Wisconsin Looks To Regain its Identity in A Challenging Venue

MADISON, Wis. – In the two days between a tough loss at Purdue and an upset victory at Wisconsin, Maryland coach Mark Turgeon believed his group grew closer together, largely because the Terrapins did not return home between games to help save costs and stay isolated in today’s COVID world.

Perhaps members of the Badgers men’s basketball team can follow suit on their extended road trip after their own bitter defeat.

“It gives you more time to be together,” guard Brad Davison said, “some more time for some soul searching and tough conversations and to figure things out.”

Spending Tuesday night in Ann Arbor following its 23-point loss to No.7 Michigan, Wisconsin flew out to New Jersey Wednesday to prepare for Friday night’s game against Rutgers, hoping to find the answer to fixing an offense that has been sporadic since Christmas.

While the Badgers (10-3, 4-2 Big Ten) still rank 11th in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency ratings, Wisconsin has started slow the last three games (averaging under a point per possession), been too reliant on the jump shot instead of post touches and not found a consistent third scorer outside guard D’Mitrik Trice and forward Micah Potter.

Those issues came to a head in the 77-54 loss to the Wolverines when Wisconsin shot 30.8 percent (20 of 65), 32.1 percent from 3-point range (9 of 28) and scored one basket over a 23-possession span that built a deficit as big as 40 points. Michigan recorded as many blocked shots as fouls (9), had 42 rebounds and a 38-18 edge in points in the paint. The Badgers committed only six fouls; a number head coach Greg Gard pointed to as a sign that UW was not being aggressive enough on both ends of the floor.

“Michigan took us out of rhythm, but we’ve got to take better shots,” Potter said. “We got to get the ball inside, we got to run our offense, we got to play Wisconsin basketball … It wasn’t Wisconsin basketball. They took us out of our rhythm, out of our offense of what we wanted to do and that’s something we can’t let happen. We need to be able to enforce our will on teams.” A consecutive sluggish night will likely yield a similar result. Like Michigan, Rutgers (7-4, 3-4) is a scrappy bunch that likes to get in the faces of teams and counts on its defense. Rutgers ranks among the top-20 in the nation in turnovers (14th, 10.2), blocked shots (16th, 5.1) and assist to turnover ratio (17th, 1.54). Rutgers is second in the league in blocks and steals (8.3), with 91 steals that tops the league.

“They’re as physical of a team you are going to see in the Big Ten,” Potter said. “It’s going to be a good test for us to see if we can learn from our mistakes and move on.”

Any extra work the Badgers can get practicing inside the Rutgers Athletic Center (better known as the RAC) couldn’t hurt, since the arena has been a nightmare for the Badgers since the Scarlet Knights joined the conference for the 2014-15 season. UW has yet to win in any of the three trips to the venue in games that highlight problem areas this year’s team is familiar with.

In 2015, without center Frank Kaminsky, the Badgers gave up 34 points in the paint and saw Rutgers shoot 66.7 percent in the second half (54.3 percent for the game) in a 67-62 loss.

In 2018, Wisconsin shot 2 of 13 from 3-point range and committed 14 turnovers in a 64-60 loss. Last season, Rutgers outrebounded Wisconsin 40-26 and 14-3 on the offensive glass, leading to a 23-5 advantage in second-chance points in a 72-65 setback.

The three games have seen four Rutgers players score at least 20 points and only one Wisconsin player (Kobe King) has scored over 15 points.

Even when UW’s road game at Rutgers was moved to a neutral site at Madison Square Garden, the Badgers shot 33.3 percent from the field, 3-for-25 from 3-point range and only survived in overtime because of Ethan Happ’s 32 points.

“(The RAC is) unique,” Davison said. “There’s not really any arena like the RAC. Rutgers is very scrappy, they’re confident, they’re at you, they attack you all game, they get you on your heels. That’s happened on my other two trips here. They play really well at home. Their shots seem to fall more. They get a lot more confidence. They play a little faster, a little more comfortable.”

While Friday will be telling of whether Wisconsin can 1) rebound from an ugly moment and 2) get back to its identity, it’s hardly a make-or-break moment. After all, Wisconsin was in a tie for seventh place and three games back of first place at the halfway point last season before finishing the season on an 8-1 stretch to claim a share of the conference title.

It’s why Potter and Davison say that panic button isn’t being reached for. But a road victory would be a sign that things are closer to getting back on track, all the while exercising some demons in the process.

“Basketball is a simple game,” Davison said. “I think people make it more complicated than it needs to be … It’s a great test for us, a great opportunity to bounce back after a showing that definitely wasn’t us.”