Tag: Nate Reuvers

ESPN ranks Wisconsin basketball near the top in the latest 2021 ‘Bracketology’

The Badgers are listed near the top of Joe Lunardi’s latest column

[lawrence-newsletter]Wisconsin basketball has been receiving a ton of pre-season hype from around the major networks. Returning 88% of their scoring from last season’s Big Ten regular season title-winning team and anticipating a starting lineup of five seniors will result in lofty projections.

ESPN college basketball insider Joe Lunardi has released his latest “Bracketology” column, and the Badgers and the Big Ten are well represented. Lunardi has Wisconsin as a two-seed in every UW fan’s favorite region: the west region. The number one seeds are Gonzaga, Villanova, Virginia, and Baylor.

As far as conferences go, it is no surprise to see the Big Ten at the top of the list. The Big Ten has nine teams in the tournament, more than any other conference. UW is one of two Big Ten teams on the two-seed line along with Michigan State. It’s never too early to project next season, and early projections show that Wisconsin fans should be very excited about the sky-high ceiling in 2021.

Ten Badger Moments: The Badgers hold on against Michigan State

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 …

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 adjective is adversity.

February 1st looked like a completely different world for Wisconsin basketball when comparing to March 1st. The magical ride that February turned out to be for this team carried into what little of March we actually got to enjoy. The first day of the month, Wisconsin played host to Michigan State at a time when even just the Badgers NCAA Tournament hopes were still up in the air. There was added adversity, however, as UW had just found out that second-leading scorer Kobe King was entering the transfer portal mid-season. With the players and coaches scrambling to replace arguably Wisconsin’s best one-on-one scorer, the Badgers had a massive game to play against the best team in the conference.

The first half of that Saturday matinee was the stuff of dreams for Wisconsin fans. The Badgers led 43-27 after a shooting clinic and limiting every Spartan on offense not named Cassius Winston. As the second half wore on, it became apparent that Michigan State had a few punches left for the Badgers, despite being cornered in the first twenty minutes. The Spartans, led by their national player of the year candidate Winston, came out firing, and had things within one possession through the first ten minutes of the second half.

NCAA Basketball: Michigan State at Wisconsin
Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports

After Wisconsin bounced back through timely buckets from Brevin Pritzl, Nate Reuvers, and D’Mitrik Trice, they finished the game off at the defensive end. Their 64-63 win, that in reality did not come down to a final possession as the Spartans hit a meaningless three as time expired, set the blueprint for how the Badgers went on an eight-game winning streak. In the face of adversity due to losing King, UW used each other on offense and had balanced scoring that day and throughout February. The true identity for this team was at the defensive end of the floor, where they stalled any Spartan hopes of a comeback victory down the stretch.

The Badgers improved to 13-9 following the win, and from that moment on you felt that this team had a clear path towards the NCAA Tournament.

Looking back at the best moments from Wisconsin’s win streak

On February 6th, the day after Wisconsin suffered an 18-point defeat at Minnesota, the Badgers sat at 6-6 in the middle of the Big Ten Conference. Today, March 8th, UW has clinched a share of the Big Ten title and ended the year on an eight-game …

On February 6th, the day after Wisconsin suffered an 18-point defeat at Minnesota, the Badgers sat at 6-6 in the middle of the Big Ten Conference. Today, March 8th, UW has clinched a share of the Big Ten title and ended the year on an eight-game winning streak. Let’s look back at how they reached the top of the Big Ten.

The streak saw a variety of Badgers step into the leading role offensively, beginning with Brevin Pritzl at home against the Buckeyes on February 9th. The best pure shooter on this Badger team put on a show from beyond the arc. The senior went 5-6 from deep en route to 19 points and led UW to a 70-57 win. That game was also the debut of the retro jerseys inspired by the 2000 underdog final four team. There has been something special in those throwback whites that is reminiscent of magic from 2000, and the Badgers have kept wearing them at home since the OSU win.

At Nebraska, it was Brad Davison’s turn. The emotional leader of the squad led the Badgers to a double digit win over the Huskers by pouring in eight threes and dropping a season-high 30 points. As the win streak continued, so did the offensive balance. Through the first five wins, five different Badgers lead Wisconsin in scoring. Even more impressive from a depth perspective is the fact that UW only plays eight players in the normal rotation. Also shocking about the five different scoring leaders is the fact that the teams leading scorer, Nate Reuvers, was not one of them.

