Wisconsin’s youth and inconsistency was on full show on Sunday in Norman, Okla. and it cost them big against No. 7 Oklahoma. The Sooners used their hot hand and the Badgers cold shooting to ease to a 65-48 victory.
Just how bad was it? Wisconsin shot a season-low 23.5 percent from the field (16 of 68) and took a crazy 33 shots from beyond the arc in the loss.
Nigel Hayes tied for the game high with 20 points on 5 of 17 shooting, but his counterpart, Ryan Spangler went for 20 points on 7 of 9 shooting from the field. He added 14 rebounds to Hayes’ 11.
However, the biggest difference came with the supporting cast, as Oklahoma had two other starters in double figures to UW’s none. The Sooners had Isaiah Cousins (14) and Buddy Hield (12) join the scoring parade.
It didn’t start off bad for the Badgers, as junior forward Nigel Hayes took a charge on the defensive end and nailed a three-pointer to start the game. However, it would be the last of the good news for the Badgers for over a quarter of the first half.
The Badgers started 1-10 from the field, but it was the defensive side that killed them even more. Oklahoma managed a 15-0 run over the course of 6 minutes, 38 seconds of the first half and it was all over from there.
OU connected on 4 of 11 three pointers in the first half alone, but went inside during the second half to dominate the Badgers. The Sooners took just one three pointer in the second half to finish 4 of 12 on the day.
Wisconsin ended the Sooners run thanks to a triple from point guard Bronson Koenig, but it was not a sign of much improvement. Instead of sparking an offensive resurgence, it was more a blip on the radar.
The Badgers failed to score a basket that wasn’t a triple until there was 4:01 left in the 1st half. In fact, the first points not from beyond the arc came with 5:58 to play in the first half as Nigel Hayes hit a pair of free throws.
However, UW’s futility wouldn’t last all first half, as the Badgers used the free throw line and a pair of made buckets to go on a 7-0 run over a 2:58 period late in the first half to cut the lead to 30-21.
Wisconsin made a valiant effort early on in the second half, but Oklahoma just had too much inside-out play and the Badgers simply couldn’t hit open looks or anything down low either. After an early run to open the second half and close the gap from 34-19 to inside 10 points, Oklahoma put the foot on the gas and took out the Badgers.
Up next for the Badgers is a date with they Syracuse Orange in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in the Carrier Dome.
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