Nate Reuvers – Page 5 – Syndication Server

3-Point Show Wisconsin vs. Minnesota

What are three things Wisconsin needs to do against Minnesota on Sunday?

Wisconsin was able to get a big road win on Thursday night as the Badgers went into Ann Arbor and beat Michigan. The Badgers will look to carry over their performance against the Wolverines as they prepare to play Minnesota for the second time this year. The first meeting against the Gophers didn’t go well as the Badgers lost 70-52 in early February. But in every rematch, Wisconsin has played this year against conference teams after losing the first matchup the Badgers have followed up with a win. Wisconsin will look to continue that trend as they try to continue to solidify their seeding in the NCAA Tournament.

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

LAYUP: CAN D’MITRIK TRICE BREAK A 1,000 CAREER POINTS?

D’Mitrik Trice is currently 16 points shy of becoming the 46th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. Considering the way Trice has played over the month of February there is a good chance he could join Brad Davison and become the latest Badger to reach 1,000 career points.

Over the month of February Trice averaged 13 points per game while shooting 30-for-74 (40.5 percent) from the field. In addition over the seven games in February, he registered 42 assists to 14 turnovers.

Trice will look to carry over his strong performance in February over to the final month of the season.

Trice capped off the month of February by scoring 28 points in the win over Michigan and in the first meeting against Minnesota he scored 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting from the field.

Trice throughout the season has done well in setting up his teammates to have success on the offensive end, which has also helped open up offensive opportunities for him too.

Trice will continue to run the offense efficiently for Wisconsin making sure the Badgers generate high percentage shots against the Gophers defense. The success he’s able to help Wisconsin generate on the offensive end will give himself a good chance of once again putting together an efficient game on the offensive side of the floor.

Pages: 123

Badger brothers: Micah Potter, Aleem Ford had Nate Reuvers’ back

The Badgers stood tall for each other

“I got your back, brother. Don’t worry. We got this.”

Such was the statement Micah Potter and Aleem Ford, and the rest of the Wisconsin Badgers, made to their brother and teammate, Nate Reuvers, on Thursday night against the Michigan Wolverines.

We all saw Reuvers get popped in the mouth. He wasn’t able to play normal minutes. Wisconsin lost its leading scorer for portions of a big road game against an NCAA Tournament-quality team with a strong defense.

It didn’t matter:

Here is something to consider: #Badgers never trailed, led for 39:32 and won by seven with their leading scorer (Reuvers) going out early after taking a shot to the mouth and finishing with 2 points/2 boards. His FG in lane was huge.

— Jeff Potrykus (@jaypo1961) February 28, 2020

The Badger brotherhood was in evidence when Josh Gasser and Jared Berggren saluted the team, the program, and head coach Greg Gard.

This was a brotherhood spanning multiple Wisconsin teams and recruiting classes. The people who have come before the 2020 Badgers recognize and appreciate what the current team is doing to carry the torch and continue a proud legacy.

Thursday night, though past Badger greats were watching and cheering them on, it was up to the current Badgers — the players in the locker room, the players immersed in the foxhole of live-game pressure — who had to stand up and be counted when Nate Reuvers got hit. Did they have his back?

Did they ever.

Potter and Ford produced twin 18-point games. They both hit more than 60 percent of their field goal attempts. They committed a total of only three fouls in 61 combined minutes. They pulled down a combined 15 rebounds, limiting Michigan to just six offensive boards. They combined to hit five 3-point shots, spacing the court and making it that much easier for D’Mitrik Trice to operate on a night when Trice scored 28 points in an alpha-dog clinic.

Potter’s 18 points helped Wisconsin score a 23-4 advantage in bench points. Ford’s 18 helped Wisconsin’s frontcourt outscore Michigan’s frontcourt, 43-23.

Nate Reuvers was hit in the mouth, but no worries — Micah Potter and Aleem Ford punched Michigan in the mouth.

They had their teammate’s back.

Such is the Badger brotherhood, a central reason why this team has so completely turned around its season in February, developing a full head of steam into March.

Game Day Grades: Wisconsin vs. Rutgers

What grades did Wisconsin earn following their 79-71 home win against Rutgers?

Offense: B+

Wisconsin’s offense was dominant at times against Rutgers but there were also two instances one in each half where the Badgers went at least five minutes without a made field goal.

