MINNEAPOLIS - If there was any doubt of Steven Crowl’s mindset going into Wisconsin’s Big Ten Tournament second-round contest, the opening possession showed the junior center was coming out swinging.
Rolling to the rim after setting a high screen, Crowl threw his body into Maryland forward Julian Reese, put inside in prime rebounding position against forward Donta Scott, and easily cleaned up a miss at the rim. Game on.
After a humbling outing at No.3 Purdue Sunday, scoring no points on two shots before fouling out, Crowl scored 17 points on eight shots before putting his feet up down the stretch as his teammates put the finishing touches on an 87-56 victory over Maryland at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
“I'll thank the coaches for that,” Crowl said. “They've been on me all season about being aggressive. That's on me, just trying to be more aggressive. My mindset was just to go out there and try to get them up.”
Crowl’s aggressiveness wasn’t a flash in the pan either, but an effort he maintained throughout the first half that saw Wisconsin (20-12) shoot 64.3 percent from the floor and make 10 three-pointers, leading to a robust 1.621 points per possession.
With UW leading 21-13 and Crowl being guarded with the ball one-on-one outside the low block, he motioned for guard John Blackwell to clear out, taking his defender and potential double team away from him. Crowl took two dribbles toward the paint, pivoted, spun back toward the rim, and converted the uncontested layup.
He hit layups rolling toward the rim off screens, didn’t shy away from draining a mid-range jumper at the end of the first half, and was 3-for-3 from the perimeter. It was his most made threes in a game since December 5 at Michigan State and part of UW’s barrage of a season-high 16 made threes, two of which he assisted on.
“I think we're better when I'm aggressive,” Crowl said. “That's a courtesy of my teammates also getting me the ball down low when I need it and kicking it out for threes. I thought we did a good job of sharing the rock all around and knocking down those open shots.”
A native of nearby Eagan, Crowl has delivered some of his best games in Minneapolis. As a sophomore, he set a career-high in conference play with 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting and seven rebounds in a 68-67 victory at Minnesota pivotal to UW winning a share of the regular season conference title.
A year later, he was one better with 21 points (9-for-13) and another seven rebounds in a four-point win over the Gophers.
In his four career starts at Minnesota, Crowl has averaged 16.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, all wins.
“I thought it was a lot of fun, not only for me but the other Minnesota guys – Tyler (Wahl), Jack (Janicki), Nolan (Winter) -- just being able to play in front of our friends and family and get a win,” Crowl said. “I enjoy playing here. We tend to have a lot of success in Minnesota.”
Thursday’s performance was more than an offensive explosion for Wisconsin. The team that has been inconsistent defensively, the Badgers held Maryland to .889 points per possession, 24 points in the paint and made honorable mention all-conference selection Julian Reese (10 points on eight shots, three turnovers) a non-factor.
Crowl could have another favorable matchup this afternoon considering Northwestern (21-10) is without starting center Matt Nicholson due to a foot injury. While averaging a modest 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, Nicholson’s absence shrinks Northwestern’s frontcourt size, leaving them with only one player over 6-7 and none over 6-10.
It’s a matchup that Crowl has succeeded in previously, one that could extend Wisconsin’s stay in the Twin Cities into the weekend.
“I've seen a trend of us, just how we've practiced, how we've approached things, that were escalating towards where we want to be,” head coach Greg Gard said. “You're going to go through those flows during the season, and the key is if you hit a little dip, just keep working your way out of it.
“I kept telling them all the time when we were going through this, we're a really good team. We're a really good team, and we'll fight our way out of it. I'm glad to see that they're getting rewarded for their perseverance and their persistence.”
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