SPORTS
Defensive effort of Flowers on Gordon pivotal in victory
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Also by Mike Ackerstein:
- WCHA, Big Ten should have little effect on polls (January 31, 2008)
- Badgers hit by upset train at Purdue (January 28, 2008)
- UW heads for 1st league test (January 25, 2008)
Related Stories:
- UW hosts IU, hopes to rebound from upset loss (January 31, 2008)
- Gordon to enter NBA draft (April 15, 2004)
- UConn Huskies knock of Fightin' Irish (February 25, 2003)
- Gordon shines versus Badgers (September 27, 2004)
- Huskies exterminate Yellow Jackets (April 6, 2004)
by Mike Ackerstein
Friday, February 1, 2008
Eric Gordon and D.J. White may have done all they could
offensively, but in the end, Wisconsin’s defense shut down the rest of
Indiana’s team, holding the Hoosiers to season-lows in shooting percentage (33
percent) and points (49), in the Badgers’ win Thursday.
Though White and Gordon were each able to find their points
(White finished with 22 and Gordon had 16), the Badgers clamped down on the
rest of their opponent’s roster, helping UW avoid back-to-back losses in
conference play.
“Those are two great players,” junior Joe Krabbenhoft said
of Gordon and White. “But we did a pretty good job on them collectively as a
team. I’m proud of all the guys.”
White was the only consistent scorer IU had for most of the
game as UW contained Gordon for the first 25 minutes, and by the time Indiana’s
star freshman got hot, Wisconsin already had a double-digit cushion to rely on.
It was senior Michael Flowers who drew Gordon for most of
the game and even though the freshman did go on a 10-0 run in the second half,
Flowers was able to disrupt the Hoosier’s guard just enough to pull out the
victory.
“That Flowers kid is a tough kid,” Indiana coach Kelvin
Sampson said. “I thought [UW] really guarded [Eric Gordon] well.”
In the first half, Gordon scored just four points on 2-7
shooting, and Wisconsin was able to enter the break up 10 points.
“I thought we did a great job on him, led by Mike Flowers
again, our defensive leader,” Krabbenhoft said.
Gordon settled for several long 3-pointers over the course
of the game, and when the guard was able to take it to the basket, he was
usually met with a pair of Badger defenders.
However, the freshman sensation had been battling an injury
to his left wrist, and Sampson attributed part of the guard’s inabilities to
his injury.
“He had a tough time going to his left, obviously, and they
kept sitting on his right hand,” Sampson said.
“He was basically a one-route player tonight, but it didn’t
affect his shooting. Wisconsin did a good job guarding him.”
Flowers also helped the effort with his play on the boards,
grabbing three defensive rebounds, including a key one on a missed free throw
late in the game.
Making Flower’s performance more impressive was that he
wasn’t at full strength heading into the game.
“[Flowers] was battling the flu,” Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan
said. “You could probably tell by his facial expressions that he wasn’t 100
percent, but he never stepped back.”
White and Gordon accounted for 38 of Indiana’s 49 points, 78
percent of the team’s scoring. Indiana’s third-leading scorer for the night,
Jamarcus Ellis, finished with just four points as Wisconsin handled the
visiting role players well.
Though IU’s Jordan Crawford and Armon Basset each entered
the game averaging double-digit scoring figures, the two combined for just two
points in the loss. Basset and Crawford also shot just 1-11 from the field.
“I really liked our defensive effort and trying to get them
to take shots they weren’t quite as comfortable with,” Ryan said.
Indiana shot just 31 percent from the field in the first half,
14 percent from behind the arc for the game, and it was Wisconsin’s defense
against IU’s shooting earlier in the game that helped preserve the lead late.
Indiana had been averaging 78.6 points per game and was the Big Ten’s highest
scoring offensive team, but Wisconsin’s ability to slow them earlier was enough
to stave off Indiana’s late run.
“We had a lot of looks,” Sampson said. “In the second half,
I thought we had a lot of clean looks and good opportunities, but just couldn’t
make the shots. We couldn’t buy one tonight.”
Anonymous (February 1, 2008 @ 10:53am):
I can't wait to see Wisconsin play at Indiana to see what the outcome will be. As much as home court is an advantage, I think the Badgers proved that they belong among the top 15 while Indiana proved that they go as Gordon goes.
Anonymous (February 1, 2008 @ 12:15pm):
I live in southern Indiana, so needless to say I'm a huge IU fan. You guys played hard-nosed ball last night, and I congratulate you. However, I don't think UW's D was as tenacious as this article portrays it. Yes, Flowers did a great job on Gordon...but the other players missed a bunch of open looks they usually knock down. Bassett in particular. Good game, and I look forward to the rematch!
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