Nate Reuvers – Page 6 – Syndication Server

3-Point Shot Wisconsin vs. Ohio State

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

When Wisconsin and Ohio State played for the first time over a month ago the Badgers were able to pick up a key road victory against the Buckeyes. The Badgers will now look to rebound from their road loss to Minnesota on Wednesday and complete the season sweep of the Buckeyes.

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

LAYUP: LIMITING OHIO STATE’S CHANCES FROM 3-POINT RANGE

Minnesota hurt Wisconsin from 3-point range in the first half allowing for the Gophers to build a lead against Wisconsin and ultimately control the game.

Wisconsin can’t allow Ohio State to follow a similar game plan on Sunday against the Badgers. Making it important that Wisconsin challenges each 3-point shot attempt by the Buckeyes.

Ohio State over conference play is averaging 8.5 made three’s a game, which ranks second in the Big Ten. In the first meeting against Wisconsin, the Badgers held Ohio State to shoot 6-for-20 (30 percent) on their 3-point opportunities.

The six 3-pointers made by Ohio State in the first meeting is right where the Badgers defense is allowing over conference play as opponents make an average of 6.5 three’s a game on an average of 19.6 3-point attempts a game.

The Buckeyes have four players ranked in the top 10 in 3-point percentage as Andre Wesson’s 47.4 percent (18-for-38) leads the team. Wesson in the first matchup against Wisconsin went 1-for-2 from three but in the eight games since the two teams played has made half of his 30 attempts from three.

The Badgers can’t afford for Wesson to have many opportunities to have success from three. If they allow him to step into a three uncontested considering the way he’s shooting it from three as of late he will make Wisconsin’s defense pay for its defensive mistake.

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Game Day Grades: Wisconsin vs. Minnesota

What grades did Wisconsin earn in their Big Ten road loss to Minnesota?

Offense: D

Wisconsin started the game 6-for-11 from the field over the first six minutes and 50 seconds helping them keep pace with the hot shooting Minnesota offense. While Minnesota was able to maintain their hot shooting over the first half the Badgers saw their shooting take a massive dip.

Considering over the remaining time in the first half the Badgers shot 5-for-20 from the field as they never could regain an offensive rhythm in the second half either as the Badgers shot 8-for-36 (22.2 percent) from the field.

One of the reasons for Wisconsin’s inconsistencies on offense was the play of Daniel Oturu for Minnesota. Oturu was able to play physical in the post and was able to find ways of consistently altering shots as he finished with four of Minnesota’s five blocks.

With Wisconsin struggling to knock down their 3-point attempts as the Badgers shot 24.1 percent on 7-for-29 shooting from three and not being able to consistently generate post touches due to Oturu’s defense made it difficult for Wisconsin’s offense to get anything established.

Nate Reuvers led Wisconsin in scoring for a second straight game as he finished with 14 points but shot 6-for-18 from the field and 12 of his 14 points came in the first half.

Wisconsin put three other players in double figures as Aleem Ford and Micah Potter each had 11 points, and D’Mitrik Trice finished with 10 points. Minnesota natives Brad Davison and Tyler Wahl struggled offensively as they scored four and two points respectively. But Davison missed all three of his field goal attempts but made all four of his free throw attempts while Wahl went 1-for-3 from the field.

Despite Wisconsin’s shot attempts not falling the Badgers did do a good job of generating second chances as they collected 15 offensive rebounds turning their second chances into 12 points.

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3-Point Shot Wisconsin vs. Minnesota

What are three things Wisconsin needs to do in order to have success on the road against Minnesota?

Wisconsin picked up a key win against Michigan State on Saturday as they were able to redeem themselves from earlier in the season when Wisconsin played the Spartans. The Badgers will look to build off of their win against Michigan State as they get set to play Minnesota on the road against a Gopher team that has lost three of their last four games.

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

LAYUP: CAPITALIZING ON MINNESOTA’S TURNOVERS

Wisconsin over their last seven games has done well of creating turnovers as in six of those seven games the Badgers have forced their opponent into at least 10 turnovers.

In that stretch, Wisconsin’s offense has been able to cash in their opponents mistakes into an average of 10.5 points per game. Against Michigan State, the Badgers defense was able to turn the Spartans 12 turnovers into 14 points, which is the most points off of an opponents turnovers since Wisconsin scored 16 in Wisconsin’s win against Ohio State.

