STAT PACK: No.8 Wisconsin Knocks Off Northwestern, Moves into First Place
EVANSTON, Ill. – University of Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard has coined the phrase that there are no “get-well games” in the Big Ten. With the way his squad has performed over the last three weeks, there are plenty of things for the eighth-ranked team to feel good about.
Put through the grinder yet again, Wisconsin survived with an 82-76 victory in front of a Welsh-Ryan Arena crowd that was heavily split between deep purple and cardinal red.
Sophomore guard Johnny Davis returned to form with 27 points and eight rebounds for the Badgers (15-2, 6-1 Big Ten), who pushed their winning streak to seven and now sit tied with No.17 Illinois at the top of the conference standings as the season.
We take a closer look at the game in the BadgerBlitz Stat Pack.
- In addition to Davis, all five starters reached double figures: Chucky Hepburn and Tyler Wahl (14), Brad Davison (13), and Steven Crowl (10). UW’s only bench points came from Chris Vogt (4).
- UW shot 51.9 percent from the field, including 54.2 percent in the second half. The Badgers went 9-for-17 from 3-point range.
-The Badgers finished with 11 turnovers, the most since committing that number against Marquette on December 4
- Wisconsin finished 17-for-26 from the free-throw line. Northwestern – averaging just 11.7 makes per game – went only 3-for-8.
- Northwestern got 23 points from Chase Audige and 19 from Boo Buie, as the Wildcats dropped their seventh game of the season by eight points or less.
- Wisconsin outrebounded Northwestern, 36-35, but was outscored 36-32 in the paint and 12-11 on second-chance points.
- Wisconsin started 3-for-7 over the first six minutes and trailed 11-9, although the Badgers scored all six of their points in the paint.
- Davis didn’t hit his first field goal (a 3-pointer) until the 11:21 mark of the first half, ending a team dry spell of 4 minutes, 24 seconds, and five missed shots. Once the lid was off, UW scored on four of its next five possessions to take a 20-18 lead.
- Ball movement paid off for Wisconsin to build a 30-24 lead with 3:53 left in the first half. UW’s 8-2 run included 3-pointers that were the result of low-post kickouts and a layup by Vogt off a fed from Davison.
- Three-point shots were the difference over the final 1:48 for Wisconsin. Davison hit a pair from the perimeter and Hepburn drilled one from halfcourt to beat the buzzer, giving UW a 41-35 lead at halftime.
- UW was 6-for-8 from the perimeter in the first half, having an assist attached to the first five makes. Northwestern was 3-for-11 from 3-point range.
- After scoring 18 points in the lane in the first half, UW came out in low-post attack mode after halftime. It paid off with UW going 4-for-7 from the field and 4-for-6 from the line, scoring 13 points on its first eight possessions. Better yet, UW drew four fouls in the first 2:20 of the half.
- Northwestern made a pair of pushes to cut into a nine-point lead, but the Badgers starters had answers. Hepburn hit a turnaround fadeaway jumper on the baseline and Wahl – off a feed from Davis – buried an elbow 3-pointer to counter Wildcats buckets.
- Wahl’s low-post bucket (the 14th for UW) put the Badgers up seven with 11:15 to go, but the offense didn’t make another field goal for 5:19. But a combination of UW going 6-for-6 from the line over that stretch and its defense holding NU to six points on the 10 possessions between buckets, the Badgers managed to build their lead to nine (71-62) with 5:54 left.
- NU tried to make a final push, twice cutting the lead to five, only to have Davis answer both times with a jumper of his own. The second make had a touch of luck He tried to draw a foul on a 3-point attempt but didn’t get the call. It worked out anyway, as Davis’s off-balanced shot banked off the glass to put UW up, 76-68, with 2:15 to go.
- Consecutive NU 3-pointers cut the lead to four with 41.1 seconds left, and UW was uncharacteristically in scramble mode. Davison barely battled out of a double team to call timeout, only to get stripped on the inbound pass and get bailed out with the jump-ball arrow. Davis missed two free throws with 28 seconds left, but UW’s defense held on the next possession. Wahl went 1-for-2 from the line to ice the game with 14 seconds left.
- Wisconsin returns home for a matchup with No.14 Michigan State Friday. Tipoff from the Kohl Center is at 8 p.m. and will be televised on FS1.
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