Every week, Herald Sports will look back at the Wisconsin men’s basketball team and grade the Badgers in various aspects of the games played.
Here is how the Badgers fared in their games at home against Michigan State and on the road at Michigan:
Offense — 4.5 of 5
The Badgers were no less reliant on the three-ball against the pair of Michigan schools than they have been in any other game since Jon Leuer’s injury — they just made a lot more of them.
Wisconsin made 34 percent of its deep attempts against the Spartans last Tuesday, but connected on 40 percent in the crucial first half where the Badgers built a 15-point lead.
In Ann Arbor, UW nailed a crazy 9-of-13 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes and finished the game shooting 52 percent from three-point range. The perimeter barrage proved unstoppable with UW winning easily in both games carrying big leads into halftime.
The scoring load was spread out with seven players scoring in double digits in the two games and senior guard Jason Bohannon leading both games with 19 and 18 points, respectively.
Though the Badgers only shot a combined 16 free throws, they finished both games shooting over 50 percent from the field.
Defense — 4 of 5
Wisconsin displayed its usual brand of solid defense, but didn’t have to do as much work defending its hoop with the team clicking so well on the offensive end.
Michigan State shot itself in the foot on many possessions hoisting up the first decent look it saw, often resulting in possessions under 10 seconds long.
It is hard to screw up on the defensive end when you are only there for a short time.
Against Michigan, DeShawn Sims once again had his way, collecting 18 points on over 50 percent shooting.
The big man couldn’t help his teammates, though, turning the ball over twice and grabbing a mere four rebounds in 33 minutes of action.
The Badgers throttled dynamic scorer Manny Harris for the second time this season, however, limiting the junior to 11 points on four-of-11 shooting.
Bench — 2.5 of 5
Rob Wilson continues to play clutch minutes and provide efficient scoring off the bench. His court awareness has improved leaps and bounds. Wilson often established deep post position against both Michigan teams and finished at the rim when given the ball. He provides solid D as well, often against bigger players in the four-guard offense.
After Wilson, however, there is virtually nothing. Ryan Evans’ minutes have been decreasing, as the redshirt freshman proves unreliable and at times an extreme liability on the offensive end. Against Michigan Evans went scoreless and turned the ball over twice in 16 minutes of play. At home versus Michigan State, Wilson was the only bench player to crack double digits in minutes.
Badger of the Week — Jason Bohannon
Bohannon stretched defenses with his three-point shooting (7-for-16 shooting on the week), and provided strong scoring inside 20 feet, going 15-for-26 over the two game stretch. He led the team in points both games, and he has rocked the black eye look on top of it. Even more impressively, Bohannon collected seven assists to only one turnover while leading the team in minutes played.
Play of the Week — Jason Bohannon’s buzzer-beating half-court heave at Michgan
Up 11 points after a Sims rebound put back, Bohannon raced down the court with two seconds left and let fly a running three-point attempt just inside the half court line.
Then the lead stretched to 14, and though UW head coach Bo Ryan wasn’t happy with the lack of boxing out on the defensive end, Bohannon let loose a roar of emotion and pumped his fist heading back to the locker.
It was the ninth 3-pointer made in the first half, and probably demoralized Michigan with 20 minutes left to play.