In order for Wisconsin to have success against Minnesota on Wednesday, the Badgers will need to continue to find a way of creating double digit turnovers against the Gophers in order to disrupt the Gophers offense.

Minnesota over conference play is averaging 10.9 turnovers a contest compared to Wisconsin’s defense forcing their Big Ten foes into an average of 11.1 miscues a game.

If Wisconsin sticks to their defensive assignments they should be able to find a way of creating those extra offensive possessions for themselves. Consistently cashing in Minnesota’s mistakes will be critical in helping Wisconsin control the game.

MID-RANGE: WISCONSIN’S DEFENSIVE SUCCESS AGAINST MINNESOTA’S 3-POINT ATTEMPTS

Minnesota over conference play is shooting 27.1 percent from three, which ranks last over conference play. Despite the low percentage by Minnesota there, 255 3-point attempts over Big Ten play is the second most behind Nebraska (293).

Even though the Gophers have struggled to consistently find the bottom of the net on their 3-point attempts the Badgers will still need to be prepared to defend the shot consistently.

Considering 39.6 percent (255-of-643) of their field goal attempts over conference play have come from distance.

Wisconsin will need to be aware of where Gabe Kalscheur is on the floor as his 152 3-point attempts leads the team. But he’s only making 32.9 percent (50-for-152) of his 3-point attempts.

Similar to the game against the Spartans Wisconsin’s defense can’t afford to allow Minnesota to attempt their 3-point shots in rhythm. When a three does go up it will be up to Wisconsin’s frontcourt defense of being able to effectively box out Daniel Oturu and making sure the Gophers can’t consistently generate second chances on offense.

3-POINTER: CAN WISCONSIN STOP DANIEL OTURU?

Over Big Ten play Oturu has been impressive as the 21 points he’s averaging ranks second and the 10.8 rebounds rank first over conference play.

In Wisconsin’s loss to Iowa last week the Badgers struggled to contain Luka Garza as he finished with 21 points and 18 rebounds as Garza’s 26.5 points per game leads the conference and his 10.5 rebounds rank second behind Oturu.

If Wisconsin wants to register its first road victory since its game against Penn State the Badgers can’t afford to have Oturu have as effective of a game as Garza did.

In order to try and limit Oturu it will begin with the play of Nate Reuvers. Reuvers did well of contesting shots against Michigan State without fouling on Monday. Reuvers who finished with two of Wisconsin’s four blocks against the Spartans won’t be able to block everything but he still can do enough on the defensive side to make Oturu alter his shot.

If Reuvers can be strong on the defensive end it will take one of Minnesota’s more consistent offensive players out of the game as Marcus Carr (17 points per game) is the only other player for Minnesota to average double figures over Big Ten play.

As good as Oturu is on the offensive end he can provide the same kind of impact on the defensive side of the floor too. Oturu’s 2.1 blocks a game ranks third over conference play making it important that Wisconsin finds a way to try and neutralize his effectiveness.

Game Day Grades: Wisconsin vs. Michigan State

What grades did Wisconsin earn in their 64-63 home win over Michigan State?

Offense: C

Wisconsin was clinging to a 50-47 lead with 11:26 to go in the game as the Badgers to start the second half were 3-for-17 from the field over the first 10 minutes.

The way Wisconsin shot the basketball in the second half was the complete opposite of the first 20 minutes where the Badgers shot 15-for-26 (57.6 percent) from the field.

The cold shooting by Wisconsin allowed for Michigan State to make their comeback making the game appear that it could have a similar ending to the Iowa game from earlier in the week.

Although Wisconsin shot 4-for-11 from the field over the last 9:33 of the game the Badgers were able to do enough on the offensive end to come away with a win.

After Cassius Winston’s made jumper made it 50-47 the Badgers were in desperate need of a basket to help them regain momentum the Badgers responded by making four straight field goals to extend their lead back to double-digits.

Micah Potter got Wisconsin’s 10-to-2 run started by registering a dunk off of an assist by D’Mitrik Trice. On Wisconsin’s ensuing offensive possession Brevin Pritzl registered a layup, which was followed by two consecutive made three’s by Aleem Ford.

Wisconsin only made three of their 3-point attempts in the second half on 14 tries after they went 5-for-11 over the first 20 minutes. Overall Wisconsin finished the game shooting 22-for-54 (40.7 percent) shooting from the field.

