Wisconsin came in undefeated against Northwestern at home since opening the Kohl Center
against them and that streak is safe for another year as Wisconsin cruised to a 20 point win, 77-57, over the Wildcats. The win saw Wisconsin finally get out of it’s shooting slump as a team, shooting 50% from the field for the game, while also shooting 52.2% from behind the three point line.
Ryan Evans lead a foursome of players in double digits with 17 points in the victory. He also chipped in a team best 9 rebounds as well. Joining him in the double digit scoring parade were Jordan Taylor (15), Mike Bruesewitz (13), and Josh Gasser (10).
Northwestern’s John Shurna led all scorers with 19 points on 6-12 shooting in the loss and received help from Drew Crawford who hit for nearly his season average, adding 17 points for the Wildcats.
The story of the game was the crazy runs made by both teams as it really was a tale of two completely different halves.
Wisconsin started off the game hot, showing us only a small clue of what was to come, as they hit 3 consecutive three point shots to hold a 9-2 lead just 1:26 into the game. The Badgers got threes from Jared Berggren, Mike Bruesewitz, and Josh Gasser to race out to that early 7 point advantage.
However, Northwestern wasn’t about to give in quite yet as they answered right back with 6 straight of their own, cutting the Badgers lead to just one at 9-8. After another basket by Wisconsin to make it 11-8 the Wildcats’ John Shurna would hit the 2nd straight 3 over Ryan Evans to tie the game up at 11.
All of that action was part of a 14-2 Northwestern run after the opening Wisconsin run, giving the Wildcats a 16-11 lead at that point.
Wisconsin answered back shortly after with a 9-2 run again, making it 23-20 after being down 18-14. From there these two teams would keep the half tight and Wisconsin went in to the intermission up just 2 points at 34-32.
Things were looking up for Northwestern at the half as they were outshooting the Badgers 54.5% to 46.2% from the field despite only using a six man rotation due to foul trouble to David Sobolewski. They were also holding 2 of the key Badgers in check as Jordan Taylor and Ryan Evans only had 3 and 2 points a piece.
John Shurna and Mike Bruesewitz led the way for both teams, scoring 12 points a piece in the half.
Whatever was said, done, drank, or worked on at the half for the Badgers needs to be bottled up, as Wisconsin exploded after the break, going on a 4-0 run to start the half, stretching the lead to 38-32.
We all knew Jordan Taylor would get his points, but he did it in emphatic fashion, hitting the first 3 three point attempts of the 2nd half, the last of which stretched the Badgers lead to 47-38. It was only a sign of things to come though.
Taylor had 12 of his 15 points in the 2nd half and Evans added 15 of his team best 17 points in the half as Wisconsin used a 34-13 run to bury Northwestern.
At that point it was clear this was Wisconsin’s game and it was also clear that a very undermanned Northwestern simply didn’t have enough in the tank as only 6 players played double digit minutes for the Wildcats.
The Badgers’ largest lead of the game was 23 points at 68-45 and dipped to 15 points late in the game before both teams emptied their benches and Wisconsin reserve J.D. Wise hit 5 straight points to get Wisconsin to the 77-57 final score.
In the half it was a complete reversal of the numbers as Wisconsin shot 53.6% and the Wildcats could only muster 30.4% from the field. Northwestern really struggled from deep, only hitting 22.2% from behind the arc while Wisconsin was even hotter than the 1st half, shooting 53.3% from behind the arc. Helping the Badgers in the victory was also the fact that Jordan Taylor had 6 assists and only 1 turnover for the game.
So what changed for Wisconsin tonight as opposed to the past few games?
“The game doesn’t change for us what we’re trying to do.” said Wisconsin Head Coach Bo Ryan follwing the victory. “It’s just at times, everybody goes through this with shooting. I’ve seen it more in the past couple years than probably 10 years combined-just kind of the swings, in shooting percentages, in guys’ confidence, in guys being comfortable in what they’re doing.”
The win sees Wisconsin on a modest 2 game home winning streak and makes it 3 straight in conference play. With the win the Badgers improved to 15-5 overall and are now back over the .500 mark in Big Ten play at 4-3.
Up next is a massive test for the Badgers as they travel south to take on #22/25 Illinois on Sunday at 1pm CT on BTN. Look for a full preview of that game on Saturday.
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