Vitto Brown averaged only 7.1 points since Greg Gard took over head coaching duties of the Wisconsin men’s basketball team (15-9 overall, 7-4 Big Ten) in December. That was, until, Wednesday’s 72-61 win over Nebraska (13-12 overall, 5-7 Big Ten).
A sluggish start for the Badgers saw numerous traveling violations, Ethan Happ’s inability to score and the team shying away from playing inside the paint. But the only player who seemed unaffected by all of this, aside from Nigel Hayes who had 10 points of his own during the half, was Brown.
Men’s basketball breakdown: Badgers ride three-point shot en route to downing Cornhuskers
Brown, a junior forward, knocked down two three-pointers and finished the first half with 12 points to lead both teams. It was an uncharacteristic game, as of late, for Brown, who had only his second 10-plus point outing since December, but one very much welcomed by his teammates.
“It was about time,” Nigel Hayes said jokingly. “But seriously, that’s what we expect from [Vitto]; we know he can play like that. I told him at the beginning of the year that’s what we expect from him, and he knows he can play like that. He just has to keep playing with confidence.”
As the halftime buzzer sounded, only four points separated the Badgers from the Cornhuskers, thanks to Brown’s efforts. But as the teams came back out to the floor to start the second half, Wisconsin found the energy they’d been lacking for much of the half to make up for Hayes and Brown having to shoulder the effort.
Six Badgers more than doubled their point totals by the end of the game.
Nebraska’s zone defense was finally brought to its knees as Wisconsin began to make extra passes that opened up the corners for three-pointers. The Badgers had success from the same spots against Ohio State in their last game (13 three-pointers), and nearly duplicated the performance against Nebraska (11).
“I didn’t hit any corner shots in the beginning because I wasn’t [positioned] there at the beginning,” Brown said. “[After making an effort to reposition] that’s where the opening was this game, so I just tried to be ready to shoot.”
Brown would add only one more three from that spot in the second half, but that didn’t stop other Badgers from taking advantage of the Cornhuskers’ lax perimeter defense.
Six of Wisconsin’s three-pointers came from the sides of the basket during the second half, with another from Bronson Koenig from the middle of the court to cap the Badgers at seven for the half.
Albeit sloppy for much of its duration, the win showed a tougher side to Wisconsin, who are grinding out their last stretch of Big Ten play before road games against No. 2 Maryland and No. 8 Michigan State.
“Not every game is going to be perfect,” Gard said. “For us to be able to rally and surround each other was a sign in the right direction of having different guys step up and help each other out as we continue to grow together as a team.”
The Badgers, fighting desperately to preserve a 17-year NCAA tournament streak, may just need to endure more games of the sort as the season winds down.
