Back-court battle may take center stage
UW seeks to slow down Baylor’s guards
As Wisconsin prepared to open the NCAA Tournament against No. 8 North Carolina the No. 1 narrative was how UW’s big men would fare against the size, length and depth of the Tar Heels’ post players.
The trio of Micah Potter, Nate Reuvers and Aleem Ford handled their assignment
NCAA Tournament
What: No. 9 Wisconsin vs. No. 1 Baylor in a second-round game at Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
When: 1:40 p.m. Sunday
TV: CBS (Channel 58). Radio: FM-97.3 with aplomb by combining for 25 points, 14 rebounds, seven blocks and six assists in UW’s 85-62 victory.
The focus when No. 9 UW (18-12)
Baylor guard MaCio Teague had 22 points and four rebounds in a victory over Hartford on Friday.
faces No. 1 Baylor (23-2) at 1:40 p.m. Sunday at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis likely will be on the play of the teams’ respective guards.
Baylor is a guard driven team led by junior Jared Butler, senior MaCio Teague and junior Davion Mitchell.
“Their backcourt is phenomenal,” UW coach Greg Gard said after practice Saturday.
That trio combined for 47 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists and nine steals in the Bears’ 7955 victory over Hartford in the first round Friday night. They also hit a combined 19 of 43 shots (44.2%).
Teague led the way with 22 points and four rebounds and enters the second round at 16.4 points per game. He is shooting 39.8% from three-point range.
Butler finished with 13 points, nine assists, five steals and four rebounds. He leads the Bears in scoring (17.0 ppg), assists (4.9) and steals (2.2). He is shooting 41.3% from threepoint range.
Mitchell contributed 12 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. He enters the UW game third on the team in scoring (14.0 ppg), first in assists (5.3 per game) and second in steals (2.0 per game). He also leads the starters in three-point shooting at 45.6%.
“They can all score from every level,” Gard said. “They’re all shooting it well from three. They all handle it well. They’re all interchangeable. Mitchell runs most of the show but Butler and Teague step in.
“Having that many guys that are that high level of players really challenges you. Usually you can zero in on one, maybe two.”
Can UW’s guards, specifically seniors D’Mitrik Trice and Brad Davison, match the Bears on Sunday?
That is to be determined. What is known is that Davison and Trice were terrific against North Carolina.
Davison came in shooting 41.7% from three-point range (10 of 24) in the previous four games and hit 5 of 7 attempts against the Tar Heels en route to scoring 29 points and grabbing six rebounds. He tied Frank Kaminsky for the second-most points by a UW player in an NCAA Tournament game, behind only Michael Finley (36).
He is shooting 39.4% from three-point range this season, up from his mark of 36.3% last season.
Trice, who has been solid all-around for most of the season, contributed 21 points, five rebounds and three assists. His rebounding helped UW’s big men in their battle and his scoring helped UW build a doubledigit lead by halftime and maintain that advantage the entire second half.
Trice enters the Baylor game leading UW in scoring (13.1 ppg), assists (4.0 per game) and minutes played (33.2 per game).
His three-point shooting is up to 38.0%, ahead of his mark of 37.1% last season.
“I think everybody who watched that game was very impressed,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said of UW’s performance against the Tar Heels.
Perhaps more telling is how Trice responded to making several key mistakes late in UW’s loss to Iowa in the Big Ten tournament. The fifth-year senior vowed he would play better in the NCAA Tournament and he got off to a strong start against the Tar Heels.
Baylor’s guards will present a more complete challenge.
“I try not to get caught up into it too much,” Trice said of the battle vs. Baylor’s guards. “You’ve just got to go out and play.
“Yesterday’s game was all about the bigs and what the bigs were going to be able to do. At the end of the day it came down to me and Brad making a lot of shots. The big guys were rebounding and did the dirty work down low.
“(But) at the end of the day the ball is going to be in our hands. And obviously with Baylor’s guards being really good and athletic and (they) can do a lot of different things, I do think it is going to come down to the head-to-head match-up between us guards.”