Earlier in the year, and earlier in the career of D’Mitrik Trice, yesterday’s shooting performance would have defined his afternoon. Earlier in the year, late shot clock situations were disastrous for the Badgers and their starting point guard. Earlier in the year, perimeter shooting defined the junior’s offensive impact. Wisconsin’s point guard was just 2-10 from the field and 0-3 from three. Shots he has knocked down for most of this eight-game winning streak were not falling for him yesterday.
The Ohio native had a goose egg in the scoring column with Wisconsin down three at the half. To make matters worse, Devonte Green, his matchup for most of the day, had 16 of the Hoosier’s 28 points at the break. Earlier this year, with Trice’s shot not falling from the perimeter and his defensive assignment making contested threes look like layups, it would be hard to see how the point guard could put his stamp on the game. This, however, is not December. It’s March.
Trice went on to play an exceptional second half of defense on Green, whose fire quickly turned to ice. The Indiana guard went 0-7 in the second half, and 0-3 from three with Trice being the defensive pest against shifty guards that he has been all year. Then, with the game on the line in a late shot clock situation, 0 called his own number. With 1:20 left, the shot clock under five, and UW clinging to a three point lead, Trice got the switch he wanted on Indiana forward Race Thompson. The point guard used his quickness and a killer crossover to beat Thompson off the dribble and finish a floater high off the window. There was no panic late in the shot clock:
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The ensuing Wisconsin possession with the Badgers now up 2 once again turned into a late shot clock situation with the ball in the hands of Trice. Indiana once again ends up with Thompson defending Trice with the game on the line. Once the speedy guard beats the IU forward off the dribble, Trayce Jackson-Davis is forced to help. The help forces Jackson-Davis to leave his man, Nate Reuvers, all alone under the rim for the board and bucket to put the game on ice:
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On paper, the win at Indiana may have not looked like the finest basketball we have seen from D’Mitrik Trice this season. However, as the tape shows, he was calm, cool, and collected when it counted most.