Badgers regain balance
Strong play on both ends helps subdue Wildcats
WASHINGTON - Northwestern, vying for the first NCAA Tournament berth in program history, entered Day 4 of the Big Ten tournament as one of three feel-good stories left in the field.
Wisconsin, the highest remaining seed at No. 2, was the forgotten semifinalist.
Coach Greg Gard’s players reminded the Wildcats and the rest of the Big Ten that UW can be a formidable foe when it marries defensive intensity with offensive efficiency.
The Badgers rocked Northwestern early with a double-digit lead and never trailed in a stunning 76-48 victory Saturday at the Verizon Center.
“Just proud of our guys, of how they’ve continued to improve and grow, take little things we have worked on throughout the year and
continue to get better at it,” Gard said. “Obviously Northwestern has had a heck of a year. For us to come in and play this well, show we’re getting better at this time of year, it’s a huge step.”
UW (25-8) avenged a home loss to Northwestern and reached the tournament championship game for the second time in three seasons. The Badgers play at 2 p.m. Sunday against No. 8 Michigan (23-11), an 84-77 winner over No. 4 Minnesota earlier Saturday.
Derrick Walton Jr. had 29 points, nine assists, five rebounds, two steals and just one turnover for the Wolverines.
As they did in their quarterfinal victory over Indiana, the Badgers got contributions from up and down the lineup.
Senior Nigel Hayes hit 7 of 11 shots, recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds and teamed with Ethan Happ to pound away at the Wildcats inside.
Happ finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. He hit 4 of 6 fieldgoal attempts and, remarkably, 8 of 11 free throws. Happ came in 2 of 15 from the free-throw line in UW’s previous four games and was shooting 47.5% this season.
The redshirt sophomore said he has started holding the ball more loosely and lower on his body and is working to use a more fluid shooting motion.
“All the hours that I’ve put in,” he said, “today kind of gives me a relief that it is not for nothing.”
Zak Showalter was fabulous. The senior guard harassed Northwestern’s Bryant McIntosh and contributed 10 points and two assists. McIntosh hit 10 of 23 shots and recorded 25 points and seven assists in the first meeting with UW. Showalter, with help from Jordan Hill, helped limit McIntosh to 4-for-12 shooting and eight points.
“They took a lot of our stuff away, pushed us out on the floor,” said McIntosh, who was averaging a team-high 14.6 points per game.
Vitto Brown hit 2 of 5 three-pointers and contributed eight points and eight rebounds for UW. His activity on the glass was contagious and UW won the rebound battle, 36-27, and consistently beat the Wildcats to 50-50 balls.
Senior guard Bronson Koenig finished with just eight points but they all came in the first 7 minutes 1 second as UW built a 15-3 lead it never lost. Freshman guard D’Mitrik Trice had six points and three assists for UW, which had five players with 2 three-pointers each.
The Badgers were without sophomore guard Khalil Iverson, who flew home to Ohio late Friday because of a death in the family.
“We love him,” Hayes said. “We’ve got his back. We’re there for him if he wants to talk to anyone or just take his mind off things. We’re going to try to win this for him and his family.”
Northwestern shot 45.7% from three-point range (16 of 35) and 57.7% overall (56 of 97) in its first two tournament games. The Wildcats struggled Saturday and
finished 3 for 14 from three-point range (21.4%) and 18 for 52 overall (34.6%).
“This was one of our best games of the year,” Brown said. “Not only putting offense and defense together but putting both halves together.
“We might close a game good or we might start a game good. But this was the first time we didn’t let a team even have a chance of coming back in the end.”