D’Mitrik Trice certainly became the point guard that Wisconsin needed him to be throughout these eight games. Not only did the junior eclipse the 1,000 career points mark at Indiana yesterday, but he also averaged nearly six assists throughout Wisconsin’s win streak. The clutch gene was not only present in Trice, but the entire Badger team over the last month. Whether it was going 8-8 from the line to close out Purdue at home in the final minute, Pritzl’s clutch three against the Gophers, or yesterday’s heroics at Assembly Hall, the Badgers found a way. Can we get another look at the Pritzl heroics?

This team has learned how to win when shots aren’t falling, odds are stacked against them, and they have to grind it out. The lesson of winning has been learned at the perfect time as the Badgers get ready for the madness.

 

 

Nate Reuvers steps out from the shadows when UW needed him

Nate Reuvers saves the day

In the final minute of Saturday’s game against the Indiana Hoosiers, with the Big Ten championship hanging in the balance, Nate Reuvers asked a very simple question — not in actual words, but with his putback basket which sealed sweet victory for the Wisconsin Badgers:

“Remember me?”

That was what Reuvers essentially did when he crashed the glass and scored the basket which tucked away a 60-56 win for Wisconsin, giving the program a coveted and highly improbable conference title after starting 6-6 in Big Ten play.

It was in many ways quite fitting that Reuvers made the decisive play against Indiana. In a season with so many twists and turns, so many shifts in the personality and evolution of this team, Reuvers was — in many ways — the bookend of the journey.

In the start of the season, Reuvers was this team’s leading scorer. He became and generally remained the player most likely to score 13 to 15 points while teammates fluctuated much more wildly (and often). Aleem Ford struggled. Brad Davison struggled. Brevin Pritzl struggled. D’Mitrik Trice struggled. Reuvers struggled at times, to be sure, but his valleys were not as dramatically low as his teammates’ worst performances. Reuvers didn’t struggle for comparatively long periods of time, either. He was usually — though not always — the guy who largely held things together for the Badgers. If other players drifted in and out of competence and consistency, Reuvers was normally the man holding down the fort.

Then, however, when the Badgers ripened into a more complete team and mounted the eight-game winning streak which won the Big Ten title, Reuvers did fall into the background a little. D’Mitrik Trice scored 28 at Michigan, on a night when Ford and Micah Potter scored 18 apiece. Ford and Potter both came on like gangbusters in February, and Trice became the team’s best player on a regular basis.

Reuvers didn’t regress so much as his teammates got better. Reuvers remained important, but he wasn’t as central to the Badgers’ success… because the other players finally began to do their fair share.

Yet, after all that Trice, and Ford, and Potter, and Pritzl, and the other improved Badgers did to make this winning streak and Big Ten title possible, it was Reuvers — the bookend figure in this magical season — who made the winning play in the game which secured the conference championship and brought a fat trophy to Madison.

Nate Reuvers didn’t have much help in November or December. He got it in February. In early March, he was the one who sealed Wisconsin’s most improbable Big Ten championship.

It all feels very fitting. It is definitely a richly-deserved honor for Nate Reuvers.

Game Day Grades: Wisconsin vs. Indiana

Grading Wisconsin’s road win over Indiana

Offense: B

Indiana didn’t allow anything easy against Wisconsin as the Badgers had to earn each point.

With the Badgers trailing by as many as nine points in the second half with 10 minutes to go in the game the Badgers were able to put together enough offense to claim their first Big Ten regular season championship since 2015.

The Badgers didn’t start making their comeback against Indiana until there was 6:52 to play and Wisconsin down by seven.

Wisconsin started by scoring on three consecutive offensive possessions to tie the game at 51. Nate Reuvers hit a jumper in the paint, which was followed by D’Mitrik Trice’s first points of the game, and on the third offensive possession, Micah Potter was able to complete the old-fashion 3-point play.

