The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team raised it’s 2015 NCAA tournament finalist banner at the Kohl Center, and it also apparently left the defense in the past as well. It all led to one of the craziest upsets in Kohl Center history, as visiting Western Illinois downed the Badgers 69-67 in a shocking upset.
Wisconsin used a monster game from star forward Nigel Hayes, who poured in all of his 17 points in the first half to keep in this game. However, his inability to score in the second half and UW’s inability to stop driving players reared its ugly head for a second-straight game that counts.
It all led to Wisconsin’s 51-game home win streak against non-conference foes coming to an end.
The Leathernecks were led by guard C.J. Fuller, who a a game high 20 points on 8 of 13 shooting and a perfect night from beyond the arc (4 of 4). He was joined in double figures by two other players — Garrett Covington (16) and Jabari Sandifer (12).
Despite Wisconsin’s lack of defense and a severe inability to hit from deep (just 7 of 21), it did have one advantage — foul trouble. UW had Western Illinois in foul trouble early on in the second half, getting them to 11 fouls by the midway point of the game.
However, the Badgers did nothing with that advantage, as Western Illinois finished with just 12 personal fouls and Wisconsin really never put themselves in position to take it to the physically overmatched Leathernecks.
After taking a moment to remember last season, it felt like the Badgers weren’t ready to move on as the Leathernecks stuck it in with the Badgers, until a 9-0 run in the mid-first half established a 38-30 lead that turned in to decent 44-37 advantage at the half.
Western Illinois wasn’t going to go down without at least one more giant swing, and that came in the from of climbing right back in the game to start the second half and eventually taking a brief 49-48 lead with 14:15 left in the second half.
With the game stuck in a seeming deadlock midway through the second half, the Badgers couldn’t find a way to pull all the way away. Instead, Western Illinois would continue to blow past a Badgers defense struggling to communicate and hustle back in transition.
It all led to Western Illinois taking a 60-55 lead with 8:08 to play in the second half. That lead would be the death of Wisconsin’s chances in this game, as UW just dug itself too deep of a hole with too little time to go.
Forward Vitto Brown didn’t give up though, and nearly single-handily kept his team in the game. He got the Badgers out of their funk from the field, hitting a huge jumper with 4:47 to play. It stopped a three-minute streak without a field goal by the Badgers, but it also sparked something in this team as it went from down 60-56 to within two.
Brown then showed up big in other ways, scooting down the court and blocking a drive to the rim, tipping a loose ball to keep the Badgers on the offensive end of the court and hitting a pair of free throws all within a span of one minute.
UW was down 64-62 after Bronson Koenig hit a three pointer off the tipped ball play from Brown, and with 3:05 to play there was plenty of time left.
Momentum stopped cold from there, as Wisconsin managed just five points over the next three minutes and allowed Western Illinois to continue getting to the rim and slashing through the defense.
This loss wasn’t just shocking considering the opponent, but also considering the venue.
Wisconsin hadn't lost a home opener since Nov.14 1997
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) November 14, 2015
Bo Ryan's teams were 87-2 (.978) at the Kohl Center against teams outside of the 6 major conferences. That included 60 straight wins.
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) November 14, 2015
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Badger of the Game: Nigel Hayes
While he was just 4 of 11 from the field, Hayes killed it around the basket and got to the free throw line more than any player on the court. Normally that would bring Badger fans some discomfort, but the big man has really worked on his stroke from the line and it resulted in him shooting 8 of 11 from the charity stripe.
Any time you can get more points from the free throw line than from the field, you’re giving opponents a lot to worry about in the future. Teams will have to back off Hayes or risk giving up too many free points. His play from the field continues to need work though, as Hayes has struggled when not deep inside through both the times we saw him in preseason and in the first matchup of the regular season.
Key Moment: Shot clock reset with 31 seconds to play
Western Illinois got a ball on the backboard with 31.4 seconds left, but Vitto Brown was called for a foul. It wasn’t a shooting foul, so the shot clock was not supposed to reset. In that case, Western Illinois should have had about 3 seconds left on the shot clock. Instead it was reset and UW either played defense with the game tied or went for the old early foul and extend the game.
The Badgers went that second route…just 20 seconds too late and created the mess that was the end of the game sequence.
Best Use of Social Media: SCARY Alvarez says it all…
WE'RE PLAYING SEX PANTHER DEFENSE.
60% OF THE TIME IT WORKS EVERYTIME. #Badgers— Scary Alvarez (@barryisthedon) November 14, 2015
Up Next: vs. Siena; Nov. 15 at 7p.m. CT (ESPNU)
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