The second scoring drought the Badgers went through allowed for the Scarlet Knights to creep back into the game. With 11:27 to go in the game, the Badgers were up 58-42 thanks to Micah Potter making his second consecutive three.

But the Badgers went five minutes and 11 seconds without a made field goal and until a timely three by Brad Davison to push Wisconsin’s lead to 10 points with 6:16 to go Rutgers had cut it to single digits.

Over that stretch, Wisconsin went 0-for-4 on their field goal attempts as three of their four shots came inside the paint. The only points Wisconsin could register were from the free throw line as they scored three points.

The scoring drought in the first half lasted six minutes and six seconds. In that stretch, the Badgers went 0-for-7 from the field, which includes missing five straight 3-point attempts.

Prior to missing five consecutive three’s, the Badgers did start the game 4-for-5 from distance. For the fourth straight game, Wisconsin made at least 11 of their 3-point attempts. Overall Wisconsin shot 50 percent on 22 attempts from three and 48 percent (24-for-50) from the field.

Potter led Wisconsin from three as he went an impressive 4-for-5 from distance as he finished with a game high 18 points off the bench. Brevin Pritzl and Reuvers each had 17 points and between the two they shot a combined 3-for-6 from three and Brad Davison finished with 15 points on 3-for-5 shooting from three.

Davison’s made three in the second half, which ended the Badgers scoring drought put him over 1,000 points in his career. Davison finished his day 3-for-7 from the field and 6-for-8 from the free throw line.

Pages: 123

3-Point Shot Wisconsin vs. Rutgers

What are three things Wisconsin needs to do when they play Rutgers on Sunday?

Wisconsin was able to pick up a key victory against Purdue this past Tuesday as they were able to redeem an earlier loss in the season to the Boilermakers. Wisconsin will look to do the same against Rutgers as the Badgers fell to the Scarlet Knights on the road 72-65. Rutgers will enter the game against Wisconsin after suffering their first home loss of the season to Michigan as the Scarlet Knights have posted a 17-1 home record but for road games, they’re only 1-6.

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

LAYUP: PREVENTING RUTGERS FROM GETTING OUT IN TRANSITION

Rutgers in the first matchup against Wisconsin was able to force the Badgers into 14 turnovers. The Badgers have done well over Big Ten play of not turning the basketball over as the 9.2 turnovers they’re averaging over conference play is the fewest.

In order for Wisconsin’s offense to get into a rhythm, the Badgers can’t afford to allow Rutgers to disrupt their offense.

The high number of turnovers by Wisconsin against Rutgers allowed for the Scarlet Knights to generate some easy points. Overall Rutgers was able to score 18 fast break points, which at the time was the most Wisconsin has allowed. Not to mention the 22 points Rutgers scored off of the Badgers turnovers is the most Wisconsin has allowed this season.

If Wisconsin can eliminate this area where Rutgers was able to have success against Wisconsin in the first meeting it will force the Scarlet Knights to work for each shot they attempt. It will also allow for Wisconsin to dictate the tempo of the game too.

MID-RANGE: MAKING EACH OFFENSIVE POSSESSION COUNT FOR WISCONSIN

One other reason why it will be important for Wisconsin to protect the basketball is the Scarlet Knights over Big Ten play have held their opponents to shoot 39.2 percent (355-for-906) from the field, which ranks second.

Wisconsin will have to be patient on offense and consistently work the basketball around in order to try and create an open look for themselves.

Wisconsin over their three game winning streak has registered 49 assists on 74 made field goals.

The Badgers ability to work the basketball around will begin with D’Mitrik Trice. Trice has led Wisconsin in assists over the last six games and has either led or tied for the team lead in assists in 18 games.

With Trice registering a total of 35 assists over his last six games compared to 13 turnovers. Trice’s ability to continue to set up his teammates on offense while protecting the basketball will be critical if Wisconsin is going to generate an offensive rhythm against Rutgers.

If Trice can continue his strong play along with Wisconsin finding a way of generating offensive rebounds will be a win as it will give Wisconsin another chance of coming away with points against a defense that’s allowing 64.5 points per game over conference play.

3-POINTER: CAN WISCONSIN LIMIT RUTGERS ON THE OFFENSIVE GLASS?

Wisconsin struggled at times to keep Purdue off the offensive glass on Tuesday night as the Boilermakers finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds.

