After Wisconsin’s 74-54 win over Michigan, Travon Davis hoisted a Big Ten championship trophy that seemed twice his size. The senior, who played a game bigger than his 5-foot-10 frame, was befitting of the honor.
All season long the Badgers played larger than life, as Davis and fellow senior Charlie Wills accomplished what the heralded classes that came before them never did — a conference title.
After the two were honored for their final home game, Davis’ small hands made a huge print on the evening. He was all over the court, and all over the floor.
Davis dove after a loose ball along the baseline with UW up 11 in the first half, careening into a row of cheerleaders. He stopped a 15-4 Michigan run late in the game by wrestling with Wolverine point guard Avery Queen, forcing a jump ball and taking over on the possession arrow. He flashed an embarrassed smile when was called for one of his two fouls after he leapt, poking at the ball, onto the ground and into Devin Harris’ man.
“I think that part of my job is to end up on the floor,” Davis said, “because then I can take the slack from my teammates. Coach comes in with film and says nobody’s on the floor. If I can get there — even if I’m not close to the ball — if I can get on the floor, it makes him cut us some slack. He can’t holler at us for not being on the floor.”
Wills, faced with the task of defending Michigan’s leading scorer LaVell Blanchard, saw foul trouble that held him to just 25 minutes on his senior night. The junior initially lit Wills up, hitting three consecutive three-pointers to start the game. The veteran gathered himself, however, and kept Blanchard out of the action the rest of the way by forcing him into foul trouble of his own.
Michigan struggled to find multiple sources of offense. Just five players scored, and only three had more than two points.
On the other side, Davis was intensely active, helping his teammates get involved in the offense. His seven assists aided Kirk Penney and Harris’ 21 points each, and four Badgers scored in double digits.
He had 10 rebounds himself, a career high, remarkably amid a Michigan front line that averages 6-foot-7.
But not everyone on the court was taller than Davis, for once.
Michigan rotated tiny point guards Avery Queen and Mike Gotfredson, neither of whom proved faster or better than UW’s point. Prominently guarding those two, Davis held the two to zero points on 0-6 shooting.
Late in the first half, he trailed Queen for 10 seconds as the shot clock ran out, forcing the 5-foot-7 guard to wheel and throw up a short airball.
“I enjoy doing the little things,” Davis said. “Whether its getting on the floor to get a rebound or trying to take the ball from a big guy, it’s going to help us get better. So I get more thrills out of seeing Kirk and Devin hit threes from me passing to them or me getting a rebound from slapping it.”
“Like coach says: an old ABA rebound.”
Old school was a good theme for the night, with UW’s two seniors helping the team to its first championship since 1947.
