Notes: Wisconsin Feels Momentum Is Building in Its Favor

MADISON, Wis. - A year ago, the University of Wisconsin was the hottest team in the country, in the middle of an eight-game winning streak that would lead them to an improbable share of the Big Ten championship. And with mostly that same group of players who have played .500 basketball since the middle of January, the Badgers know they are running out of time to get things clicking four days before March.

Perhaps that was the jumping off point for the players to huddle together leading into Sunday’s game at Northwestern to hash some things out.

“We knew we were in a place with our backs against the wall,” senior guard D’Mitrik Trice said Wednesday. “We knew we needed to talk amongst each other and really focus in on what we need to do to turn the season around late. We have a lot of chances here late with really good teams and some quality wins to end the regular season, but also have some momentum going into the Big Ten Tourny and hopefully a 1-thru-4 seed in the Big Ten tournament.”

Whatever was said certainly helped. The Badgers’ 68-51 victory over the Wildcats was UW’s biggest win since their 18-point victory over Minnesota on New Year’s Eve. UW (16-9, 10-7 Big Ten) still didn’t shoot great at 41.1 percent but put five players in double figures for the first time this season in conference play.

The Wildcats aren’t in the same class as the top-tier teams Wisconsin has been struggling with recently in conference play (a losing streak now at 13), but Northwestern had played close games against Illinois, Indiana and Purdue before faltering late. Not willing to come up short in another second half, UW maintained a three-possession lead and built it as big as 19 points in the second half.

“Especially with a big group of seniors, we want to go out the right way,” senior Brad Davison said. “We want to make sure everyone is on the same page and kick it into gear at the right time. We always talk about playing our best ball in March, and that’s what our goal was.”

The momentum created by beating Northwestern will be put to the test Saturday in the home finale against No.5 Illinois, which will enter the weekend playing its fourth game in seven days. While Wisconsin’s hope at a share of the regular season Big Ten title are gone, the Badgers are still playing for seeding in both the Big Ten and NCAA tournament.

The Badgers currently sit in seventh place in the league, a half game behind Purdue (15-8, 10-6) and 1.5 games behind Iowa (17-6, 11-5). UW plays both teams on the road next week and the Hawkeyes have road games this week against first-place Michigan and third-place Ohio State

“As players, we feel the momentum shifting in the right direction,” Trice said. “We’re going to go on a roll here soon, and I think this is the game to do it. It’s got to be now if we’re going to make any kind of push into the Big Ten tournament.”

Any hope for Wisconsin to make its run will depend on the Badgers ability to slow point guard Ayo Dosumnu and forward Kofi Cockburn, a duo that was largely responsible for Illinois’ 75-60 victory in the first meeting on Feb.6. The pair combined for 44 points, Cockburn had eight dunks and hit 10 of 13 shots overall and Dosunmu had a triple-double with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists. Five of Dosunmu’s assists were on Cockburn's dunks.

The talent of the pair on ball screens makes it a challenge to neutralize both players. If a defender exposes the paint too soon, Cockburn is open as he rolls to the basket. If the defender leaves too late, Dosunmu is talented enough to find a backside shooter or make the shot himself.

“Defensively you have to be connected and have all five pieces working together,” head coach Greg Gard said of the first matchup. “It wasn’t one specific thing all the time. It varied from whether it was the ball handler, whether it was the screeners/defender involved, whether it was the backside defending the rim (or) loading the paint. Sometimes it was a combination.”

Wisconsin has dealt with similar struggles since, failing to control the glass against Michigan and center Hunter Dickinson and the versatility of Iowa’s Luka Garza. The Badgers – who still lead the Big Ten in scoring defense at 62.7 points per game – were better against Northwestern, holding the Wildcats to 40 percent shooting each half.

Most important, UW made Northwestern uncomfortable and forced 14 turnovers, leading to 21 UW points. Illinois committed 18 turnovers against UW last month but never looked remotely out of rhythm with its ability to pick apart the Badgers' defensive shortcomings.

“We didn’t do a great job of making them uncomfortable, and they got a little too comfortable throughout the whole entire game,” Trice said. “Taking those two out of the game will definitely be something in the back of our mind, but we know we have to play team defense and bring it for a full 40 minutes.”

Guard Trevor Anderson (upper-body injury) did non-contact work Wednesday and is considered day-to-day. The senior has missed the last two games, causing UW’s rotation to shrink to primarily seven players.

One player who is unlikely to play the rest of the season is freshman Ben Carlson. The four-star forward figured to be part of UW’s rotation after playing a total of 59 minutes in Wisconsin’s first four games (he scored 13 points in the season opener), but Carlson has played only four minutes since and none since December 15 due to a lower-body injury.

"Ben hasn’t done any contact stuff yet,” Gard said. “He’s been doing a little bit more in terms of running and some of those things and some light drill work but no contact stuff yet, so it really moves day to day with him. There’s been progression but not to the point where he’s returned to a full practice. He hasn’t been in a full practice since mid-December, but he’s doing a little more day by day.”