SPORTS
Full-court defense forces UW out of rhythm
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Also by Ben Voelkel:
- Rocky trip Outback for UW (January 1, 2008)
Related Stories:
- Hughes sparks comeback victory (November 12, 2007)
- Landry brothers face off (January 19, 2007)
- Landry out for '06 season (January 24, 2006)
- Super-Marquette Sweep (December 11, 2006)
- Flowers takes medical leave (October 19, 2007)
by Ben Voelkel
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
DURHAM, N.C. — One play in the second half seemed to typify
the game for Wisconsin.
With 4:50 remaining and the Badgers trailing by 18, Marcus
Landry was fouled pulling down a defensive rebound. As Landry lay on the
ground, still tangled up with Duke forward Kyle Singler, Michael Flowers — normally
one of the Badgers' coolest customers — blatantly pushed Singler to the ground
after the whistle.
Flowers was assessed a technical foul on the play, and the
sequence illustrated the frustration the Badgers felt while being manhandled by
No. 7 Duke.
"Just saying the word 'Duke,' you know they're going to be
good," Wisconsin forward Joe Krabbenhoft said.
Playing in a packed Cameron Indoor Stadium and in front of a
raucous crowd, the Blue Devils took it to the Badgers using a pressure defense
that forced Wisconsin out of its normal offense.
"No one has made them play full court this year, so that was
an advantage for us," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Not that we caused
a lot of turnovers, but we forced them to move their offense out a little
more."
And while the Badgers had prepared for that sort of
defensive attack in practice, it wasn't the same during gametime.
"Everything we did in practice was (there), … but we don't
have (Duke forward Gerald) Henderson on the defensive end in practice,"
Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said. "We don't have (DeMarcus) Nelson. So it's
kind of tough to get that defensive pressure simulated."
Coupled with the pressure, the Cameron crowd didn't make
things any easier for the Badgers.
"Playing in here those guys are so confident, and getting up
on us and trying to get us to turn the ball over, get us rattled with their
crowd behind," Krabbenhoft said.
Point guard Trevon Hughes, who led the team coming into the
game with a 19.4 point per game scoring average, struggled to get going. Hughes
had already picked up his second personal foul by the first media time out with
15:31 remaining in the game and was forced to the bench.
When he did return, he shot poorly (4-for-13) and ended the
game with three turnovers.
After the game, Ryan thought Hughes tried to force the
action too much.
"Sure," Ryan said when asked if Hughes tried to force the
action. "You couldn't read my lips over on the sideline?"
The Badgers’ other offensive cog, Brian Butch, struggled
shooting the ball as well. Butch finished with 11 points, but missed seven of
his 12 shot attempts.
"Brian had probably the most open looks of anybody in the
first half, they just weren't going down for him," Ryan said.
Those misses allowed Duke to get out and push the ball
offensively, and Wisconsin was unable to get back on defense to stop the
transition baskets. For the game, the Blue Devils outscored the Badgers 17-2 on
fast break points.
"We tried to push it," Duke point guard Greg Paulus said.
"We were a little smaller than them, so we have to try and use that quickness
to our advantage."
"They definitely have some quickness, and we just couldn't
adjust to it at first," forward Jon Leuer said of Duke's transition game.
By the time the Badgers were able to adjust, it was too
late. Wisconsin fell behind by as many as 25 points in the first half.
"I don't know the phrase to use, 'blood in the water' — they
just wanted to kill us, I don't know what to say," a somber Krabbenhoft said.
But if there are any positives to take from a 24-point
whooping, Krabbenhoft believes the Badgers will find them.
"Disappointed, but
there's no quitting in this team. … One through 16, there's no quitting in
anybody in the whole staff," Krabbenhoft said. "We're going to bounce back.
We've got a lot to learn, and this is a good game to learn from."
Anonymous (November 28, 2007 @ 11:49pm):
Great work Ben!
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