Wisconsin had four of their five starters reach double figures as Nate Reuvers led the way with 15 points but 13 of those points came in the first half. Trice had 14 points, Ford finished with 13 points, and Brevin Pritzl finished with 10 points.

While Wisconsin couldn’t consistently find the bottom of the net during the second half the Badgers had to rely on generating points from the free throw line.

Considering after Ford’s second made three to give Wisconsin a 60-49 lead with 7:27 to go in the game the Badgers proceeded to miss their next seven field goal attempts but the Badgers did go 4-for-7 from the charity stripe. Trice was the one to shoot all seven of the free throw attempts for Wisconsin as the Badgers finished the game 12-for-15 from the free throw line.

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Game Day Grades: Wisconsin vs. Iowa

What grades did Wisconsin earn in their six-point road loss to Iowa?

Offense: F

D’Mitrik Trice just made a three with 7:13 to go in the game to put Wisconsin up 57-45. It appeared the Badgers were taking control of the game especially with how well the Badgers came out shooting the basketball in the second half.

The problem was even with a 12-point lead it wasn’t safe especially when Wisconsin has struggled to shoot the basketball on the road this season.

Wisconsin’s road shooting woes weren’t more evident than the Badgers closing out the game by shooting 2-for-9 from the field, which includes missing four straight shots. To make matters worst the Badgers in that same stretch committed four of Wisconsin’s nine turnovers in the game.

The four turnovers that were created by Iowa was due to the pressure the Hawkeyes were supplying in their attempt of making their successful comeback as five of the nine points Iowa scored off of Wisconsin’s turnovers came off of those four turnovers too.

Prior to Wisconsin’s epic second-half collapse on offense, the Badgers were shooting 50 percent (11-for-22) from the field, which allowed for the Badgers to start building their lead up to double digits. As the Badgers over the first 13 minutes of the second half were able to strike a balance between getting the basketball on the inside and creating open looks from three.

Wisconsin finished the game shooting 24-for-64 (37.5 percent) from the field and 8-for-28 (28.6 percent) from three.

The Badgers had two players in double figures. Trice finished the game with 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field and Nate Reuvers had 13 points on 6-for-15 shooting from the field.

Defense: F

While Wisconsin was trying to buy a bucket to end the game the Hawkeyes efficient offense was starting to heat up.

As the Badgers closed the game shooting 2-for-9 from the field the Hawkeyes finished the game 4-for-8 from the field but most importantly with Wisconsin in foul trouble went 14-for-18 from the free throw line.

With Reuvers and Micah Potter both dealing with foul trouble the Hawkeyes smartly attacked the Badgers frontcourt defense as Iowa finished the game with 28 points in the paint. Not wanting to foul out of the game the Badgers at times couldn’t attempt to try and block a shot as they finished the game with four blocks as three came in the first half.

Wisconsin’s frontcourt defense was able to affect Luka Garza’s shot attempts at times but the talented big man still led Iowa in scoring as he was one of four players to reach double figures.

Garza finished the game with 21 points but shot 6-for-17 from the field. Freshman CJ Fredrick finished with 17 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field, Joe Wieskamp had 12 points, and Joe Toussaint finished with 11 points.

Iowa entering the game against Wisconsin was one of the more dangerous 3-point shooting teams over conference play but the Badgers were able to hold them to shoot 3-for-20 from distance and overall shot 20-for-60 (33.3 percent) from the field.

Overall: F

Brad Davison’s flagrant foul with 32 seconds to go in the game and with the Badgers down 62-59 completely changed the complexion of the game. Instead of getting the basketball back out of the timeout following Wieskamp’s made layup resulted in Iowa shooting a pair of free throws, which they split and getting the basketball back.

Luka Garza was fouled following the technical foul free throws and like Connor McCaffery he made one of two but instead of being down 62-59 with possession of the basketball the Badgers were down 64-59 with 28 seconds remaining.

Considering how Wisconsin was shooting the basketball down the stretch made the deficit seem insurmountable.

Wisconsin was able to make some improvements since the Badgers last game against Purdue. But the Badgers were still outrebounded 46-to-40. Garza finished with a team high 18 rebounds as six of them came on the offensive glass as the Hawkeyes finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds, which they turned into 16-second chance points.

With Tyler Wahl filling in for Kobe King as a starter as King missed the game due to a personal matter Wahl played 26 minutes and finished the game 2-for-6 from the field for four points. After Trice’s team-leading nine rebounds Wahl’s seven ranked second on the team.