Like Purdue, Rutgers was able to have success on the offensive glass in the first meeting as the Scarlet Knights finished with 14 offensive rebounds in the win, which led to 23 second chance points.

If Wisconsin wants to build a lead against the Scarlet Knights the Badgers can’t afford to have them be able to consistently come up with second chances.

Rutgers over Big Ten play is averaging 11.8 offensive rebounds a contest, which ranks third. In particular, Wisconsin will need to be able to effectively box out Myles Johnson as he’s averaging 3.1 offensive rebounds over Big Ten play, which is tied for fifth.

Specifically, having Micah Potter for the rematch will help limit Rutgers second chances. Potter didn’t play in the first matchup as he was still sitting out because of his transfer.

Potter has certainly helped on the glass as over his 16 games he’s played he has registered 93 rebounds with 70 of them coming on the defensive glass. Potter along with Nate Reuvers ability to consistently clean up the missed shots by Rutgers will help make sure Nebraska’s road woes continue.

Nate Reuvers, D’Mitrik Trice must answer the call vs Rutgers

Game Day Grades: Wisconsin vs. Purdue

Grading Wisconsin’s 69-65 victory over conference rival Purdue.

Offense: B

Purdue certainly put pressure on Wisconsin at the end of the game to make their free throws as the combination of Brad Davison and Brevin Pritzl went a combined 8-for-8 to help Wisconsin win 69-65.

Wisconsin not only needed those last eight points to help maintain their lead but after a made field goal by Nate Reuvers with 5:38 to go in the game to put Wisconsin up 57-48 represented the last made field goal by the Badgers in the game.

The Badgers missed their final eight field goal attempts while going a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line. Overall Wisconsin shot an impressive 19-for-20 from the free throw line as four different players attempted at least two free throws.

Pritzl led the team with eight free throw attempts as he made all eight, Reuvers went 5-for-6, Davison went 4-for-4, and Trevor Anderson made both of his free throws.

Although Wisconsin missed their last eight field goal attempts one fact that can’t get overlooked is over the last three minutes and 44 seconds of the game the Badgers came up with four offensive rebounds, which resulted in four points.

Even though Wisconsin wasn’t able to score on two of the four offensive rebounds they registered it still allowed for Wisconsin to run more time off the clock. Pritzl was responsible for two of the four offensive rebounds as he simply out hustled Purdue to come up with the second chance for Wisconsin.

The Badgers who only registered two offensive rebounds in the first meeting against Purdue but on Tuesday they registered 10, which they turned into 12 points. Aleem Ford led the team with three offensive rebounds.

After registering 19 rebounds over his last two games Ford finished with a team-high seven rebounds and for the second time this year, he led Wisconsin in scoring with a career high 19 points.

Ford was one of four Badgers to reach double figures as Davison and Pritzl each finished with 13 points and Reuvers finished with 12 points. Overall Wisconsin shot 19-for-50 (38 percent) from the field.

Pages: 123

3 takeaways from Wisconsin’s second win over Nebraska in 2020

Wisconsin-Nebraska

Wisconsin shook its slump on the road and was able to shoot the ball well against Nebraska once again. The score was 39-38 Wisconsin at halftime, exactly as it was back on January 21, but another big second half allowed the Badgers to pull away for another double-digit victory over Nebraska.

The win is the first road win for UW since January 11 when it beat Penn State in Happy Valley. Six days after sweeping Ohio State this past Sunday, the Badgers took a second season series, but this time over Nebraska. What did we learn from the win ?

1. Guard tandem of Trice and Davison, have a day!

D’Mitrik Trice and Brad Davison are two of the most experienced players on the 2019-2020 Wisconsin squad, and they both showed up in a big way against Nebraska.

Davison shot himself out of a slump Saturday afternoon and put up one of the best shooting performances not only of his career, but in school history. Coming into the matchup with the Cornhuskers, the junior had put up a combined 30 points in his last five games, but he shook it off with a 30-point outing. The 30 points matched a career high he set way back in his freshman year against Michigan State, when he tried to single-handedly will the Badgers to an upset of the (then-) second-ranked Spartans.

Against Nebraska on Saturday, Davison had the hot had from long distance. He finished the game with eight threes, which ties a school record set by Bronson Koenig in the 2017 NCAA Tournament against Virginia Tech. Koenig needed six more shots to hit the same mark.

