Quick Hits: No.15 Wisconsin Surges in Second Half to Beat Western Michigan
MADISON, Wis. – The rust is off, and the University of Wisconsin appears ready to resume Big Ten play.
Shaking off a 15-day layoff, No.15 Wisconsin jumped out to an early lead and pulled away early in the second half for a 76-66 victory over Western Michigan at the Kohl Center.
Junior Steven Crowl finished with a career-high 25 points, going 8-for-10 in the second half to help Wisconsin (10-2) turn a two-point halftime lead into a comfortable double-digit cushion for the final 16 minutes.
Wisconsin shot well at the start on a 7-for-11 clip, but the Badgers made only three of their final 14 shots over the final 13:11 of the first half. UW’s defense forced six turnovers and was only whistled for three team fouls, but the Broncos went 7-for-19 from three-point range to trail 29-27 at the break.
But a day after Western Michigan’s directional neighbor Central Michigan knocked off Michigan as a 20-point underdog, the Badgers ended any doubt of an upset by starting the second half on a surge.
Starting with Crowl’s three-pointer off a feed from Chucky Hepburn, Wisconsin executed a 19-7 run that was a combination of ball movement, post penetration, and mid-range jumpers. After Crowl’s three, he, Jordan Davis, and Tyler Wahl converted UW’s next shots to open its biggest lead at 14.
Hepburn (11), Wahl (10), Davis (9), and guard Max Klesmit (7) all provided pop from the starting lineup, as UW shot 62.1 percent in the second half.
The Broncos (4-9) got 16 points from Tray Maddox Jr. but fell to 1-9 against Division-1 competition this season.
What it means: While the Big Ten saw Iowa and Michigan lose to underdog opponents this week (Nebraska and Central Michigan, respectively), the Badgers took care of business in their first game since December 15 by sharing the ball (16 assists), limiting turnovers (four) and limiting fouls (10).
Star of the game: Crowl caught fire to begin the second half by hitting his first five shots, allowing Wisconsin to develop some breathing room after leading by just two at halftime. In addition to his season high in points, Crowl led UW with eight rebounds.
Stat of the game: The last time Western Michigan beat a ranked opponent was a 2007 November home victory over No.25 Davidson. To put that in perspective, Stephen Curry was a sophomore and scored 25 points in the loss.
Reason to be Concerned: UW went 8-for-13 on free throws and allowed Western Michigan to go 14-for-29 from three-point range, two areas that need to be improved upon entering conference play.
Don’t overlook: With Big Ten play about to resume, head coach Greg Gard looks like he has settled in on an eight-man rotation with junior Carter Gilmore, sophomore Kamari McGee, and freshman Connor Essegian being every-game contributors.
What’s next: Wisconsin resumes Big Ten play when it hosts Minnesota Tuesday (8 p.m./BTN). The Gophers (6-6, 0-2) haven’t played since Dec.22 after their Dec.29 game was canceled. Dawson Garcia leads Minnesota in scoring (14.3) and rebounding (5.6) but have three freshmen averaging over 19 minutes per game. The Badgers will close conference play with a road trip to Minneapolis in March.
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