Basketball is often said to simply be a game of runs, and that was never more true than what took place in the Carrier Dome on Tuesday night. It was perhaps only fitting that a run would be the key to ending a game that went in to overtime.
After seeing Syracuse take the early lead in the extra period, the Badgers used a 7-0 run to take control of the game late and earned a huge 66-58 road win. With the win, the Badgers knocked the Orange from the ranks of the unbeaten.
It was a game that was intense and crazy from start to finish, with the teams combining for 10 ties and seven lead changes on the night.
Wisconsin got its biggest win of the season on the backs of its forwards on Tuesday night, with Ethan Happ (18 points, 15 rebounds) and Nigel Hayes (15 points, 12 rebounds ) both going for double doubles.
Fellow forward Vitto Brown got off to a hot start and ended the game with 14 points and six rebounds, joining the fourth Badger in double figures, Bronson Koenig (12) in a hugely needed win for the Badgers.
Wisconsin opened up the game on a 5-0 run courtesy of Vitto Brown, who opened up the game with a three-pointer and then a baseline jumper in the opening minutes of the game. It was a good sign for a team that needed to combat and stretch the famed 2-3 zone played by Jim Boeheim’s Orange.
Brown had 11 of his 14 points in the first half on 5 of 7 shooting from the field. Most importantly, he was aware of spacing and got himself in a position to catch and release from the baseline on multiple possessions.
It was a good thing too, as no other Badger was close to Brown in the first half. Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig each had five points to be the second leading scorers for UW at the half.
Brown wasn’t the only one seemingly on fire to start though, as Syracuse actually opened up the scoring on a banked-in three-pointer with the buzzer about to sound on the opening possession of the game.
Both teams traded baskets early and often, with the Badgers never opening a lead larger than five points throughout most of the first half. Still, Wisconsin never trailed in the opening stanza and it had a lot to do with the middle of the half, where Bo Ryan’s Badgers went on a 14-4 run to push its lead to as much as 21-14 with 6:31 to play in the half.
Those runs were all made possible by the Badgers’ play on the boards, holding a 24-12 advantage in total rebounds and collecting nine offensive rebounds as well. Wisconsin finished the game with a 51-25 advantage on the boards, but erased much of that advantage by committing 20 turnovers that turned in to 16 points by the Orange.
After the Orange once again made a mini-run in the first half it was time for Brown to be the catalyst once again.
Wisconsin stretched its lead to as much as eight points at 27-19 with 2:15 to play in the first half, but the final minutes saw the Badgers unable to get easy shots to fall and Syracuse went on a 4-0 run to end the half down just 27-24.
It took nearly 30 minutes, but a string of three straight three-pointers gave Syracuse a 41-35 lead with 11:02 to play in the game. The run would give Syracuse their first lead of the game and its largest lead of the contest as well.
A timeout taken by Ryan after the third made triple stopped the momentum, but it was the butt chewing that took place in the second timeout in a matter of seconds that seemingly got the Badgers’ to click in the second half.
After the Orange went on an 8-0 run midway through the second half, Wisconsin found a way to claw back in to this one. It only got back to level with 1:25 to play as Koenig hit the biggest shot of the game, nailing a triple from the elbow and tying it all up at 53-53.
Neither team could score in the final 85 seconds of regulation, but it wasn’t without plenty of opportunities on both sides.
With time running down and the Badgers holding possession with 10.4 seconds left, Syracuse stuffed the pick-and-roll play designed for Nigel Hayes to pick for Koenig. Instead, the point guard had to take it inside and found an open Brown who saw his shot fall off the rim and out of bounds as time expired in regulation.
Wisconsin allowed Syracuse to take an early lead in overtime, but quickly erased that and went on the game-winning run sparked by the play of Hayes, who gave Wisconsin a three point lead at 58-55 with an old fashioned three-point play.
It was the middle three of Wisconsin’s 7-0 run in overtime that proved to be the mountain too tall for the host Orange to climb.
UW will return home and host the Temple Owls in an intriguing matchup at 11:30a.m CT on Saturday. The game will be televised by CBS.
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