Davison’s display ended a rough stretch of games. He had hit a combined eight threes in his last seven games. The junior seems to like playing Nebraska. This now makes five games in double digits against the Cornhuskers in six meetings. The last time he hit double figures this season came on January 21 against Nebraska.

For junior D’Mitrik Trice, the matchup with Nebraska continued a brilliant stretch for the point guard. Over the last four games before the reunion with Nebraska, the guard was averaging 12.0 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game. He has also scored nine or more points in six of the last seven games. Along with the uptick in scoring, he has also had at least four assists in each contest of the last seven contests.

Much like his partner in the backcourt, Trice found his stroke beyond the arc. Trice finished 5-6 from three, which ties his season high of five threes, which he set back on December 21 against UW-Milwaukee.

2. Badgers finally shoot well on the road

It has been a trend throughout the Big Ten for teams to struggle on the road, so Wisconsin’s road struggles are not anything out of the ordinary, but the Badgers shoot extremely poorly away from the Kohl Center.

The splits for UW are eye opening. The field goal percentage drops from 46% to 38% on the road, while the percentage from deep falls from 40% to 26.6%. Wisconsin took a huge first step in fixing the issue Saturday afternoon.

Trice and Davison created an efficient 48% clip from three for the Badgers, while the team shot 49% from the field. Within the context of this season, the 15 made threes this afternoon are second only to the school-record 18 threes they connected on in their last meeting with Nebraska.

UW may have finally figured out how to carry over its shooting on the road, but it may have come too late with four of the last six games for the Badgers in the Kohl Center. Yet, that certainly is not a bad thing with Wisconsin holding an 11-1 record at home.

3. Nate Reuvers and Micah Potter provide balance for the Badgers

Earlier in the year when Potter had a hot start to his Badger career, fans were clamoring for him to get more time and for him to play alongside Reuvers. We are starting to see how great the tandem of Reuvers and Potter can be. The duo combined for 28 points on 12-18 shooting against Nebraska.

Earlier in the season, Potter struggled to stay on the court late in games due to his inability to pick up defensive concepts, but he now has the trust of the coaching staff as shown by his start against Ohio State on Feb. 9.

Against Nebraska, the two bigs complemented one another beautifully. Both are the same mold of a stretch five: bigs who are comfortable posting up but can often hit jumpers.

When Reuvers picked up two early fouls, Potter stepped in seamlessly and poured in 11 points and four rebounds in the first half. Reuvers then stepped in to start the second half and score six points in the first 3:34.

Potter started against Ohio State to match up with the Buckeyes’ bigs, but Brevin Pritzl stepped in against Nebraska to combat the Huskers’ smaller lineup. Nonetheless, Potter has taken steps with the Badgers and has become a key contributor. He has formed a strong connection with point guard D’Mitrik Trice on the court, as he continues to be the beneficiary of dimes from Trice.

The matchup with Nebraska showed just how much of an advantage the Badgers have with their bigs, and how much of a problem they can present to opponents.

Game Day Grades: Wisconsin vs. Nebraska

What grades did Wisconsin earn from their 81-64 conference road win over Nebraska?

Offense: A

Wisconsin in their first meeting against Nebraska made a program-record 18 three’s the Badgers didn’t match that feat against the Cornhuskers on Saturday but they came close.

Once again the Badgers were able to catch fire from distance as they made 15 of their 3-pointers on 31 attempts.

Wisconsin had four different players make a 3-point attempt but it was Brad Davison who the Cornhuskers couldn’t slow down from three. Davison’s eight made three’s on 11 attempts tied a program record that was set by Bronson Koenig against Virginia Tech in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

Although Davison will naturally get the attention for his efficient shooting from three one can’t forget about D’Mitri Trice. Trice was just as efficient from three as his five made three’s was second to Davison on only six attempts.

The Badgers were able to utilize the 3-point shot to their advantage in the second half as nine of their 16 made field goals came from three.

Wisconsin’s success from three in the second half was set up thanks to the Badgers consistently working the basketball around. Considering the nine made three’s eight of them were set up by an assist.

The unselfish basketball that was displayed by the Badgers allowed for Wisconsin to quickly establish a double-digit lead in the second half. The Badgers went on a 16-0 run on 6-for-8 shooting to extend their 1-point lead at 46-45 to 62-45 with 12:34 to go in the game.

