Fifth-ranked Badgers working overtime

MADISON - After logging a game-high 40 minutes in Wisconsin’s overtime victory Thursday night at Nebraska, senior guard Bronson Koenig returned home to his apartment at 2 a.m. Friday.

“That was the most tired I’ve been after a game that I’ve been in years,” Koenig said.

Koenig, battling a left-calf injury that has affected his movement and shooting, had plenty of company.

When forward Ethan Happ walked up the steps to the practice gym Friday, his legs were on fire.

“I can always tell when I come up the stairs,” Happ said. “If my legs are burning, that means it’s going to be a tough practice. My legs were burning.”

When the fifth-ranked Badgers (21-3, 10-1 Big Ten) host Northwestern (18-6, 7-4) at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, they will face a team that last played Tuesday.

The Wildcats, who suffered a 68-61 home loss to Illinois, have played three of their last four games at home. There is a slight chance leading scorer Scottie Lindsey (mononucleosis) will return Sunday but he can't be expected to contribute much. Otherwise, the Wildcats should be well-rested.

UW, which has played three of its last four games away from the Kohl Center and has been taken to overtime three times in the last six games, isn’t as fortunate.

“We’ve played three overtime games,” Koenig said, “and if they haven’t been overtime, they’ve been battles.”

As a result, on-court work during practice Friday was light and lasted less than an hour. On Saturday, Koenig and Hayes (lower-body injury) both spent time riding stationary bikes during possessions, which lasted about 40 minutes. Coach Greg Gard had UW’s three other starters — Happ, Vitto Brown and Zak Showalter — on the court for about half the time.

“I think Coach Gard has done a really good job getting a good sense of how we’re feeling and really adjusting the practice schedule,” Showalter said. “That is huge. It shows he trusts us.”

Gard said his team, which is shooting 25.3% from threepoint range (22 of 87) and 37.4% overall (86 of 230) in the last four games, must play better overall.

“We need to be able to finish around the paint better, take care of the ball better and keep them off the glass,” he said.

UW made just 15 of 41 twopoint attempts (36.6%), turned the ball over 13 times and allowed 20 offensive rebounds against Nebraska.

Nevertheless, UW got big plays in overtime from Hayes (game-winning three-pointer), Koenig (tying three-pointer), Showalter (four-point play) and Happ (block on Tai Webster).

UW thus improved to 7-0 in games decided by single digits, including 3-0 in overtime games.

Half of Northwestern’s games have been decided by single digits. The Wildcats are 7-5 in those games.