Defense is critical for Badgers
MADISON – Wisconsin shot 42.9% from three-point range against Wake Forest, shot 83.3% from the free-throw line, scored 17 points off turnovers and surpassed the 70-point mark for just the second time this season.
Somehow the Badgers still lost, 7875.
How?
UW played its worst defensive game of the season.
“Hopefully that was a one-time thing,” senior forward Tyler Wahl said. “I know the guys in this locker room, we’re going to attack practice this week and hopefully we get back to the way we were playing before.”
UW (5-2) must give a better defensive effort when it meets Marquette (6-2) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Fiserv Forum.
If the Badgers’ defensive effort resembles even remotely what fans saw against Wake Forest at the Kohl Center, the game could be over by halftime.
“They are such a dangerous team,” UW assistant Dean Oliver said of the Golden Eagles. “It is like a different leading scorer every night. And when you have teams like that it is very difficult to stop them.
“You have to be very solid as a unit. All five guys on that floor have got to be on the same page. It is going to take that type of effort.”
Marquette’s balanced offense will be a solid test for Wisconsin
The Golden Eagles are shooting just 33.6% from three-point range but they are shooting 48.0% overall and are averaging 82.3 points per game. They shot 58.2% (35 of 60) in dismantling No. 6 Baylor, 96-70, Tuesday night.
Like Wake Forest, the Golden Eagles feature balanced scoring. They have four players averaging at least 10.6 points per game, with four more between 5.4 and 8.8.
“They have all five guys on the floor who can put it on the floor and drive it,” Oliver said. “They can drive and kick or drive and score.
“And then they have enough shooters where they can spread you out, too. It is really going to test our ability to guard.”
Tyler Kolek is to Marquette what Tyree Appleby is to Wake Forest in terms of running the offense.
Kolek is averaging only 8.8 points per game, the No. 5 mark on the team, but has 66 assists and only 21 turnovers. He had 11 assists and three turnovers against Baylor.
Badgers’ defense had no answer for Wake Forest and Appleby
Between scoring and passing, Appleby was responsible for 43 of Wake Forest’s 78 points against UW.
Too often he was able to dribble past UW’s guards to get into the lane for baskets or kick-outs to open shooters. The help was late or non-existent. If the defense sagged off to prevent drives, Appleby was good enough to hit 4 of 6 three-pointers.
“It boils down to the No. 1 rule of our defense: Stop the ball,” UW coach Greg Gard said. “And when the ball doesn’t get stopped, there is a domino effect of things that happen because of that…That is why they shoot 56% and have 36 points in the paint.”
UW’s defense was at its worst early in the game and late when the outcome was decided.
The Deacs hit 9 of their first 10 fieldgoal attempts, including 3 of 3 threepointers, in the first 7:06 to take a 21-16 lead. They hit 5 of 7 field-goal attempts, including 2 of 3 three-pointers, and 6 of 7 free throws in the final 5:01 to outscore UW, 18-11.
In those two spurts, the Deacs hit 14 of 17 field-goal attempts, including 5 of 6 three-pointers, for a total of 39 points in 12:07.
Before falling to Wake Forest on Tuesday, the last time UW lost a game in which it scored at least 75 points was in the 2018-19 season. Purdue handed UW and 84-80 loss in the Kohl Center, but that game went to overtime.
“It’s a good learning experience for us,” Gard said, “because we’ve talked about this. We’ve done a pretty good job (but) we’ve had flashes of inconsistency.
“We’ve always caught ourselves. Tonight we didn’t catch ourselves.”
UW lost despite averaging 1.119 points per possession.
“You have to win those games,” Gard said. “What is more important? The defensive end over the course of the season. You’re going to go through ebbs and flows (offensively).… We’ve got to be, first and foremost, on the defensive end.”