On any other night, the story surrounding Wisconsin men’s basketball’s 69-60 victory over Illinois would’ve been consumed by talk of Ethan Happ.
The redshirt freshman knocked down 20 points and tallied 12 rebounds and six steals; a performance that merits such attention.
But what was most striking and the focal point of the Badgers’ win was something more than just personal statistics and an impressive individual performance. It was the entire team’s attitude, one that proved Wisconsin (17-10 overall, 9-5 Big Ten) is ready for, and deserves to be included in, the NCAA tournament.
“Tonight wasn’t that pretty, especially the first 25 to 30 minutes,” UW head coach Greg Gard said. “But that resolve, that fight, that grit, which I commended them on in the locker room, shows that they’re maturing. And that when things don’t go well, you can still find ways to be on the winning side of things.”
Despite the performance of Illinois’ Malcolm Hill, who had 20 points, seven rebounds and two steals of his own, Wisconsin was able to force the Illini into bad shots and turnovers at crucial times during the game. But it took a much bigger turn of events for Wisconsin, getting its entire offense started, to steal the game from Illinois’ grasp.
Down by 13 with 12:22 left in the second half, hopes of making the big dance seemed to be slipping out of Wisconsin’s sights. But Happ, alongside juniors Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig, took matters into their own hands to ensure a Wisconsin victory.
The Badgers went on a 22-2 run directly after a mid-range jumper by Hill and never looked back.
After shooting a dismal 28.6 percent from the field in the first half and going into the locker room down by five points, Wisconsin righted the ship and shot 68.8 percent in the second half to close out the game.
Extra passes sent Illini defenders flying by and gave Wisconsin’s shooters open looks, which they knocked down with ease, opposite of the first half.
Happ, who has shown his mix of maturity and immaturity throughout the season, once again buckled down in an important game and gave Wisconsin steady production, proving he is indeed closer to a matured player than many of his underclassmen counterparts.
“[Happ] was really good,” Illinois head coach John Grouce said. ”He’s tough to cover one-on-one because he’s such a good ball handler down low and he has good balance … I think he plays the game the right way from watching him.”
Hayes, who started out very slow, shot 0-5 from the field in the first half, but regained composure to shoot 4-5 in the second half and finished with 17 points. His production was vital during the Badgers’ 22-2 run that ultimately won the game, but it also showed a resiliency that has been lacking in Wisconsin basketball at times this season.
Hayes has been susceptible to falling into prolonged rhythms of poor shot selection, most recently in the Michigan State game Feb. 18, but was able to break the trend in Sunday’s game.
“[Tonight] was a carry-over from last year,” Hayes said. “There were times when we’d be playing, whether it was down by 13 or however many points, and we would all give each other a look, you know, ‘Let’s turn this around’ … And we did that tonight.”
The win showed Wisconsin’s ability to fight back, which the NCAA tournament selection committee likely will not take lightly. And the win helped the Badgers regain composure after a poor shooting performance in a demoralizing loss, only four nights prior, against Michigan State.
All of this comes only three days before a clash against No. 4 Iowa in Iowa City, a win that can further make Wisconsin’s case to go dancing come March.