Game MVP: D’Mitrik Trice

Trice did well in setting up his teammates and was one of the key reasons as to why the Badgers were able to build a second half lead. As Trice was a rebound shy of registering his second career double-double as he finished the game with 16 points, nine rebounds, six assists to one turnover, and a steal.

3-Point Shot Wisconsin vs. Iowa

What are three things Wisconsin needs to do in order to bounce back against Iowa on Monday night?

Wisconsin (12-8, 5-4 Big Ten) will have to move on quickly from their 19-point loss to Purdue on Friday night as they play on Monday against a talented Iowa (14-5, 5-3) team, which has been playing well as of late. Since the Hawkeyes lost to Nebraska earlier this month they have won four straight games against Maryland, Northwestern, Michigan, and Rutgers. Not to mention two of those four wins have come by double figures and in their last two games the Hawkeyes have averaged 87.5 points per game.

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

LAYUP: CAN WISCONSIN LIMIT IOWA FROM THREE?

One of the reasons why Iowa is so dangerous on offense is their ability to consistently move the basketball around and create open shots for themselves.

The 18.4 assists Iowa averages over conference play leads the league making it important that the Badgers defensively find a way of trying to slow down the consistent ball movement.

With Iowa moving the basketball around so effectively it has led to them being able to set up good looks for themselves from three. Iowa over Big Ten play is shooting 35.9 percent (65-for-181) from three, which ranks second in the league.

Iowa’s making 8.1 three’s a contest over Big Ten play as the Badgers defensively can’t afford to allow Iowa to consistently catch and shoot uncontested 3-pointers.

Joe Weiskamp is shooting 43.1 percent (22-for-51) over conference play from three. Weiskamp has made a three in every Big Ten game this season except one, which came against Northwestern.

Wisconsin coming off its loss to Purdue allowed the Boilermakers to make the most three’s (nine) and shoot the highest percentage (47.4 percent) against them over Big Ten play.

If Wisconsin wants to pull the upset on Monday the Badgers can’t afford to have the Hawkeyes to be able to consistently score from three and in the post. If they do it will be a repeat of Friday night where the Boilermakers were able to start building a lead early.

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Nate Reuvers takes center stage vs Iowa

Game Day Grades: Wisconsin vs. Purdue

Handing out grades in Wisconsin’s 70-51 road loss to Purdue. D’Mitrik Trice G, Nate Reuvers F, Micah Potter F

Offense: F

Wisconsin to start the game was able to get the basketball down low and Nate Reuvers was able to have success against Purdue’s Trevion Williams as he was responsible for five of Wisconsin’s first seven points.

Although Wisconsin started off on offense well it all went downhill for the Badgers offensively.

Simply put Wisconsin couldn’t buy a basket at times as the Badgers put together one of its worst halves of basketball this season over the first 20 minutes of the game as the Badgers shot 6-for-20 (30 percent) from the field. Overall, Wisconsin finished the game shooting 20-for-46 (43.5 percent) from the field.

Wisconsin put three players in double figures as D’Mitrik Trice and Micah Potter each had 11 points as the two-shot a combined 9-for-13 from the field. Reuvers finished the game with 10 points but after starting 3-for-4 from the field he went 1-for-7 the rest of the game.

Wisconsin’s inability to shoot the basketball effectively hurt the Badgers but one other aspect that hurt the Badgers was their inability to grab an offensive rebound. Wisconsin finished the game with only two offensive rebounds as they only registered one in each half.

In fact their first offensive rebound of the game didn’t come until the 1:39 mark of the first half but the Badgers couldn’t even get a chance of putting up another shot as Reuvers turned the basketball over.

The Badgers finished the game with 11 turnovers, which Purdue turned into 15 points.

Defense: F

Wisconsin was able to shoot the basketball better in the second half finishing the game shooting 53.8 percent (14-for-26) from the field. The problem was the Badger defense allowed Purdue to shoot 55.2 percent (16-for-29) from the field in the second half.

Purdue was able to get balanced scoring across their entire team as nine different players scored for the Boilermakers and four of the nine players reached double figures.

In particular, the Badgers had no answer for Evan Boudreaux as he registered his first career double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Seven of his 13 rebounds came on the offensive glass as his ability to keep offensive possessions alive was critical as Purdue finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds, ironically, the same number of total rebounds the Badgers had in the game.

With Purdue generating so many second chances they were able to turn them into 19 points.

