In this series, I want to look back on the memorable moments that defined the 2019-20 Badgers. This will not be a top-10 ranking of the best moments of the season from 10-1. Instead, I will go chronologically through the year and find ten moments that made 2019-20 unforgettable for Wisconsin basketball. Each moment will be accompanied by a word that describes this 2019-20 Badger basketball team, and in this fourth installment, that word is hustle.
The play that gave the Badgers a 71-69 win over the Gophers was the best hustle play of the season. We all remember Brevin Pritzl hitting the go-ahead three in the left corner, but what about the wild sequence that led to that? Thanks to George Balekji over at NBC 15 Madison, here is the full play:
Mad scramble for the ball leads to a Brevin Pritzl three from the corner to give the Badgers the lead.. someone check if there's still a roof on the Kohl Center after this make. pic.twitter.com/NtprQkDQYs
— George Balekji NBC15 (@GeorgeBalekji) March 2, 2020
The chaos that leads to the Pritzl look includes four of the five Badgers on the floor being involved in the go-ahead bucket. Aleem Ford gets a hand on the ball, Brad Davison goes back go his high-school football days to make a play that leads to D’Mitrik Trice coming up with the rock. Was there ever any doubt that Pritzl’s three was all net? Check out the Wisconsin bench before he releases it. They knew it was pure, and so did everybody in the Kohl Center.
The game was far from over at that point. The Badgers found themselves down one with the basketball and just over thirty seconds left. Trice found Ford cutting backdoor for an easy jam, as the high pick-and-pop between Nate Reuvers and Trice created confusion. Then, as is fitting for this Badger group, UW sealed it with defense as Reuvers rejected Daniel Oturu and Wisconsin held on.
The 71-69 win over the Gophers was maybe the only moment during the eight-game win streak where I felt that the Badgers were going to lose a game. Down four with two minutes left, there was no panic in this group. They stayed, cool, calm, and collected and came up clutch. The win earned the Badgers a season-split with the Gophers, and kept them on the path towards a Big Ten regular season crown.