Wisconsin Looking for Redemption against Michigan
MADISON, Wis. – Dealing with utter disappointment varies depending on the athlete, which was exactly how the University of Wisconsin’s two senior starting guards dealt with the disaster that occurred this past January in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
D’Mitrik Trice fired up the game film at least a handful of times to try right away to make sense of what happened in Michigan’s 77-54 throttling of the Badgers. Brad Davison, on the other hand, didn’t have as strong of a desire to dive back in.
“In this league every game is big, so you just kind of have to move on,” Davison said. “You got to learn from it and move on quick to get your eyes on the next game.”
No.21 Wisconsin (15-6, 9-5 Big Ten) will get its chance to split the season series when No.3 Michigan (13-1, 8-1) comes to Madison for a Sunday afternoon tilt, the Wolverines’ first game in 23 days because of a program-wide COVID pause.
Few things went right for Wisconsin on that Tuesday, billed as a defining early conference moment for both teams. It was in a way for the Badgers, as the struggles that night have continued to pop up over the last month and a day.
The Badgers shot a season-worst 30.8 percent from the field, allowed Michigan to shoot 51.6 percent from the field and appeared powerless during a stunning 36-3 run that saw Wisconsin down by as many as 40 points.
Trice scored 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting but the rest of the lineup was a combined 13-for-52 from the floor and 5-for-21 from 3-point range. UW started the game 6-for-16 from the floor over the first 13 possessions and started the second half making two field goals over the first eight minutes, the latter a long enough gap for Michigan to have a 22-0 run.
In the eight games since that loss, the Badgers have shot 41.7 percent or worse five times. Wisconsin survived Wednesday at Nebraska despite shooting 32.3 percent from the floor, going 9-for-32 from 3-point range and its starting lineup shooting a combined 12-for-49.
“For the most part, we’ve gotten a lot of really good looks,” Trice said. “Even if you look at the Nebraska game, there were a lot of top-of-the-key looks. In the Illinois game, we had a lot of wide-open looks for a lot of our players and they just didn’t go down. I don’t know if that’s legs getting tired or what we need to work on shooting wise or confidence, but the most part we’re getting really good looks.”
The Badgers have also been inconsistent defensively. Ohio State shot over 50 percent in a Kohl Center victory, Penn State scored 81 points in State College (a season-high against the Badgers) and Illinois shot 52.8 percent last weekend that was a season-high for a UW opponent, as well as possessing a 46-19 edge on the glass. Including its game against Wisconsin, Michigan has shot at least 50 percent from the field nine times this season.
“Ultimately they’re very athletic, very disciplined, very well-coached,” Davison said. “They are a really good team. That’s why they are one of the top teams in the country. They kind of put us on our heels halfway through the first half when the tide started to turn.”
The Wolverines lead the Big Ten in field goal percentage (50.9), field goal percentage defense (37.4 percent) and free throw percentage (76.8), ranked second in scoring defense (65.4) and rebounding defense (31.1) and third in rebounding offense (39.6).
While it’s unknown how sharp the Wolverines will or won’t be after three weeks off, Michigan still has a potent collection of talent. Five-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week Hunter Dickinson is the team-leader in scoring (15.1), field-goal percentage (68.8) and rebounding (7.2); Isaiah Livers is the second-leading scorer with 14.6 points and is averaging career-best in rebounding (6.0) and assists (2.4); Mike Smith leads the conference with 5.6 assists per game and Franz Wagner is top three on the team in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocks.
That quartet of players scored 56 of Michigan’s 77 points against UW, as well as combined for 24 rebounds, 10 assists, seven blocks and five steals.
“There were a lot of different things that played a part in to why they were able to open up the lead as well as they did,” Trice said. “We had key turnovers at the end of the first half (including two by Trice). We weren’t finishing very well in the paint. We got away from what makes Wisconsin really good. We weren’t guarding the way we know how to guard.
“I think that will be the biggest thing for us coming into the game is on the defensive end, shutting down their transition points and open three attempts and just playing a little bit more aggressive on both ends of the floor.”
Michigan has been on pause since shortly after beating Purdue on Jan.22, a span of five postponements that have kept the Wolverines alone in first place with a two-game lead in the loss column over Illinois and three over Ohio State.
Wolverines coach Juwan Howard told reporters this week that his team will be ready, even suggesting his team would be willing to play outside at a nearby playground in sub-zero temperatures. Odds are the Kohl Center will be open, but how sharp the Wolverines will be, according to Davison, will be the million-dollar question.
“Every team has been dealt with a little different COVID hand,” he said. “I think the whole country is excited to see what they are going to look like. We hope they are a little rusty. We hope we can jump on them early.”
Sunday will be the start of Wisconsin’s toughest stretch of the season, as five of the Badgers’ final six games will be against teams in the top 24 of the NCAA NET rankings.
After facing the Wolverines, UW hosts No. 8 Iowa (14-6, 8-5) on Thursday. Next up is a Feb. 21 game at Northwestern (6-11, 3-10). The Badgers then host No. 4 Illinois (14-5, 10-3) on Feb. 27, play March 2 at No. 24 Purdue (13-8, 8-6) and end the regular season at No. 8 Iowa.
“This is the time of year of why you come to a program like Wisconsin, to be in the mix to chase championships, play for high seeds and ultimately leave a legacy,” Davison said. “We’re excited. We’ve had this time of year circled.”