On Wednesday night the now Greg Gard-led Badgers looked like a new team at times, but still struggled with some old problems en route to a hard-fought 84-79 victory over in-state foe Green Bay. However, it was a game that gave Gard and his staff plenty to go over heading in to conference play.
Linc Darner’s Phoenix appeared overmatched for much of the game, but went on a 38-11 run to bring the game within three points as the final minute came to the game. Wisconsin salted it away from the free throw line over the final minute, including a critical old-fashioned three-point play by the Nigel Hayes.
His free throw with 1:02 left to play marked his 1,000th career point. It was also the last in a team-high 24 points for the junior forward.
Admittedly it wasn’t always pretty, but for an offense clearly in transition and a team caught in the middle of a coaching change, the Badgers responded in a positive fashion. That is about all you can ask for as they head out of non-conference play and in to lions den that is the Big Ten.
Gard’s stamp was planted on this team quickly, as Wisconsin came out with a much more structured offense and an emphasis on less dribbling and more spacing. It paid off to the tune of 49.1 percent shooting from the field and a rejuvenated Nigel Hayes as well.
Hayes had 13 of his 24 points in the first half, which came on 4 of 4 shooting and 4 of 4 from the free throw line. The junior finished the game shooting 87.5 percent (7-8) from the field, but most importantly did the biggest damage with his back to the basket instead of being a dribble and shoot type player.
Green Bay took the tempo to the Badgers early, leading 16-15 at one point, but the Badgers settled down and forced a nearly 10 minute scoring drought from the Phoenix. It all led to UW up 35-18 with under four minutes to go in the first half.
The visiting Phoenix ended the half shooting just 26 percent (9-34) from the field and had 12 turnovers that the Badgers turned in to 15 points.
It was all over at that point, as Wisconsin built a 48-27 lead at the half…
…At least that was the thought as the Badgers built off that 21-point lead and turned it in to a lead by as many as 30 points in the second half.
With Wisconsin up 68-38 on a pair of free throws by Hayes with 13:01 to play in the game, Green Bay picked up the pressure and the Badgers folded to the tune of 16 turnovers in the second half alone.
It was those 16 turnovers that cost Wisconsin its 30-point lead, as Green Bay fed off those turnovers and as the game appeared in hand quickly turned it around in the form of a 38-11 run over the final few minutes of the second half.
That meant a lead that seemed insurmountable for the Phoenix became just a 74-70 advantage as the final two minutes ticked away. Green Bay turned that pressure in to quick baskets and hit eight of its final 11 shots of the game to give Wisconsin a scare.
The turnovers happened in spurts, mainly in the opening minutes of both halves, but Gard got his team to respond and settle down on both occasions. Unfortunately, the Badgers couldn’t sustain that poise in the second half thanks to a Phoenix defense that was opportunistic and Koenig’s off night.
Koenig finished the game with more turnovers (8) than points (6) and had a -16 +/- night (the worst on the Badgers by far).
One of the biggest changes in the Badgers came in the rotation off the bench, as Alex Illiakanen came off the bench first. However, it was reserve guard Jordan Hill who gave Gard and the Badgers coaching staff a lot to think about heading in to Big Ten play.
With both Bronson Koenig and Zak Showalter sitting with multiple fouls in the early going of the first half, Hill made the most of his 12 minutes in the half. He had eight of his 10 points, while also grabbing three rebounds and had two assists in the first half alone.
With Koenig continuing to struggle with turnovers and control in the second half, Hill finished with a career high in minutes, points, rebounds and just about every stat category imaginable.
Vitto Brown helped to calm things down over the final 90 seconds and finished the game just one rebound short of a double double (15 points, 9 rebounds). Consider it a make up for four turnovers though.
With a Phoenix team that plays an incredibly high tempo out of the way, Gard and his staff will have their work cut out for them as the No. 14 ranked Purdue Boilermakers come in to town to open up Big Ten play.
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