What grades did Wisconsin earn in their Big Ten road victory over Michigan?
Offense: A
After shooting an impressive 17-for-27 (62.9 percent) from the field in the first half the Badgers to begin the second half didn’t display the same kind of consistency on the offensive end.
Michigan was able to quickly cut into Wisconsin’s 43-33 halftime lead to getting it down to two points. Despite Wisconsin missing their first four shots of the second half, the Badgers were able to recapture some of their shooting magic to extend their lead back to double digits.
Wisconsin over that stretch shot 6-for-12 to give themselves a 61-49 lead with 10:03 to go in the game. During Wisconsin’s run Aleem Ford and Micah Potter, each scored five points while D’Mitrik Trice and Tyler Wahl each had three points.
The four players who combined to score the 16 points for Wisconsin each made a three. As the Badgers once again found success from 3-point range as they finished 11-for-23 from distance.
Only four players for the Badgers made a three and three of the four made at least two three’s. Trice led the way as he made five of his six attempts, Potter made half of his six attempts, and Ford went 2-for-3 from 3-point range. Wahl was the only other Badger to make a three as he made his lone attempt.
Trice’s success from three allowed him to lead the team in scoring with 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting from the field. Ford and Potter each scored 18 points as they shot a combined 13-for-20 (65 percent) from the field. Overall Wisconsin shot 29-for-54 (53.7 percent) from the field.
What made Wisconsin’s offensive performance even more impressive is that the Badgers leading scorer in Nate Reuvers only scored two points. Reuvers did deal with foul trouble, which limited him on both sides of the floor but he was able to make a tough jumper in the paint to give the Badgers a 75-69 lead with 1:27 to go in the game.
In order for Wisconsin to leave Ann Arbor with a victory, the Badgers needed to do well of not turning the basketball over. The Badgers met that goal only turning the basketball over eight times as the Wolverines turned Wisconsin’s miscues into eight points. With Wisconsin taking care of the basketball over the course of the game it allowed for the Badgers to develop the rhythm they established on the offensive end.
