Wisconsin
guard,” he said, “as somebody who has the ball in my hands.”
Trice is determined to do that when ninth-seeded UW (17-12) faces eighthseeded North Carolina (18-10) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 6:10 p.m. Friday in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Here are the plays that left Trice despondent after the loss to Iowa:
• UW trailed, 56-54, after Micah Potter hit two free throws with 2 minutes 8 seconds left.
After a foul by Tyler Wahl reset the shot clock from four seconds to 20, Iowa's Jordan Bohannon got the ball outside the three-point line, right of the key. He got around Trice and drove down the right side of the lane for a basket and a 58-54 lead with 1:31 left.
• With UW trailing by four, Trice had the ball on the right side of the court with the shot clock down to seven seconds. He fired a cross-court pass to Brad Davison, but CJ Fedrick got his hand on the ball and Joe Wieskamp came up with the steal with 1:02 left.
• Iowa failed to score after the turnover and UW had a chance to pull closer. Trice drove hard into the lane, but Wieskamp blocked the shot and sent the ball out of bounds.
• With Trice trying to inbound the ball with 19 seconds left, UW was assessed a five-second call. Trice had the responsibility of getting the ball in, but the cutting by potential targets wasn't as crisp as it could have been.
That turnover led to a foul and two free throws by Bohannon for a 60-54 Iowa lead with 17.5 seconds left.
“We've got to execute better down the stretch,” Trice said. “I made a few of those dumb turnovers. I can't put that on other guys because the ball was in my hands and they were looking for me to make a play and I didn't come up with it.”
UW coach Greg Gard took note of Trice's comments.
“Obviously, give him huge credit to take that ownership,” Gard said. “He's not the only one that owns it. We all own that.
“Everybody. Coaches. Myself. Other teammates. We're all in this when it goes good, and we're all in it when it doesn't go good.
“It came down to the last couple of possessions but there were other things as I always try to emphasize … that we could have done better that would have helped in that outcome, all the way back to the first half.
“Respect that and appreciate that on Meech's part to take that ownership as a senior point guard and one of the leaders of our team. But he should not shoulder that all on himself.”
Trice enters the NCAA Tournament leading UW in scoring (13.7) and assists (4.0). He has more than twice as many assists (116) as turnovers (50). He also is the No. 1 three-point shooter among the starters at 38.0%. His scoring average is up from last season (9.8), as is his overall shooting percentage – 41.1% from 38.0%. He also leads the team in minutes played at 33.1 per game.
“We obviously need him playing up to his ability and his potential on both ends,” Gard said, noting Trice usually is asked to defend the opponent's top guard. “That is important to add that, because sometimes I think that gets lost how important the defensive end is and how good he has been at times for us.
“We need everybody to take another step.”
Trice came to UW as a combo guard who wasn't known as a lock-down defender.
He gradually developed into a dependable point guard who was a dangerous three-point shooter and a defender good enough to be given the toughest backcourt assignment.
He enters the tournament with an overall assist-to-turnover margin of 2.14. That is the No. 4 mark in UW history, behind Jordan Taylor (3.01), Mike Kelley (2.57) and Josh Gasser (2.25).
Trice was a third-team, all-Big Ten pick last season and again this season. When he hit the 1,000-point mark in the final game of the 2019-2020 season, Trice became the first UW player to record at least 1,000 points, 300 rebounds and 300 assists by his junior season.
“Really proud of him,” Gard said. “He has come a long way. He has grown. He has taken steps every year.
“Proud of him, because I know he has put a lot of work in and he has had people around him who have really helped him.
“Just happy for him because from where he walked in as a freshman to where he is now, he has shown a lot of growth.”