The Badgers officially took the lead for good on a made three by Brad Davison off of an assist by Potter with 4:05 to play. In total after getting down by seven points, the Badgers closed the game out by shooting 6-for-12 from the field and 3-for-3 from the free throw line.

In Wisconsin’s 16-to-5 run to close out the game four different Badgers scored as Davison scored five points, Trice and Reuvers each had four points, and Potter had the other three points.

Wisconsin had four players reach double figures as Reuvers led the way with 17 points, Potter had 14 points, and Aleem Ford finished with 12 points. Davison was the other player in double figures with 11 points as all three of his made field goals came from 3-point range.

Trice finished the game with four points as he finished 2-for-10 from the field but the shots he made down the stretch were critical as his final made shot put him at 1,000 career points.

Most importantly for Trice though was that even though his shot wasn’t falling he still found a way to set up his teammates. Trice led the way with five assists to one turnover as the Badgers finished the game with 12 assists on 22 made field goals.

The Badgers ability to consistently work the basketball around against the Hoosiers allowed for the Badgers to generate quality looks for themselves. Overall Wisconsin shot 22-for-53 (41.5 percent) from the field and 9-for-22 (40.9 percent) from three.

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Scouting Report: IU is attempting to build a defensive identity, how Wisconsin can counter that on Saturday

Under Archie Miller, the Indiana Hoosiers have been identified by the fact that they often lack a true identity. There was no secret that Miller’s Dayton teams bought into a defensive philosophy and identity that brought success. The same has not …

Under Archie Miller, the Indiana Hoosiers have been identified by the fact that they often lack a true identity. There was no secret that Miller’s Dayton teams bought into a defensive philosophy and identity that brought success. The same has not completely translated to his time in Bloomington, but the signs have begun to show. Indiana has worked their way up to being ranked 32nd in adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom. There is a stark contrast between the defense Badger fans saw in Madison against the Hoosiers in December, and the one they will see Saturday morning.

The Hoosiers have not allowed a team to score more than 67 points in their last five contests. Wisconsin just ended a streak of six straight games of scoring more than 67 points in their 63-48 win over Northwestern. Something will have to give.

The identity of the entire Indiana program had to change on the defensive end of the floor when Miller took over. Previous IU coach Tom Crean almost never, at any point of the year, had top-50 defenses according to KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency. The personnel of this 2019-20 group lends itself well to defense, especially on the interior. Trayce Jackson-Davis is an impressive young rim protector who also has the speed to be switchable on high ball screens. That is one of the attributes that will make the New Yorker an intriguing NBA prospect in years to come. Jackson-Davis averages nearly 2 blocks per game, and almost as many blocks as the rest of his teammates combined. The true freshman’s 6’9″, 245-pound frame lends itself well to the pack-line principles that Coach Miller is attempting to instill in his team.

It’s a difficult task predicting if the Badgers can find offensive success against Indiana based on their 84-point outburst at home. When the two teams met on December 7th, IU’s defense was not the only thing that would change as the year progressed. UW was led that day by Kobe King and his 24 points on an efficient 10-15 shooting. No King has been no problem for the Badger offense so far. Success that day at the Kohl Center also came through playing inside-out basketball. The Badgers broke down the pack-line by taking advantage of what it tries to do. Any pack-line defense has the goal of packing the paint and sagging defensively to prevent interior penetration. By getting the basketball inside to Nate Reuvers, the junior big not only had 20 points against IU, but opened things up from the outside that allowed UW to shoot 8-20 (40%) from three. This time around, the Badgers also have Big Ten super-sub Micah Potter. The Ohio State transfer sat out of the last matchup due to NCAA rules. The stretch big man can certainly provide the perfect inside-out counter against the pack-line if he is feeling it from beyond the arc. If the Badgers start inside-out and knock down open looks as a result, it could be a long senior day for the Hoosiers.

 

3-Point Shot Wisconsin vs. Indiana

What are three things Wisconsin need to do against Indiana on Saturday?

One win away from claiming at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title since 2015. In order to do so, Wisconsin will have to travel to Indiana and beat the Hoosiers inside Assembly Hall. Indiana this season has posted a 15-3 home record as they will look to send out the senior class with one more victory.