In that 16-0 run four different Badgers contributed to the run as Trice scored nine points, Davison had three points, Micah Potter and Nate Reuvers each had two points.

Those four players were also the only players to reach double figures for Wisconsin too. Davison finished with 30 points, which tied a career-high, Trice and Potter each had 15 points, and Reuvers finished with 13 points.

Overall Wisconsin finished the game 31-for-63 (49.2 percent) from the field and registered 19 assists on their 31 made field goals.

Pages: 123

3-Point Shot Wisconsin vs. Nebraska

What are three things Wisconsin needs to do in order to beat Nebraska on the road?

Nebraska is coming off a tough loss to Maryland on Tuesday night as they lost to the Terrapins 72-70. The loss to Maryland represents the Cornhuskers ninth straight loss and although the Cornhuskers are going through a losing streak as five of the nine losses have come by double digits, which includes losing to Wisconsin by 14 points in the first meeting the Badgers can’t take the Cornhuskers lightly. Considering Wisconsin hasn’t won consecutive conference games in a month when they won against Penn State on the road, which also represents the Badgers last road victory before beating Maryland.

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

LAYUP: DISRUPTING NEBRASKA’S BALANCED SCORING

Nebraska has four players averaging double figures over conference play and in the first matchup against Wisconsin, the Cornhuskers put four players in double figures.

If Wisconsin wants to control the game on Saturday they will need to be sound in their defensive assignments in order to disrupt Nebraska’s offense.

Nebraska is led in scoring by Cam Mack as he’s averaging 12.5 points per game over Big Ten play and against Wisconsin earlier in the season he finished with 14 points on 5-for-15 shooting from the field.

Mack has struggled with his shot over the last three games for Nebraska. In those three games, he has only reached double figures once, as he only scored four points against Maryland and was held scoreless against Penn State. In that span, Mack is averaging 5.6 points on a combined 6-for-28 shooting from the field.

D’Mitrik Trice will likely draw the defensive assignment against Mack and Trice has been one of Wisconsin’s most consistent defenders this year. Trice’s defensive effort against Mack will be needed considering even if his shot isn’t falling he still has been able to set up his teammates for offensive success. Mack’s 7.2 assists over conference play lead the league making it important that not only does Trice try and disrupt Mack’s shot attempts but also takes away his passing lanes too.

Pages: 123

Game Day Grades: Wisconsin vs. Ohio State

What grades did Wisconsin earn in their 70-to-57 home victory over Big Ten foe Ohio State?

Offense: A

Wisconsin and Ohio State went back and forth to begin the game as the two teams traded baskets. Waiting for a team to take control of the game. That moment for Wisconsin came following a made three by Ohio State’s Andre Wesson to cut the Badgers lead to 22-20 with 4:37 to go in the game.

The Badgers proceeded by ending the first half on a 16-0 run on 5-for-9 shooting from the field. The Badgers over there scoring run were led by Brevin Pritzl and D’Mitrik Trice as each scored six points both coming off of two made 3-pointers while Aleem Ford made a layup and Nate Reuvers made a pair of free throws to round out the scoring.

In particular, Pritzl was excellent for Wisconsin off the bench as he led Wisconsin in scoring with 19 points, which includes him going 5-for-6 from 3-point range and shot 7-for-13 from the field overall.

Ford was the only other Badger to reach double figures with 10 as he shot 3-for-8 from the field. As six different Badgers scored at least eight points for Wisconsin as Micah Potter who started his first game for the Badgers finished with nine points, Nate Reuvers also scored nine points, Trice and Trevor Anderson each had eight points.

Wisconsin was able to create balanced scoring thanks to the Badgers ability to consistently working the basketball around on the offensive end. Wisconsin was able to register 17 assists on their 24 made field goals. Overall Wisconsin shot 24-for-58 (41.4 percent) from the field and 12-for-32 (37.5 percent) from three.

The Badgers were also able to help their offense by finding ways of taking care of the basketball only turning it over nine times in addition to generating second chance opportunities. Wisconsin finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds and was able to capitalize on their second chances by turning them into 15 points.

Ford led the way with four offensive rebounds as he was a rebound shy of registering the first double-double of his career. Ford was active throughout the game and his hustle on the offensive end helped lead to Wisconsin having an extra attempt on the offensive end.

Pages: 123