Badgers find offense in 71-60 win over Terps

[Da-news-now]

Nigel Hayes and Ethan Happ awoke in the second half, and Wisconsin took full advantage of it in a 71-60 comeback victory over the Maryland Terrapins.


Wisconsin found itself down by six points at the half in large part to shooting just 28 percent from the field. However, UW erased that lead and then some as it finally got two players hot in Ethan Happ and Nigel Hayes.

Happ had 20 points once again for UW, but he finally got some help as Nigel Hayes lived at the free throw line and poured in 21 points (9 of 14 from the free throw line).

Wisconsin’s sophomore center, Happ, wouldn’t just get it done scoring either. He would add seven rebounds, three assists, five steals and two blocks on the day.

UW shot an incredible 51.5 percent from the field in the second half, opening up its big lead with a 19-5 run to start the second half.

If Wisconsin was going to get out of its shooting slump, someone forgot to tell the guys on the court in the first half. Wisconsin had three droughts of 2:30 or longer in the first half and went in to the break shooting just 28 percent.

Maryland was able to shoot 50 percent from the field, but led just 33-27 at the half. That was in large part due to 11 turnovers, which Wisconsin turned in to 11 points.

Wisconsin also added 12 points from the free throw line and six second-chance points to keep the game close at the half.

Hayes led all Badgers in the first half with seven points, but was just 2-of-7 from the field and amazingly was 3-of-4 from the charity stripe.

However, the highlight of the first half came from Brevin Pritzl, who shocked everyone in attendance and those watching at home with a two-handed slam off a great cut.


Pritzl would go on to finish with his best game of the season, pouring in seven points and grabbing seven boards on the day.

However, Prtizl’s slam dunk wasn’t the wake up call. That came later and in private for the Badgers. The wake up call for Wisconsin’ offense finally came at intermission of this contest. Wisconsin came out absolutely on fire and erased Maryland’s lead in less than four minutes.

However, UW’s offense wasn’t the only thing that woke up in the second half. After UW’s 19-5 run to start the second half, Maryland’s Melo Trimble went nuts to try to get his team back in the game.

With UW leading 38-46 with 12:16 to play, Trimble went on to score 12 of Maryland’s next 14 points. However, the Terps couldn’t stop fouling and unlike most of the season, Wisconsin was actually good from the free throw line.

Six made free throws made sure that Wisconsin maintained a lead. Once Trimble cooled off a bit, the Badgers took a four-point lead with 7:21 to play and extended it to a game-high 12 points at 64-52 in less than four minutes of action.

It was a lead that would only get under 10 points again after the game was well in hand with 24 seconds to play.

Just how efficient was Wisconsin’s second half offense? Check this out from Dave Revsine of BTN:

Wisconsin 2nd half – better than 1.4 points per possession. As good as they've looked in quite some time.

— Dave Revsine (@BTNDaveRevsine) February 19, 2017
​

Trimble was Maryland’s offense on the day, as only Michal Cekovsky (10 points) reached double figures alongside the star guard.

UW’s victory not only puts them even with Purdue at the top of the standings, it puts the pressure squarely back on the Boilermakers after their big win over Michigan State on Saturday afternoon.

Maryland meanwhile must hope that both Purdue and Wisconsin drop a pair of games while they go on to win out to become Big Ten regular season champions.

Certainly it is advantage Wisconsin if they can get the offense they saw in the second half to be the offense that goes the entire game from now on.

The post Badgers find offense in 71-60 win over Terps appeared first on A Wisconsin Badgers Site.

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[TW]

Sometimes, the real catalyst for a team is a guy sitting towards the end of the bench, who finally gets his chance, after being considered a lesser player during his entire tenure on a team. Enter Brandon Pritzl, a player they said could shoot, but couldn't play defense.

I think the second half of that statement may have been a tad over reactive, because I watched this kid disrupt play by Trimble, and the best Maryland had to offer. I also watched him go up and snare rebounds in the land of giants, when nobody else could. I also watched him slam down a dunk shot that gave his team a lift that pushed them up a notch in play. In other words, I saw a kid who finally got a chance, and proved he deserves time on the floor. Screw perceptions that are often clouded by personal perceptions that may not be totally accurate. His play may be a bit unorthodox, but dammit, he was the player who turned this team around in the second half.

Maryland had to watch him, opening it up for Happ, Hayes, Koenig, and Showalter. He forced them to cover him, and when they did, it opened up other opportunities.

If you watched the game, you saw Wisconsin playing their best ball with a 3 guard offense, because Pritzl was one of those guys. Put him out there with Koenig, and Showalter, and they looked very good. They moved the ball, and found people open.

As good as I believe Gard is, I also think he needs to understand that he needs to work with Trice before he can really be a positive force on the floor. His play is sporadic, but will get better. In the meantime, for the rest of this year, they need to explore the depth they have, and utilize the skills of all their players, not just 7.

If they don't, it's going to be one and done in the NCAA tourney.

 

[57packer]

Trice seems at his best when he plays in 3-4 minute chunks coming off the bench. I think when he starts or plays long minutes he seems to put pressure on himself to make things happen or to take a high volume of shots - things he's not quite ready for.

Pritzl did provide a bit of a spark and it would have been even a bigger spark had that basket at the end of the first half counted. The kid can play. He might not be a finished product on either end just yet but he deserves minutes off the bench along with Trice and Iverson. Right now, that is probably as deep as I would go with the bench unless Happ gets in foul trouble against a taller team. Then maybe I give Thomas some minutes, but right now, Trice, Pritzl and Iverson seem to bring more to the court than any other reserves and I would try to stabilize an 8 man rotation around the starters and those 3 the rest of the way.