Wisconsin’s 55-43 victory over Rutgers Saturday night was by no means a pretty affair, but for UW (3-0), a notch in the win column is all that really matters.
“The process never changes,” UW head coach Bo Ryan said after the game. “My approach to the game, the players’ approach to the game, it never changes because if you stick with the fundamentals you’re always going to have a chance … and they had a chance tonight to get it done, and they got it done.”
The Badgers used a 9-0 run at the start of the second half to turn a 21-19 lead into an 11-point advantage, forcing three Scarlet Knight turnovers while yielding just one shot during the stretch. The scoring run began in emphatic fashion when Dave Mader poked the ball free from the Knight’s Rickey Shields, and UW’s Devin Harris ran the ball down and finished the play with a dunk for the half’s first points. The run also included Freddie Owens’ first two points of the game nearly 20 minutes into the contest and represented half of his scoring output, far below his 18-point average through the team’s first two games. For the Badgers, the run helped them forget about a first half in which the team shot just 33 percent from the field and 0-7 from three-point range.
“We simply said ‘let’s get back to what we do well,'” coach Ryan said about his halftime remarks to the team. “Hard cuts, hard cuts will open up other players — and good ball movement — and a little bit better idea of where we want the ball to go.”
Although the Badgers didn’t shoot the lights out in the second half, they markedly improved in every shooting category making 10-24 field goals (41.7 percent), 3-13 three-pointers (23.1 percent) and 11-13 free throws (84.6 percent).
The Badger defense stole the show through much of the game, forcing the Knights into 13 first-half turnovers. Rutgers struggled to find any offensive rhythm as it posted just 19 points in the first stanza and only one trip to the free throw line.
“We were in it, but we weren’t in control of it,” Rutgers head coach Gary Waters said. “They were in control of the game and when you allow your opposition to control the action of what’s going on. It’s hard to finalize whatever you’re trying to do out there.”
Rutgers scored the game’s first points and jumped out to an early 5-1 lead after a three-pointer by freshman guard Marquis Webb and a layup by center Adrian Hill. After tying the game at seven, the Badger defense stepped up its play to propel the offense on an 8-0 run over a five-minute span midway through the half.
Junior-college transfer Zack Morley played a major role in the Badger offense, chipping in eight points before the break on 4-5 shooting. Unfortunately for Morley, foul trouble would keep him on the bench for much of the second half.
“He’s got a lot to work on, as all the guys do. Defensively, stop and dribble penetration, blocking out, making good decisions with the ball,” Ryan said of Morley. “He’s working at the game; he showed some flashes. What he needs is, he needs to learn the system, keep working at it, and when the shots are there we know he can hit them.”
Morley ended the game with eight points, tying Mike Wilkinson as the team’s second leading scorer. Devin Harris led the team in scoring with 18 points, but shot just 5-13 from the floor and 0-5 from behind the arc. He was not the only one struggling, however, as Wilkinson ended the game at 3-10, Owens ended at 1-11, Clayton Hanson ended at 2-7 and Boo Wade ended at 1-6.
“As long as we play good defense, as you can see, we’re still getting the win,” Harris said about the team’s shooting woes. “Until we start losing — knock on wood — it doesn’t really concern us.”
Rutgers was able to cut UW’s lead down to six points as late as 4:17 remaining in the game, but a missed three-pointer by Shields and a foul that sent Devin Harris to the line ended any momentum the Knights had. Wisconsin eventually posted its largest lead of the game with 1:37 remaining at 54-40 after two Wilkinson free throws. Wilkinson ended the game as the team leader in blocks with seven and steals with five, but he also turned the ball over four times.
“We had a few more turnovers than we’d like tonight,” Wilkinson said. “Going to a place like Maryland you really got to take care of the ball … Hopefully we can get a few more shots to fall, but we still have to play good defense, because they’re going to come out and try to go right at us and get their crowd into it early.”
