Wisconsin Feels Better Equipped to Handle Physical Play

MADISON, Wis. – The third week of February represents a crucial “gut-check” moment for the University of Wisconsin.

Cobbling together two consecutive wins for the first time in over a month, the Badgers open a two game homestand Tuesday night sitting in a tie for sixth place in the conference, three games out of first place and a half game out of a double bye in next month’s Big Ten Tournament with six games to go.

In order to continue climbing the ladder, the Badgers must be tough as nails in a rematch of two ugly road losses.

“It’s a test, really, to see where we are from where we played them the first time,” junior Aleem Ford said. “We’ll see if we fixed the things we didn’t do at their place and see how far we’ve come. I feel like we’ve improved a lot since those games and we’re going to find out this next week.”

How tough the Badgers are will likely determine the outcomes against Purdue first and Rutgers Sunday. In what could be labeled as two humbling moments, both opponents were more physical and aggressive when they beat the Badgers on their home floor earlier this season

The Scarlet Knights – with a lineup of three 6-6 players or taller – crushed Wisconsin on the glass, 40-26, that included a 14-3 edge in offensive rebounds. That disparity led to Rutgers finishing plus-18 in second-chance points and plus-14 in points in the paint in its 72-65 victory Dec.11.

It served as the worst rebounding performance of the season until Wisconsin went to West Lafayette, Ind. The Boilermakers had as many offensive rebounds (16) as UW had total rebounds, rebounding 48.5 percent of their misses, and finished plus-26 on the glass in their 70-51 win Jan.24.

“Any time a team gets second-chance opportunities, or second looks at the basket as frequent as they did, they are going to be confident,” assistant coach Alando Tucker said of the 19-point loss, UW’s worst of the season. “We can’t get outworked. Our foundation is predicated on not getting out worked, letting people beat us to 50-50 balls.

“When we get outplayed, I think there was a little bit of embarrassment. It was a slap in the face.”

While they could argue being shorthanded against Rutgers without Micah Potter, the Badgers’ full complement of players were no match for forward Evan Bourdeaux (13 rebounds, 7 offensive). Purdue scored seven of its first 15 points off offensive rebounds, led by 18 at the break and finished with 19 second-chance points, 17 more than the Badgers.

“There was a four, five-minute flurry where they were more aggressive than we were, more physical than we were,” head coach Greg Gard said. “When you play hard, good things happen. Forty-two to 16 (rebound advantage for Purdue) has been talked about quite a bit the past few days. We’ll have to be better. Hopefully we are and hopefully we have improved.”

Since that bullying, the Badgers have been the aggressors. Wisconsin’s undersized roster has closed the gap in the rebounding battles (a combined minus-9 on the boards in the last five games), held its last five opponents under 42 percent shooting and three of its last four opponents to 64 points or less.

The Badgers have also seen marked improvement by a couple of their forwards. Ford had 29 rebounds in his first 12 Big Ten games but has set new career highs in his last two games with nine against Ohio State and 10 against the Huskers. As a byproduct of being in attack mode, Ford’s offense has started to take off with three double-digit scoring efforts in the last four games.

“The biggest thing is the aggressive mindset,” Gard said of Ford. “He’s one we’ve always tried to push in that direction and motivate in that direction. When he’s at his best, he’s more aggressive. That’s everybody, but he probably more than anybody needs to play in that mindset with that type of motor.”

Potter, who had 11 points and two rebounds in 14 minutes in the first meeting against Purdue, has scored at least nine points in the last three games. Improving with Wisconsin’s defensive principles, Potter has seen his role increase. When Nate Reuvers picked up two quick fouls Saturday, Gard rolled with Potter, who rewarded him by scoring 11 points in 12 minutes to help UW keep pace.

Finishing with 15 points (6-for-8 shooting) and seven rebounds, Potter is averaging 11.7 points and 9 rebounds the past three games.

“He’s been huge, just having his presence out there is huge,” Ford said. “He’s a big body, he’s a vocal leader, he fits in well with us. He’s playing his role almost as perfect as can be right now. He’s giving us that spark, whether he’s starting or coming off the bench.”

Purdue head coach Matt Painter continues to tinker with his lineup to find the magic formula, especially away from Mackey Arena. Purdue (14-12, 7-8) is 3-7 away from home this season and are coming off a 68-52 loss at Ohio State Saturday.

With the Boilers needing wins to solidify their tournament profile and having a rebound margin 3.9 boards higher than the Badgers, Wisconsin knows it’ll be in for a slugfest.

“The month of February always makes or breaks a team because there are a lot of desperate teams now,” Tucker said. “We’re in that boat. We have to win. As an athlete and as a competitor, you always have to play like your back is against the wall, specifically in these situations. We can’t get outworked. We can’t get out-hustled.”