The long-range plan doesn’t work out
Badgers fall in love with three-pointers and suffer setback
MADISON – Hold serve at home against Ohio State and take over sole possession of second place in the Big Ten.
Wisconsin's players understood the opportunity they had Saturday at the Kohl Center.
Consider this a missed opportunity. The 18th-ranked Buckeyes set the tone early in building a double-digit lead in the opening half, led by as many as 13 points after halftime and made enough shots down the stretch to blunt a rally and prevail, 74-62, over No. 10 UW.
“I thought they put us on our heels with what they were doing to us offensively and we never set the tone defensively, how (good) we had been and how we needed to be,” UW coach Greg Gard said.
“They hit some tough shots early, we also gave them some easier ones and that gave them the confidence and they played off that the rest of the game.”
The Badgers (12-4, 6-3) fell into a tie for third place with idle Illinois (10-5, 6-3), one-half game behind Iowa (12-3, 6-2) and two games behind first-place Michigan (13-1, 8-1).
Ohio State (12-4, 6-4) won for the fourth time in five games and snapped a three-game losing streak against Wisconsin.
UW entered the day shooting 39.0% from three-point range and 44.2% overall.
The Badgers shot 20.0% from threepoint range (3 of 15) and 33.3% overall (9 of 27) in the opening half and finished at 25.0% from beyond the arc (7 of 28) and 40.4% overall (23 of 57).
The Buckeyes hit 10 of their first 17 shots to build a 24-13 lead, led by seven at the break and then hit 7 of their first 9 shots after halftime to build a 49-36 advantage.
Ohio State finished just 5 of 16 from three-point range (31.3%) but 27 of 53 overall (50.9%). The Buckeyes also hit 15 of 18 free throws compared to just 9 of 15 for UW.
“They got comfortable right away,” said UW's Nate Reuvers. “They were tough twos. But they hit those and then everything starts falling for them.
“If we're going to win these games we've got to lock them up defensively. They just got too comfortable.”
Four players scored in double figures for UW, led by Aleem Ford with 13. He scored nine points in the second half, all on three-pointers, to help UW close to within four points with 4 minutes 38 seconds left.
He missed an open three-pointer that would have cut the Buckeyes' lead to 62-61 and Ohio State scored on its next two possessions to push the lead to 66-58.
D'Mitrik Trice scored nine points in the opening half to help UW stay within 32-25. He finished with 12 points, eight assists and four rebounds.
Micah Potter and Reuvers scored 11 apiece but they were a combined 0 for 7 from three-point range.
Tyler Wahl, who scored a collegehigh 14 points Wednesday against Northwestern, got into early foul trouble and contributed four points and four rebounds.
Guard Brad Davison was called for an offensive foul – leg kick – while draining a three-pointer early in the game and finished 1 of 6 from three-point range and 1 of 7 overall. Jonathan Davis added five points and five rebounds.
The Buckeyes entered the game with seven players averaging at least 6.6 points per game, led by guard Duane Washington Jr. (15.7 ppg), forward E.J. Liddell (14.1 ppg) and guard Justice Sueing (10.5 ppg).
Coach Chris Holtmann got points from eight of the 10 players he used, with seven contributing at least eight points.
Liddell and Seth Towns scored 20 and 10 points, respectively, to lead the Buckeyes. That duo combined to hit 12 of 20 shots.
“We wanted to come out and play aggressive the whole game,” said Liddell, who buried two jumpers to help the Buckeyes take an early 6-0 lead. “It took everyone to stay connected and stay together.”
Ford, a combined 2 of 12 from threepoint range in the previous three games, hit 4 of 8 three-pointers Saturday. His teammates were a combined 3 of 20 from beyond the arc.
“The vast majority of the threes we had were really good looks,” Gard said. “We talked about touching the paint a lot. I thought when we did do it, we had a lot of good things happen.
“But again, the way this team is built, we have to take advantage of those threes when the good ones present themselves.”
Gard was far more concerned with the defensive execution, or lack thereof.
“I didn't think we were at the same level defensively that we had been, specifically the last couple games,” he said. “That is a credit to Ohio State . ...
“This group, when they're at their best they're focused on the defensive end and let the offense come to them. Not the other way around.
“Our best has always been when we're locked in defensively.”
The defense was too forgiving early and the overwhelming majority of the three-point shots didn't fall.
That was a recipe for a loss and a missed opportunity.