SPORTS
Thrown out back-court
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Also by Dave McGrath:
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- Badgers flat in exhibition (November 9, 2006)
- Flowers takes medical leave (October 19, 2007)
- Michigan State able to hit free throws, put away cold-shooting UW at game's end (March 3, 2006)
by Dave McGrath
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. — It was a rough night for the Badger backcourt. After scoring a combined eight points, Kammron Taylor could only shake his head, searching for answers, while Michael Flowers declined to meet the media after what was a very frustrating 64-55 loss to Michigan State.
And for the second time this year, the No. 1 Wisconsin men's basketball team watched another team's fans storm the court in celebration.
Against Indiana the Badgers could only tip their hats to IU's defense and A.J. Ratliff's lights-out 3-point shooting. This time around, though, UW could only blame itself for falling, as the team's top players simply couldn't come through.
"[The team] looks to us; they look to us to carry them through times like this," senior forward Alando Tucker said. "It's all about how you bounce back."
While Tucker — who the Spartans mobbed at every touch like an ant colony does a picnic — was limited to just two points in the second half, it was the lack of help he received offensively, particularly from his backcourt, that proved to be fatal for UW.
Taylor had his worst game of the season, going 0-for-6 from the field with no rebounds and just one assist, plus a turnover, scoring only two points from the free-throw line. That was while playing all but one minute of the contest.
"I don't know, I don't know," the somber senior said afterward, unable to assess what went wrong. "That was all me. I wasn't as aggressive as I should've been."
Meanwhile, Taylor's backcourt-mate Michael Flowers was only slightly better, scoring five points on 2-10 shooting.
"Our shots weren't going down," Taylor said. "We were sort of flustered on the offensive end."
While the Madison native was able to corral five rebounds, distribute four assists without a turnover and poke away two steals, he also could only watch helplessly as the Spartan's Drew Neitzel — Flowers' primary defensive assignment — toasted the Badgers for 28 points on 10-17 shooting.
[Neitzel] just caught fire," Taylor said. "It's hard to stop a guy when he's putting up difficult shots and they're still going in. He was hot and unfortunately for us he stayed hot for the whole game."
Neitzel's sharp shooting was a little too much déjà vu for Tucker's liking, however, recalling the Badgers' loss to Indiana.
"The two times we lost, we couldn't contain shooters," Tucker said. "If we want to win, if want to be successful, guys are going to have to be able to find ways to stop guys when they get hot. That's the whole team collectively."
It was the first time Taylor had been held without a field goal since going 0-6 against Indiana in the 2006 Big Ten Tournament, also a Wisconsin loss.
"Here's the way you describe an off night: How do you respond the next night?" UW head coach Bo Ryan said. "You've just got to pick up the pieces."
Tucker expressed full confidence in his teammate's ability to rebound from the rough night in time for what will be the game of the season for Wisconsin this Sunday, traveling to Ohio State with a Big Ten championship on the line.
"Kam always bounces back, bounces back strong," Tucker said. "I'm not worried about that."
As for Flowers, even Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo believed that Neitzel's night was more of a superb individual performance than a lax defensive one by the UW junior.
"I still think Flowers is one of the best defensive players in this league," Izzo said.
Flowers' teammates agreed with Izzo's assessment.
"Some of the shots he was hitting, tough jumpers getting the crowd into it," senior forward Jason Chappell said. "I don't know who could've stopped some of those."
Having now watched fans of powerhouse programs Indiana and Michigan State rush the floor after the victories over the Badgers, though, it is quite clear UW has earned a level of respect possibly never before achieved in the program's history.
"I guess that's how you know you're good," Chappell said. "Especially with those two teams, those two programs, it says something."
Anonymous (February 21, 2007 @ 3:28am):
Just a second, here. So you're telling us that Indiana gets credit for their victory because of stellar defense and hot shooting, but MSU's win is just Wisconsin's fault? That's the framework you set up for this article, and I don't buy it.
Maybe you haven't noticed, but MSU has one of the very best defenses in the country. They've been holding just about everyone to mid 30's shooting percentages, and holding team's leading scorers to below-average performances. Neitzel has been shooting over 40% from 3-point range all season. MSU is a good team who was an open 3-point miss from winning in Columbus.
I have too much respect for Alando Tucker to believe he considers the Missouri State game a win, so I guess his "two times we lost" quote is out of context and he's talking only about the Big ten season.
The rematch in Madison should be interesting.
Anonymous (February 21, 2007 @ 8:34am):
i have to agree with the previous comment. if michigan state didn't earn that win last night, get out of the business. i can understand having a bias for your school, which the writer most certainly does (as do i, with msu). but to ignore the numbers in order to paint a better picture of u-w's performance is embarrassing, both to the team as well as the paper. as much as i don't like bo ryan nor wisco, i respect them all standing up and taking the loss like men, and turning their attention to osu. perhaps the writer could take a lesson from them.
Anonymous (February 21, 2007 @ 11:24am):
quit bashing the writer. we shot like crap and neitzel made several lucky shots, you take away his runner in the lane and the rediculous 3 that fell in and we were even at that point. we don't have a team built to come from behind and once they got up by 6 it was over.
Anonymous (February 21, 2007 @ 3:58pm):
How exactly does it make Wisconsin look good to bash them? At Indiana, Ratliff made several threes with hands in his face, and the Badger offense played the way it has all season.
Last night, the Badgers didn't get to the rim, shot a million threes and let Neitzel get WIDE open shots all game.
The team didn't rebound worth a darn (a hustle stat) and the guards shot AWFUL.
The MSU defense is very good, but there were open shots missed by Flowers all night, while most of Kam's long balls were totally forced and bad shots.
Michigan State did play well, but if UW played up to its potential they should have pulled out this game. Remember it was 51-49 wih 7 to go. Then MSU had their run and Wisco and their guards continued their poor offensive play and let Neitzel get open for shots that he got nice rolls on.
Anonymous (February 21, 2007 @ 7:53pm):
Michigan State did well for themselves to hang with the Badgers, until seven minutes to play. Everything after that was absolutely the worst seven minutes Wisconsin has had all year (excluding maybe the Missouri State loss, I didn't see that game). The Badgers took dumb shots, couldn't rebound worth a crap off the offensive boards, and generally looked like they didn't know what to do when they were down.
Sure, credit the Spartans for playing tough against the number one team in the country. Credit Drew Neitzel for coming up huge for his team with some timely shooting. In the final seven minutes, MSU's offense didn't change, it just kept hitting some shots here, missing some there. That's fine. But defensively, they didn't have to do anything. Wisconsin, just as McGrath says, BEAT THEMSELVES. They beat themselves, plain as day. They looked like last year's team, the one that couldn't hit a perimeter shot to save their lives.
I think the Spartans are, in fact, a good team, and should be in the tourney (though, remember, they won't have the comfort of the Izzone in March, so will they be the same team?) But even the most die-hard of Spartan fans can admit UW didn't do themselves any favors when it mattered last night...something they need to work on if they want to take home any hardware in five weeks.
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