In this Badgers Wire feature, we will look at the three keys or questions for Wisconsin as they prepare to play Indiana on Saturday.

LAYUP: REBOUNDING FROM THE GAME AGAINST NORTHWESTERN

Wisconsin was able to get the win against Northwestern on Wednesday but over Wisconsin’s current win streak they didn’t play as well as they have been playing.

If Wisconsin wants to leave Assembly Hall with a victory on Saturday the Badgers are going to need to put together a better performance against the Hoosiers.

Indiana is still trying to solidify their position in the NCAA tournament meaning the Hoosiers are going to bring everything they have as a win over Wisconsin would look good on their resume.

Wisconsin can’t afford any defensive lapses against a Hoosier offense that’s averaging 67 points over conference play and is shooting 42.2 percent (453-for-1,074) from the field. In the Badgers first meeting against the Hoosiers in December, they were able to hold them to 64 points and 42 percent (21-for-50) shooting from the field.

The Badgers will need to learn from the mistakes that they did make against Northwestern, in particular, the Badgers struggled against the Wildcats ball screens. If they can they should be able to limit the Hoosiers from generating high percentage shots for themselves like Northwestern did at times against Wisconsin.

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Game Day Grades: Wisconsin vs. Northwestern

What grades did Wisconsin earn from their 63-to-48 senior night victory over Northwestern?

Offense: C

Wisconsin was able to lead throughout the game against Northwestern but their offensive showing wasn’t always pretty.

It appeared like Wisconsin was going to have another impressive offensive performance considering the Badgers jumped out to a quick 11-3 lead as they made their first four field goal attempts. Not to mention the Badgers made their first six of seven field goal attempts to give themselves a 16-5 lead.

But the Badgers did go through two scoring droughts one in each half as after Wisconsin’s strong start to the game they then missed their next five shots from the field.

Wisconsin also suffered through a lengthy scoring drought that occurred in the second half. Wisconsin was able to go into halftime up six and was able to extend their lead back to double digits over the first four minutes of the second half.

But after Brevin Pritzl’s made three with 15:56 to go in the game the Badgers didn’t make their next field goal until the 8:58 mark when Micah Potter was able to follow a missed layup by D’Mitrik Trice with a layup of his own.

In that close to 10 minutes without a field goal, the Badgers could only muster two points thanks to Aleem Ford knocking down a pair of free throws as the Badgers missed 12 straight shots.

Although the Badgers had their struggles to consistently find the bottom of the net they did receive a variety of scorers as nine different players for Wisconsin scored.

The Badgers were led in scoring by Nate Reuvers with 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting from the field as he was the only player to reach double figures. Wisconsin also had five different players score at least eight points and four of the five scored nine points.

Pritzl, Potter, Ford, and Brad Davison each had nine points and Trice finished the game with eight points. Overall Wisconsin finished the game shooting 23-for-59 (39 percent) from the field.

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3-Point Shot Wisconsin vs. Northwestern

What are three things Wisconsin needs to do against Northwestern on Wednesday?

Northwestern was able to break its 12 game losing streak this past Sunday when they beat Nebraska for a second time this season. Although the Wildcats have had their struggles over conference play eight of their 16 conference losses have come by single digits. Making it important that Wisconsin handles their business against the Wildcats instead of looking ahead to Saturday with their game against Indiana.

In this Badgers Wire feature, we will look at the three keys or questions for Wisconsin as they prepare to play Northwestern on Wednesday.

LAYUP: CAN WISCONSIN CONSISTENTLY ATTACK THE GLASS?

One area where Wisconsin should have success against the Wildcats is being able to attack the glass.

Considering Northwestern is being outrebounded by conference opponents by an average of 8.4 rebounds a game as the Wildcats are allowing 40.3 rebounds a game.

Making it important that Wisconsin is active once a shot goes up and finds a way to come down with it to either give themselves a second chance on offense or to limit the Wildcats to one shot per possession.

Wisconsin this season is averaging 32.4 rebounds a game and 7.8 of those rebounds are coming on the offensive glass.

Wisconsin’s ability to generate second-chance points will allow for Wisconsin not only to build a lead over the Wildcats but also allow for Wisconsin to dictate how the game is played.

