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MADISON, Wis.—The difference between Wisconsin’s 71-59 loss
at Michigan Sunday and its 68-45 home win over Penn State Wednesday was
palpable.
Sunday, the Badgers struggled to find quality shots against
the Wolverines’ 2-3 zone, often settling for quick options from the perimeter,
tallying just five assists while shooting 38 percent from the floor and a frigid
3 of 20 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Wednesday, against another 2-3 zone, the team had 19
assists on 24 field goals, moving the ball crisply and aggressively attacking
the zone, for all but a stretch late in the first half when the Nittany Lions
made a run that briefly put them in contention.
“We just can’t settle for jumpshots, I think that’s what we
did a lot of at Michigan. As long as we move the ball around we are going to
have more assists,” junior guard Devin Harris said.
In the first half, working for high-quality jumpshots was
the key, as Wisconsin hit 5 of 11 3-point attempts, including 4 of 6 from
Harris, who hit 1 of 10 from that range against the Wolverines.
“They were going in here,” Harris said. “They weren’t going
in in Michigan. Similar shots. Got a little more shots in practice yesterday,
(I’m) a little more comfortable here. A lot of the shots touched the post first
and then we kicked it out, which as coach (Bo Ryan) preaches is more
high-percentage shots.”
The Badgers cooled in the second half, hitting just 25
percent (3 of 12) of their 3-point attempts and 38 percent overall. Wisconsin,
though, hit the glass, corralling 12 offensive rebounds in the final 20 minutes
and converting them into 11 second-chance points.
“We just were really, really poor rebounding the ball
tonight out of the zone, which is uncommon cause we worked on it pretty hard and
we did a good job of it Saturday (against Illinois) rebounding the ball,” Penn
State coach Ed DeChellis said. “Tonight we were horrendous at rebounding the
basketball and giving up second opportunities.”
Harris and junior forward Mike Wilkinson did the bulk of
the damage for Wisconsin. Harris finished with 25 points, Wilkinson 14, but that
was not all that bad by DeChellis’ count.
“I just didn’t think we could guard them man-to-man tonight
up here,” he said. “I just thought they would post up Wade and Owens. We tried
to limit their opportunities. We knew Harris was going to score, we wanted to
try to limit the other guys and we thought that the zone could do that. And I
thought for the most part it did.”
Harris’ shooting struggles against Michigan—qualified by
the fact that he led the team with 18 points—were indicative of the Jekyll and
Hyde act that has been Wisconsin basketball on the road versus at home. The
Badgers have been flat-out dominant at home, but have struggled to gut out a few
victories on the road.
The difference on the stat sheet after the game Wednesday
was obvious. What was even more apparent was the Badgers’ increased comfort and
aggressiveness at home.
“Offensively we knocked down some more shots,” Wilkinson
said. “We moved the ball pretty well offensively for the most part. We had one
stretch at the end of the first half but for the most part we knocked down open
shots. If we can do that on the road and just be consistent with it, we are
going to be there at the end of the games and then it is just making one play.
If you can make the play, you win, if you don’t, you lose. That is what a lot of
the games come down to in the Big Ten.”
Michigan is, of course, a more formidable opponent than
Penn State, but Wisconsin also did a much better job solving the zone when the
Wolverines used it in Madison.
“I wish I had some of that magic potion,” DeChellis said
when asked if he had an idea why Wisconsin played so much better at home. “I
have no idea. I think it is probably a comfort zone and they’re a young team yet
too. Young teams play a little bit better at home than on the road.”
Harris narrowed it down.
“We get a little tentative on the road,” he said.
No such problem at the Kohl Center.
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Photo gallery 1
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Photo gallery 2
- Associated Press
Photo gallery 3
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Line score
Big Ten
standings