Wisconsin has a small margin for error in order to win games
MADISON - During a three-week stretch from Jan. 7 to Jan. 28 that saw Wisconsin lose six of seven contests to fall from 11-2 to 12-8, the group had to work its way through every issue imaginable. Whether that was playing games down a starter with a roster that lacks depth, incomplete outings on the defensive end or the persistent struggles to score that have shown up during conference play.
In the lone win, it wasn't a perfect outing by any stretch against Ohio State. Familiar offensive droughts and an inability to convert at the free throw line also showed up against Northwestern on Sunday. And yet, the team felt like it played well enough to come out on top.
With just eight regular season games left to play and March basketball on the horizon, these losses sting that much more for a team that is projected to be on the outside looking in on Selection Sunday.
"I felt like we played well enough to win," assistant coach Dean Oliver said. "They probably made fewer mistakes than us, but not by much and that’s why it hurts. You feel like you played well enough to win and you don’t get that win. It stings a lot.
"All losses do but it really felt like overall we played well enough to win, especially defensively. When you hold them under a point per possession, you feel like you should win the game."
Part of head coach Greg Gard's assessment of the loss Sunday night to the Wildcats included a question of what may have happened if they turned it over just six times instead of nine in a low possession, grind-it-out kind of game.
While the three extra possessions certainly could have helped in a two-point loss, only one live ball turnover directly led to points. In all, Northwestern scored just eight points off the nine turnovers and, remarkably, Wisconsin managed to force stops on four of the ensuing possessions.
Overall against Northwestern, the Badgers consistently got better looks out of double teams in the post. Reserves Kamari McGee and Carter Gilmore also filled their roles and the team did a better job containing Boo Buie (13 points) and Chase Audige (11 points) the second time around against the Wildcats.
"That was one of those losses where you actually did make some progress in a lot of areas and you can’t lose sight of that," Oliver said. "They tried to take us out of our game with the double team, but every time they did it I thought we really executed and got great shots and really performed well. Didn’t turn it over in those instances. Drew some fouls.
"Defensively I thought we really handled their actions better than in the previous game against them. A lot of those pin-down, dribble handoffs we struggled with the first time and did a lot better job with this game. So there were some improvements throughout the whole game that you’d like to get a win when those things happen. But unfortunately we didn’t come up down the stretch and made too many other mistakes that didn’t make up for that."
While Steven Crowl and Tyler Wahl escaped or attacked the double well, the bigs are far too important to the team to contribute just 10 points and put up five shots each. A 5-for-11 night from the free throw line likely proved to be the difference as well.
"It’s so small, definitely," assistant coach Sharif Chambliss said of the team's margin for error. "Our margin of error is very slim, so if we have to keep getting better at the little things - keep the ball in front, take the right shots, not turning the ball over, rebounding - we’re right there on the cusp."
Through the struggles, the grind of the Big Ten schedule wasn't particular kind to UW. During the three-week skid, four of the six contests were on the road and the gauntlet included contests against Indiana, Illinois, Michigan State and Maryland.
This week represents as good an opportunity as any with games against Penn State - which UW is tied with in 10th place with a 5-7 record - and Nebraska, which sits in 12th place with a 4-9 record in conference play. Unfortunately, each game come on the road with Wisconsin playing both in a four-day stretch.
"There’s no get-right game but I’ll tell you what, these guys came here for that reason," Oliver said. "That’s why they came here. That’s why they were recruited here. They didn’t want it easy. When it gets really hard, which it is when you pile up a few losses, you got to want it to be tough and I think we have some guys where despite the struggles, they don’t want an easy game.
"They don’t want to go schedule some non-conference game or make up game just to get right. You got to embrace the struggle and that’s what our message is to them is to learn from this and get better."
_________________________________________________
*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den
*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel
*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)
*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45, @pete_brey12, @seamus_rohrer
*Like us on Facebook