska and eight to Michigan State in the conference quarterfinals. UW was just fortunate Friday that Colgate shot worst than the Badgers did in the first half (34.3 percent) and went just 4-for-12 from 3-point range in a game that was tied at 28 at the break.

“I thought we were wound a little tight and it's normal,” Gard said. “You come into this environment, and they've watched games for -- it's hard sitting in the hotel room all day and play the last game. I thought shot selection wasn't where it needed to be in the first half.”

In the biggest stage of the season, Wisconsin’s best players in the opening half will be on the court for the Badgers next season.

Plagued by first-half issues the previous two games, Steven Crowl was solid for the Badgers defensively in the low post and led the starters with a plus-10 ratio. He had five rebounds (two offensive), one assist, one block and picked up only two fouls in the second half. Crowl was only 2-for-6 from the floor, but one of the shots he hit – a banked 3-pointer – gave UW the lead for good with 8:08 remaining.

“I could tell from where I was standing the trajectory of the ball, it wasn't going in,” Gard said. “I was like ‘nope, oh, good shot.’ I mean, bank shots, they all count the same. I'm sure he didn't try to bank it. It's something Steve can do and something he will continue to do and improve upon as he -- not bank them in. But to be able to stretch the defense that way in his size, it's a skill of his and something he's getting more and more comfortable with.”

Ben Carlson played one minute in last season’s two NCAA Tournament games, but the sophomore forward was a catalyst off the bench for UW’s offense. Not only did he grab three offensive rebounds, but Carlson also scored four points – more than he had scored in the previous eight games combined.

While he didn’t lead the team in scoring, Wahl pretty much did everything else with four points, five rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block in the first half and became the aggressor in the second half. Admitting the plan was to get him more involved in the low block in the second half, Wahl scored nine of UW’s first 11 points by being active in the low block. He finished with 15 points, pulled down 9 rebounds and added 4 assists and 2 steals.

“We kept trying to play through him as much as we could just because of his versatility at passing and the pressure it puts on the defense,” Gard said of Wahl. “He's got a nose for the ball and he's hungry. He understands how important resetting those possessions when he does get those offensive rebounds are.”

Unless UW grabs somebody from the transfer portal, Wahl will be the only senior on Wisconsin’s roster next fall and be looked at as the leader of the bunch. He showed that his play is capable of leading by that example.

Wisconsin committed only five turnovers in the game, lowering their nation-leading average to just 8.3 turnovers per game. It was the fewest turnovers for the Badgers in an NCAA Tournament game since the 2015 national championship game.

The Badgers were only whistled for one foul in the first half – coming with 2:59 remaining – and held Colgate to only seven free throws (six makes)

Wisconsin had a sizeable edge in points of turnovers (15-3), points in the paint (34-24), and fast-break points (13-0), things that added up down the stretch.

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