Notes: Free throw woes, playing time

MADISON - Bo Ryan chalked it up to timing and the frank reality that every shot doesn't go through the net.

Senior guard Jordan Taylor chalked it up to a lack of focus.

Whatever you want to call it and whatever excuse or explanation you can muster won't be enough to sugarcoat the fact Wisconsin shot it's all-time worst from the charity stripe inside the Kohl Center during Wednesday's 68-41 win over Colgate.

Junior forward Ryan Evans made just 1-of-4 attempts.

Josh Gasser and Taylor went a combined 0-for-3 from the line. Evan Anderson and Frank Kaminsky, two UW bigs, also combined to miss all three of their attempts.

Ben Brust, maybe UW's sharpest shooter, made just 1-of-2 attempts from the charity stripe.

Only senior guard Rob Wilson, who shot 2-of-2 from the line, saved the Badgers from an even worse fate than their 4-of-14 shooting from the stripe indicates.

"It has to do with a lack of focus," Taylor said. "We came out sort of sluggish in the second half. When you come out and get a lead like we did some guys have a tendency to relax.

"As a team we got too complacent and let our guard down."

The second half was putrid for Wisconsin. In a frame where the offense sputtered and struggled to score 26 points against the same Colgate team that allowed UW to score 42 in the opening half, nothing was helped by way of the free throw line.

Wisconsin made just two of its 10 attempts during the final 20 minutes.

"We didn't shoot them very well," Ryan said. "We have to be better at the line. They know it. They're as disappointed as anybody. There are five or six in there that we didn't get to take because we missed the front ends of one-and-ones."

Wednesday's 28.6 percent effort from the line marks the worst tally in Kohl Center history for a game with at least 10 free throw attempts. That performance overtook the Badgers 33.3 percent tally against Northern Illinois in 1998.

"That number is kind," Ryan said. "The poor rim. I felt sorry for the rim."

Jarrod Uthoff still undecided:

Freshman guard George Marshall announced his intent to redshirt prior to UW's win over Colgate. Fellow freshman Jarrod Uthoff, who didn't play or dress during Wednesday's game, may soon follow suit.

According to Ryan, though, the decision is still up in the air for the four-star former Mr. Iowa.

"He's going to keep practicing," Ryan said. "So we'll see what happens tomorrow and Friday and go from there. But tonight I won't be wondering if those guys are going to redshirt or not. I'm not going to be doing that because it's their option.

"I've stayed true to that word ever since I've gotten into coaching."

General notes:

-Freshman Traevon Jackson logged eight minutes in Wednesday's win. He made his only shot, a 3-pointer late in the second half, and finished with three points.

-Freshman Frank Kaminsky was the first big off the bench to substitute for Jared Berggren. He played 10 minutes, scored four points, collected three rebounds, logged an assists and recorded a steal.

-Sophomore forward Duje Dukan only played two minutes. He collected one rebound.

-Redshirt freshman Evan Anderson played the final four minutes of Wednesday's game. He collected two fouls and missed two free throws.

-Brust logged 28 minutes of game action, nine more than fellow sophomore Josh Gasser.

Quotable:

Colgate head coach Matt Langel on Wisconsin's program:

"Wisconsin's program, what coach Ryan stands for, what his players do year-in and year-out on and off the floor is really a model for college basketball in my mind. Certainly if we could ever get our basketball program to be the Wisconsin of the Patriot League - - we're not going to ever run the swing offense, although it's a terrific system - - but if the toughness and togetherness and trust in the coaches and each other, if we could ever get to that point in our level I'll feel really good about our program and where we're at."