Late free throws help Badgers hang on
MADISON – At this point in the basketball season, neither players nor coaches care how they win games. Just find a way.
Wisconsin found salvation at the free-throw line Tuesday night at the Kohl Center. UW hit 17 of 19 attempts in the second half, including 11 of 12 in the final minute, and 28 of 31 attempts overall in a 74-70 victory over Maryland in front of an announced crowd of 15,147.
That performance came just three days after the Badgers hit just 19 of 28 attempts in an 88-86 overtime loss at Iowa.
“I think the big thing is not dwelling on it,” Steven Crowl said of the loss at Iowa. “If you dwell on it, they’re just going to keep stacking up. I think we have a good group of guys, close and tight-knit. That makes it easy to come back from a loss like that.
“We watched the film, we flushed it and we moved on to the next, which was Maryland, and got it done.
“Now we’re on to the next.”
The Badgers (18-9, 10-6 Big Ten) took over sole possession of third place in the league and moved to within one game of second-place Illinois (19-6, 10-4).
Michigan State (17-9, 10-6) failed to keep pace with UW thanks to a 78-71 home loss to Iowa earlier Tuesday.
Maryland (14-13, 6-10) suffered its third consecutive road loss — by nine, four and four points.
“That’s a good team,” UW coach Greg Gard said. “Gritty effort against a really physical, hard-nosed team. Typical Big Ten battle. They have been right there in every game.”
Three days after allowing Iowa to make 60.5% of its two-point shots (26 of 43) and attempt 30 free throws, the Badgers fared better against Maryland.
The Terps, 13th in the Big Ten in scoring (66.6 ppg) and field-goal shooting (39.8%) in league games, shot 42.9% in the opening half as UW built a 37-29 lead.
They warmed after halftime and finished at 46.2%. The Terps hit 19 of 37 two-point shots (51.4%).
Point guard Jahmir Young, averaging 21.2 points, 4.0 assists and 6.9 freethrow attempts per game, scored 11 points to keep Maryland close in the opening half and finished with 20 points. He hit just 6 of 17 shots, however, as Chucky Hepburn and John Blackwell did most of the defensive work.
“If he is not the best guard in the league, he is one of the best,” Gard said. “He just puts so much pressure on you all the time. At the rim. Threes. In transition. So explosive.”
Julian Reese (13.6 ppg, 10.1 rpg) added 18 points and seven rebounds and Donta Scott overcame an ugly first half (1-for-5 shooting) to finish with 12 points for Maryland.
Maryland came in No. 1 in the Big Ten in scoring defense in league games (66.4 ppg) but UW moved the ball well, shot 54.5% in the opening half and finished at 44.7% after a chilly second half (9 of 25).
The Badgers’ lone issue on offense early on was too many turnovers. They had eight in their first 24 possessions, which Maryland turned into 12 points. UW turned the ball over only four times in the final 38 possessions, however, and outscored Maryland, 17-14, off turnovers.
“They’re physical and one of the best defensive teams in the country,” Tyler Wahl said. “It is hard to replicate in practice. I feel like it was (us) getting our feet wet and getting used to the physicality they were going to play with.”
Wahl, limited to 22 minutes 6 seconds of play at Iowa because of foul trouble, was active from the opening minute. He had three first-half turnovers but contributed 10 points and five rebounds in the half and finished with 18 points and six rebounds. He hit 6 of 9 field-goal attempts and 6 of 7 free throws.
Max Klesmit, a combined 5-for-27 shooting in the previous three games, scored 11 of his 16 points after halftime. He hit a huge three-pointer for a 63-56 lead with 56.6 seconds left and hit 8 of 8 free throws.
Six of the free throws came in the final 36 seconds when the pressure was on. He closed the scoring with two free throws with two seconds left, after Jamie Kaiser hit a three-pointer to cut UW’s lead to 72-70.
“The thing with Kles is,” Wahl said, “you’re always going to get energy out of him. When he is on the court he is locked in and ready to go.”
Going head-to-head against Reese, Crowl contributed eight points and eight rebounds.
Chucky Hepburn, the primary defender on Young, had 11 points and four rebounds and didn’t turn the ball over. He hit two free throws to give UW a 7267 lead with 10.3 seconds left.
AJ Storr hit just 5 of 13 shots but added 10 points and eight rebounds. Freshman John Blackwell led the reserves with nine points, two rebounds and a block. He hit 7 of 8 free throws.
“John Blackwell was huge for us tonight,” Gard said.
UW now gets a mini-break. The Badgers’ next game is Tuesday night at Indiana.
“After a loss the urgency always goes up a little bit,” Wahl said. “I feel like on the defensive end tonight and in practice the last few days we’ve picked it up a lot. We’ve been wanting to be physical and string stops together. That is what ultimately got us in position to win tonight.”