If you’re like me, then whenever the prospect of dancing comes up, you envision yourself moving your body in such a way that your friends no longer want to be associated with you for the rest of the night and the opposite sex basically stands and watches in that middle ground of horror and laughter, right where a nice dark comedy would place you.
Basically, you imagine it being pretty ugly and short-lived because eventually someone will approach you, head shaking, showing you the way off the floor.
That pretty much sums up how I felt about Wisconsin’s outlook at The Big Dance about a week ago. But as Jamiroquai would say, turns out the Badgers had canned heat in their heels, baby.
Yes, they certainly did. It seemed as if they Badgers played their first two games of the NCAA Tournament with a different kind of moxie than they had all season. They played a good White Swan all season, but ditched it for the Black Swan against Kansas State, especially.
UW hasn’t really been able to enjoy much continuity in its role players this season, either. Often times there will be one or two – maybe even three – role players stepping up. But any given game would feature different role players doing so from the game before.
There was always a rotation between Mike Bruesewitz, Ryan Evans, Tim Jarmusz, Josh Gasser and Jared Berggren. Sometimes – however, rarely, this year – Nankivil even faded out for someone else to fade in.
But over the last two games the team largely seems to be arriving at the same game. And again, every player seems to be playing with a heightened sense of purposefulness.
Seniors Jon Leuer and Jarmusz fit the categories of seniors playing for their lives. Jarmusz has always seemed to be a punch line for Badger fans, but there’s no denying his sharp play as of late.
He’s hit three of five three-point attempts in the two tournament games and is a perfect four-for-four from the line (all the more valuable in the postseason). He’s also dished out six assists and snuck away two steals.
Leuer, on the other hand, struggled to consistently shoot the ball well and put up the scoring numbers he’s supposed to in the five games prior to the tournament. So far, he’s had the best tournament on the team, scoring 22 and 19 points on a combined 13-of-24 shooting while also nabbing seven rebounds in both games. Both frontmen are playing well-rounded games to extend their careers.
Bruesewitz, though, has actually stood out to me more than anyone else. I haven’t cut my hair in seven months, so it’s definitely not the ginger-fro that’s suddenly got my attention.
It’s because of the brace on his knee. Spraining his knee against Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament had Bruesewitz thinking he reached the conclusion of his season, but now that he’s back on the court the redhead plays like he’s truly thankful for a second chance.
He has been all over the floor, quite simply. He grabbed nine rebounds against Belmont, six more against physical Kansas State and scored 18 points in the two games, hitting a crucial three-ball with 91 seconds left against the Wildcats.
At one point against Kansas State, Bruesewitz was even seen slightly limping on the floor, but that didn’t stop him from playing 29 minutes – the third most on the team behind Jordan Taylor and Jarmusz (although Nankivil and Leuer had bloody injuries that temporarily sidelined them).
The backcourt has its own sense of doggedness as well. Taken as a whole, Taylor and Gasser haven’t had a pristine tournament thus far, but I’m not worried about either of them.
It was rough seas for Gasser in his tournament debut against Belmont, scoring one point, dishing two assists and committing three turnovers. He didn’t even grab a rebound; something the freshman guard has shown a knack for all season.
But there was no evidence of a hangover against Kansas State. He went three-for-four on the night – hit a 3-pointer and all his free throws for 11 points – grabbed four rebounds and handed out six assists.
Maybe postseason jitters caught hold of Gasser’s dancing movies initially, but he got rid of them two days later. Nobody on this team wants to drag everyone else down now, and Gasser is not about to let his teammates pick up his weight for him.
Meanwhile, Taylor put forth an all-around strong performance against Belmont but struggled to score against Kansas State – almost to the point of desperation.
He ended up forcing some shots in the second half, something he also did against Penn State two weeks ago in the game’s last seconds (specifically his final shot). Nevertheless, he’s playing like someone who will do anything to win.
He’s dished out six assists in both games and remains as reliable as ever at the free throw line. Against KSU, his late-game thievery on Curtis Kelly and the blocked three-point attempt by Jacob Pullen were quite possibly UW’s top two defensive plays of the year.
He’s not going to let this team lose. This dude does not abide.
That all reminds me, I’ve frequently heard Taylor be compared to Carlton on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” Ever see Carlton dance to Tom Jones’ classic “It’s not Unusual”?
The feel-good vibes of those dance moves are pretty infectious.
Elliot is a junior majoring in journalism. Have the Badgers’ first two NCAA Tournament games added a spring in your step? Did they have you dancing for joy? Email your dance moves and thoughts to [email protected].
