The Badgers (19-6, 8-4 Big Ten) have all the motivation they need to win the Big Ten regular season title after a 68-61 overtime road win Thursday against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in Minneapolis.
Wisconsin was able to open up a considerable lead against its archrival in Thursday’s contest before letting up in the second half and winning 68-61 in overtime.
With the Badgers’ inconsistency on the offensive side of the ball, junior forward Ryan Evans ignited the team by posting his first career double-double with 17 points and 11 boards against the Gophers.
Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said at his Monday press conference that he has no problem pushing his team to work hard as it pursues the Big Ten title. The Badgers aren’t forgetting that they lay just one game behind Ohio State in the top spot in the conference standings and don’t need any extra motivation.
“When you compete in a sport, and you have to talk to guys about winning, that’s a sad state of affairs,” Ryan said. “The only thing that’s important is the next one, and, that we have control over or that we can prepare for.”
Wisconsin’s next game is Feb. 16 at Michigan State, the first meeting between the two teams since the Badgers’ heartbreaking overtime loss to the Spartans Jan. 3. Wisconsin shot 33.3 percent from the field and 22.7 percent from 3-point land in the first matchup before losing on a video review that concluded Evans didn’t get his buzzer-beater off in time.
Although Ryan didn’t watch Michigan State’s road victory over then-No. 3 Ohio State over the weekend, he knows the Spartans have a nose for rebounding the ball. The Badgers were outrebounded by eight against the Spartans back in January.
Wisconsin’s front line will have a difficult time containing Michigan State big man Draymond Green. The senior leads the Big Ten in rebounding with 11.3 per game against Big Ten opponents. He also puts up 14.6 points and is the only player in the Big Ten to average a double-double in conference play.
“Our guys are making strides. It’s an area you can always improve on,” Ryan said, when asked about his own team’s rebounding. “Sometimes the ball just bounces three inches farther or three inches shorter.”
After the trip to East Lansing, Wisconsin heads home to play Penn State at the Kohl Center. Members of the 2002 Big Ten Championship team will be present as they commemorate the 10th anniversary of the title.
The Big Ten Championship in 2002 was Ryan’s first year as UW head coach, and he led his team to a 19-13 overall record, including an 11-5 finish in the Big Ten, to win a share of the regular season title.
Plagued by injuries, transfers and only seven scholarship players, Ryan had his hands full in his first season in Madison.
“They just worked; we stole a couple of games on the road with a couple of one-point games,” he said.
Ryan mentioned that 2002 was the year that Ohio State was scheduled to play four games in a row on the road. Ryan suggested to Big Ten officials that no team should compete in more than two consecutive road games, but the policy passed despite the initial controversy.
The Buckeyes remained a contender in the Big Ten in 2002, but that stretch of road games allowed Wisconsin to climb to the top of the standings.
“Ohio State took a few bumps in there and made the rest of us look human,” Ryan said. “We caught a few breaks, but you make your breaks. The guys competed hard.”
In 2003, Ryan won his second consecutive regular season Big Ten championship, but the second time around he earned sole possession of the title.
This was the first time Wisconsin had won the regular season championship outright in 56 years. It was also a year in which the Badgers posted a record number of overall wins (25) while reaching the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.
The current Badgers are hoping they can rise to the top of the Big Ten this year. With only six games left in the regular season, Wisconsin would be supporting its own cause by knocking off a tough Michigan State squad on the road Thursday.
