Garden offers Koenig shot at do-over

NEW YORK — Two of the worst shooting performances of Bronson Koenig’s career came at Madison Square Garden.

But the Wisconsin senior point guard also has some good memories from the historic venue that hosted Friday night’s NCAA tournament Sweet 16 game between the eighth-seeded Badgers (27-9) and No. 4 seed Florida (26-8).

In three previous games at Madison Square Garden over the last two seasons, Koenig shot 33.3 percent from the field (13-for-39) and 23.8 percent from 3-point range (5-for-21).

He went 2-for-13 overall and 2-for-10 from beyond the arc during a 61-54 overtime win over Rutgers on Jan. 28. Koenig was 2-for-12 overall and 1-for-6 from long range during a loss to Georgetown last season in a semifinal of the 2K Classic.

Sandwiched between those poor shooting performances was a 22-point outing against VCU in the 2K Classic consolation game. Koenig went 9-for-14 in that game, including 2-for-5 from beyond the arc.

The game against Rutgers deserves an asterisk. Koenig had strained his left calf a few days earlier, an injury that would cause him to miss a game at Michigan.

Koenig said there’s nothing about Madison Square Garden that makes it difficult for a shooter.

“I thought it was maybe a little bit of nerves,” Koenig said. “That Rutgers game was like a two-game-a-season thing where you just forget how to shoot."

Koenig redeemed himself against Rutgers by making a 3-pointer from NBA range to cut the Badgers’ deficit to one with 32.4 seconds remaining in regulation. That set the stage for Ethan Happ’s basket with two seconds remaining that sent the game into overtime.

If anybody was happy to get back to Madison Square Garden, it was Happ, who finished with a career-high 32 points against Rutgers.

The Badgers shot 33.3 percent during their first trip and went 3-for-25 from 3-point range.

Any advantage the Badgers might have had in familiarity with the venue was washed out by the fact Florida played at Madison Square Garden this season as well. The Gators lost 84-74 to Duke on Dec. 6.