MID-RANGE: THE PLAY OF NATE REUVERS

After stringing together 10 games over an 11 game stretch in double figures Reuvers over the last two games has averaged four points and has shot a combined 2-for-7 from the field and has played 20 minutes or less in both games.

Reuvers ability to bounce back against Northwestern on Saturday will be able to help open up other scoring opportunities for his teammates and him to stretch the floor.

Wisconsin over its current six-game winning streak is averaging 20 points in the paint. If Wisconsin can get the basketball down low to Reuvers or Micah Potter should lead to quality looks from 3-point range.

Reuvers has shown his ability to stretch the floor but he hasn’t attempted a three over the last two games and on the season is shooting 32.9 percent (28-for-85) from three.

Reuvers along with his teammates should be able to generate quality looks from three if they stay patient on offense. Considering the Wildcats are allowing conference opponents to shoot 34.9 percent (162-for-464) from three.

The quality looks they generate from three will begin with generating post touches to Reuvers in order to make the Wildcats defense have to account for everyone on the offensive side of the floor for the Badgers.

3-POINTER: LIMITING MILLER KOPP FROM THREE

Miller Kopp has been Northwestern’s most consistent 3-point shooter over conference play. Kopp’s 101 3-point attempts lead the conference as he’s shooting 38.6 percent (39-for-101) from three over conference play.

The Badgers defensively can’t lose him in transition as he’ll make the Badgers defense pay if he has an open three.

If you take away Miller’s success from three over conference play than Northwestern as a team is shooting 28.5 percent (70-for-245) from three.

Making it important that whoever does draw the defensive assignment against Kopp finds a way to make sure he can’t consistently get an open look as he’s averaging 5.6 3-point attempts a game.

Not to mention he has made at least one three in every game this year except for two games and against Maryland, he went 0-for-5 on his 3-point attempts.

If Wisconsin is going to build a lead over Northwestern early in the game it will begin with making sure Miller can’t generate a rhythm from 3-point range. He’s going to get his attempts up from three but the Badgers will need to do a good job of contesting each one. If they can neutralize Kopp’s ability from three the Badgers will have a chance of leading for a majority of the game.

Game Day Grades: Wisconsin vs. Minnesota

What grades did Wisconsin earn in their Big Ten home victory against rival Minnesota?

Offense: B

Wisconsin finished the game against Minnesota with nine offensive rebounds as the biggest one came thanks to D’Mitrik Trice with 59 seconds left in the game and Wisconsin down by two points.

After a missed three by Brad Davison in front of Wisconsin’s bench, Aleem Ford was able to tip the basketball out as Trice was able to corral the basketball at midcourt and after a couple of dribbles found Brevin Pritzl in the corner for three to give the Badgers a 67-66 lead.

Minnesota was able to regain the lead back thanks to a Daniel Oturu made jumper but following a timeout by Greg Gard the Badgers were able to regain the lead for good. Out of the timeout, Trice was able to force Minnesota’s defense to collapse on him by driving into the paint before finding a wide open Aleem Ford as Ford finished the play off with a dunk.

Pritzl also added two more free throws down the stretch to extend Wisconsin’s lead to 71-68. Micah Potter could have put the game away officially but he missed both of his free throws. Overall Wisconsin shot 17-for-24 (70.8 percent) from the free throw line.

The way Wisconsin shot the basketball from 3-point range over the month of February didn’t quite carry over into the first day of March as Wisconsin finished the game 8-for-24 (33.3 percent). But after only making three of their attempts in the first half they went 5-for-10 in the second half.

With the lead going back and forth over the final five minutes of the game the Badgers did go 3-for-4 from 3-point range. Trice made one of the three’s to give Wisconsin a 59-58 lead and Pritzl was responsible for the last two makes. Pritzl’s first made three with 3:31 to go gave Wisconsin a 62-60 lead and his second one gave the Badgers a lead at 67-66 with less than a minute to go.

Davison was one of four players for Wisconsin to reach double figures with 20 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the field. Pritzl was second with 15 points, and Aleem Ford and Micah Potter each finished the game with 10 points on a combined 7-for-16 shooting from the field.

Overall Wisconsin shot 23-for-58 (39.7 percent) from the field.

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