UW flourishes when others deliver
LINCOLN, Neb. – Big Ten teams generally know what to expect when facing Wisconsin.
Foremost, Ethan Happ is going to cause matchup issues.
“If you play him single coverage all night,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said after the Wildcats’ 62-46 loss to UW, “he is probably going to foul your big guys out.”
Swarming Happ with double-teams can work, but the senior more often than not will find open shooters such as guards D’Mitrik Trice and Brad Davison. Both sophomores are shooting better than 40 percent from three-point range and they combined to hit 7 of 12 threepointers against the Wildcats on Saturday.
“When you are giving help you’re going to give up some threes,” Collins said. “And when they’re shooting well you’ve got to pick your poison. That’s what makes them a really good team.”
Yet UW (14-6, 6-3 Big Ten), which plays host Nebraska (13-6, 3-7) at 7 p.m. Tuesday, is in the midst of a three-game winning streak in part because several complementary players have made significant contributions.
“With this group,” UW assistant Howard Moore said, “the thing that I like is that there are going to be certain styles and situations where guys can really find their niche. It depends on who you are playing and guys being opportunistic about how they are going to find a way to contribute.”
Reserves Kobe King and Aleem Ford were critical in UW’s victory over then No. 4 Michigan, the first of the Badgers’ three consecutive victories, with a combined 15 points and seven rebounds.
Ford, who had two free-throw attempts all season, converted a huge three-point play to forge a 43-43 tie and finished with nine points and two rebounds.
King hit a critical three-pointer to give UW a 48-44 lead and finished with six points and five rebounds.
That duo was surprisingly quiet four days later in a 72-60 victory at Illinois.
King in 15 minutes had two rebounds, two turnovers and one assist. He didn’t attempt a shot. Ford in 11 minutes had three fouls and two assists. He missed his only shot.
No worries.
Nate Reuvers, Khalil Iverson and Brevin Pritzl helped fill the void.
Reuvers recorded his first doubledouble (22 points, 10 rebounds) and hurt the Illini from the three-point line and in the lane.
Iverson, who played 22 minutes total against Maryland and Michigan, played 26 minutes against the Illini. He hit 5 of 7 shots and contributed 12 points, seven rebounds, two steals, two blocks and tenacious defense.
“He was really locked in and engaged and active right from the start,” coach Greg Gard said of Iverson. “Khalil did a good job of keeping us where we needed to be in the first half even though we were kicking the ball around too much. He was making some positive plays.”
Pritzl, who had a total of two points in UW’s previous three games, made plays on both ends of the court and finished with three points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal. He attempted two shots, both three-pointers. His first was an airball. His second hit nothing but net to give UW a 58-50 lead.
“I thought he steadied us,” Gard said. “He is a smart, heady player who for the most part makes good decisions. The three he hit in front of our bench was a big one.
“When he is in the right mode, we can trust him on both ends of the floor.”
Happ (18.9 points per game), Trice (14.2) and Davison (10.7) are the only three UW scoring in double figures. They combined for 49 of UW’s 62 points against Northwestern.
The next five scorers range from Reuvers (8.7) to Ford (3.1).
King is shooting 41.9 percent from three-point range; Iverson is second on the team in rebounds at 4.1 per game and can be a lock-down defender; Pritzl has shown he can contribute in a variety of ways; Ford led UW in three-point shooting last season but has been inconsistent this season since suffering a knee injury before the opener.
“You don’t play without your glue guys,” Pritzl said, “guys that can step up at any moment. So the fact you can have different guys that have the ability to step up in any game is big. You never know. It could be Khalil and Kobe. Or me and Aleem. So as long as you have guys who are ready to produce and ready to perform, it is always an asset.”