With the regular basketball season coming to a close and Wisconsin on the bubble to get into the NCAA tournament, the men’s basketball team will take on University of Michigan Sunday at the Kohl Center.
The Badgers are coming off a disappointing 61-50 loss at the hands of Michigan State last Sunday in East Lansing. With 12:31 left in the game, Wisconsin held a 41-29 lead over the Spartans before going almost nine minutes without a field goal.
“I think when we did get to that drought, we missed some easy ones that could have definitely gone down,” Wisconsin assistant head coach Greg Gard said. “I think we missed 11 point blank, which weren’t layups so to speak, because there was traffic involved — but you want to be able to get the ball into high-percentage areas and you have to come away with something, especially when another team is making a run.”
Against the Spartans, the Badgers also had problems in the paint. They only had 16 points in the paint compared to Michigan State’s 32. Wisconsin was also outrebounded 37-25, including 13-8 on the offensive glass.
“Obviously, Michigan State is one of the most physical teams in the Big Ten,” Wisconsin forward Jon Leuer said. “They got the best of us that day. We’re not going to make any excuses. I just feel like I have to get better and I think everyone on the team knows if we want to do some of the things we want to do this season, we all have to get better.”
Since their loss against the Spartans, the Badgers have had the last week off, which has given them time to recover. The last time they had a week break was before they played Michigan in Ann Arbor at the end of December where UW came away with a 73-61 win.
“This is a long stretch of the season and it’s a tough stretch for us,” Wisconsin junior guard Jason Bohannon said. “It’s good to get our legs back and refocus and everything, especially after a tough loss at Michigan State.”
Going into last night’s game the Wolverines had a 17-11 record and 7-8 in conference play. Entering the Big Ten season, the Wolverines started out strong with wins over Duke and UCLA. Since then, however, they have played well despite losing to Iowa and Penn State on the road.
“They are definitely a talented team, we know that,” Leuer said. “They have beat some great teams this year and we know we have our hands full, but we look forward to the opportunity (to play them).”
Michigan is led offensively by sophomore Manny Harris, who averages 16.9 points per game. As a team, the Wolverines rank fifth in the Big Ten in scoring offense, averaging 67.3 points per game.
For Wisconsin, the key will be not to slip into another losing streak, especially this late in the season. The Badgers are currently fifth in the Big Ten and might need to win out if they want to have a chance to make the NCAA tournament this March.
Luckily for the Badgers, they have had good luck against Michigan. They have won 12 of the last 16 games, including the last five in a row. Wisconsin has been able to have such success by sticking to its game plan and concentrating on the game ahead.
“We just listen to coach Ryan and do everything in his philosophy, defensively and offensively and that has paid off,” Bohannon said. “Michigan is a very good team and they are playing very well right now. Anytime a good team is coming in here, we have to be ready.”
The key for the Badgers against Michigan will not only be to improve their inside game, but also for Bohannon to get back on track. Against Michigan State, he had just three points and was 1-for-5 from the field. But, Bohannon is confident his shots will start falling again.
“There have been games that have been there and game where it hasn’t,” Bohannon said. “The last couple haven’t been there. They have been rolling around and popping out and, you know, just go with the flow. I’m going to keep shooting shots and if they keep giving them to me, I’m going to keep taking them.”
