Green Bay wasn’t going to be intimidated going up against the Badgers size advantage, but said advantage seemed to be the biggest difference maker after all. Wisconsin used its size to help bang its way to an 84-60 win, improving to 3-0 on the young season.
Wisconsin knew coming in it had an advantage over Green Bay team who’s tallest player was just 6-9, and with a trio of Sam Dekker, Nigel Hayes and Frank Kaminsky all taller than that it showed in the Kohl Center.
That trio didn’t disappoint, as they combined for 64 of Wisconsin’s 84 points. Kaminsky had perhaps the most impressive night of the trio, pouring in 20 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks.
Yes, that’s nearly a big man’s dream for a triple-double and the seven blocks were a career high. As it stands, that’s three games, three double-doubles for the preseason All-American.
Nigel Hayes joined him with a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds, and has grabbed 10-plus rebounds in each of the first three games this season.
Poor Sam Dekker and his 19-point, 4 rebound performance because it looks rather ho-hum compared to his frontcourt starting mates. Yet, it was his play in the beginning of the second half that turned a nine-point lead into a blow out.
After the Phoenix came out swinging to start the game and led 5-4 within the first three minutes, Wisconsin settled back down. The Badgers dominated on the inside and with a nice 7-0 run, put some distance between themselves and the Phoenix at 11-5 with 14 minutes, 26 seconds to go in the half.
From there the story was all about Green Bay and the foul trouble they were in. Wisconsin took a 15-5 advantage in team fouls in to the half; with four Phoenix players amassing three fouls each. However, the Badgers only managed a nine-point, 38-27, lead.
Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel put just how puzzling the half really was in to good perspective:
#Badgers have more TOs (4) than assists (3) and just 13-23 from FT line and still lead UWGB by 38-29 at half.
— Jeff Potrykus (@jaypo1961) November 20, 2014
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As it was, the Badgers owned a 13 rebound advantage (25-12) and made more than double the free throws that Green Bay took on the half (13 made FTs for UW, 6 FT attempts for GB).
Kaminsky went in to the half with perhaps the most crazy of stat lines in this game.
Triple-double alert for Frank Kaminsky at the half: 12 points, 7 rebounds, 5 blocks. He good. #Badgers
— Jesse Temple (@jessetemple) November 20, 2014
However, the trio of Kaminsky, Hayes and Dekker clearly all did their part on the night. Hayes and Dekker took over in the second half, as Dekker knocked home five straight points for UW to run out to a 15 point lead with 17 minutes, 11 seconds left to play in the contest.
UW never looked back in blowing out the Phoenix in the second half. Green Bay just simply couldn’t play the physical style needed to compete with the Badgers down low or on the boards, and it showed.
About the only thing that didn’t go UW’s way in this one was stopping Green Bay star guard Kiefer Sykes. He poured in 20 of GB’s 60 points, and was the only Phoenix player to score in double figures. Still, his 20-point day was a far cry for the 32-point effort that nearly cost Wisconsin the game in Green Bay last year.
Player of the Game: Nigel Hayes
It’s hard to chose between Hayes and Kaminsky, because both were great. However, the difference for me was seeing Hayes hitting numerous deep shots. Hayes went 2-2 from three-point range and shot 8 of 11 from the field overall. Pouring in more points on fewer shots and having Kaminsky go 0-for-3 from beyond the arc make this choice just a bit easier for me.
Stat of the Game: 13-26
That was the advantage for the Badgers in personal fouls in this game, and the difference between the blowout that was the second half and the much closer halftime score. Wisconsin made just four more field goals than Green Bay did (27 to 23), but it had 24 points off the 26 fouls the Phoenix were whistled for. So, while it was a strange game by the box score, this is one you can chalk up to taking advantage of what was given to you and nothing more was needed.
Difference Maker: First Half Foul Trouble
Let’s be honest, Green Bay didn’t play bad basketball against the Badgers in the first half. They forced more turnover than assists for Wisconsin, held the Badgers to 46 percent from the field and 56.5 percent from the free throw line. However, four players with three fouls in the first half took this team out of it’s game plan and what it does so well — play tough man-to-man defense. Credit to Wisconsin for taking what was given them in the first half, and for eventually punishing the Phoenix. But had they not missed about a billion front ends of free throw sets this game would’ve been seriously over at the half.
Wisconsin can’t get in to a rut like it did a few years ago from the free throw line, and this is something to watch out for long term. Teams who don’t have 15 team fouls in one half, and play the way that Green Bay did on offense are going to punish you for those missed free throws.
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