Isaiah Thompson led Purdue with 14 points off the bench on 6-for-8 shooting from the field. Sasha Stefanovic had 12 points as he hit three critical three’s for Purdue in the second half and Matt Haarms scored 11 points.

With so many different contributors for Purdue meant that the Boilermakers were able to have success around the rim and from three. Purdue finished the game with 28 points in the paint but entering the game against Wisconsin the Boilermakers were shooting 27.3 percent (45-for-165) from three over conference play, which ranked 13th.

However, the Badgers couldn’t hold them to their conference average as the Boilermakers finished the game 9-for-19 (47.4 percent) from three. Purdue’s ability to consistently hit the three against Wisconsin allowed for them to quickly extend their lead and maintain it.

Overall: F

Basketball is a game of runs. If Wisconsin wanted any chance of getting themselves back in the game the Badgers needed to have the first run in the second half.

They didn’t.

Purdue, started the second half scoring 12 of the first 14 points as they scored on five of its first seven possessions to extend their lead to 28 points.

In that sequence to begin the second half Stefanovic was responsible for six of Purdue’s 12 points as he knocked down two three’s while Easter had four points and Haarms knocked down a jumper.

The Badgers did go on a 7-0 run themselves but after a Purdue timeout at the 14:28 mark, the Boilermakers were able to retake control of the game and push their lead to as many as 27 points.

Wisconsin could never establish a consistent offensive rhythm and they didn’t help themselves by struggling so mightily on the boards as Purdue outrebounded the Badgers 42-16. That simply can’t happen in Big Ten play.

Wisconsin has another tough game on the road against Iowa on Monday and if they don’t shore up where they struggled against the Boilermakers the Badgers could see a similar result on Monday.

3-Point Shot Wisconsin vs. Purdue

What are three things Wisconsin needs to do when the Badgers travel to play Purdue in West Lafayette?

Purdue (10-9, 3-5 Big Ten) lost its second consecutive game in a row as they fell to Illinois at home, marking the second home loss by Purdue this season. That may not be good news for Wisconsin (12-7, 5-3) considering the Badgers have struggled to win in Mackey Arena. The Badgers have only won 18 games in West Lafayette in program history with their last win coming in 2014.

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

LAYUP: CAN WISCONSIN BUILD OFF OF THEIR PERFORMANCE FROM THREE?

Wisconsin shot the basketball lights out from three against Nebraska as they finished the game 18-for-34 (52.9 percent) from three. The 18 made three’s set a new team record for most made three’s in a game breaking the previous mark of 17.

It is unfair to expect Wisconsin to shoot the basketball that well again from three especially on the road. But the Badgers will have to shoot it better than they were in the five previous games prior to Nebraska, the Badgers shot a combined 27-for-99 (27.2 percent) from three over that stretch.

During Big Ten play Wisconsin is shooting 34.7 percent (61-for-176) from three, which ranks fourth in the conference. On the flip side for Purdue defensively they are allowing their Big Ten opponents to shoot 31.1 percent (55-for-177) from three.

Purdue is allowing an average of 6.8 made three’s a game and if Wisconsin struggles to consistently generate a post touch against the Boilermakers then the Badgers will need to be ready to knock down there three’s in order to help open up the lane.

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Game Day Grades: Wisconsin vs. Nebraska

What grades did Wisconsin earn in their 82-68 home victory over Nebraska?

Offense: B

In Wisconsin’s loss to Michigan State, the Badgers shot 4-for-19 from three and entering the game against Nebraska the Badgers were shooting 32.5 percent (135-for-416) from three as a team.

Making it hard to imagine that Wisconsin would finish the game against Nebraska with a program record 18 made three’s on 34 attempts, which eclipsed the previous mark of 17 against Coppin State in 2010.

As eight different players for Wisconsin made at least one three and five of those eight players made at least two three’s. Simply put it was a shooting clinic from the perimeter as the Badgers did a terrific job of working the basketball around as the Badgers registered an impressive and Big Ten season high 23 assists on their 29 made field goals. Overall Wisconsin finished the game 29-for-63 (46 percent) from the field.

Brad Davison (4-for-9) and Brevin Pritzl (4-for-8) both made four of their 3-pointers as the two shot a combined 8-for-17 from three. Trice went 3-for-4 on his 3-point attempts, Aleem Ford and Micah Potter each made two of their three’s.

Potter finished the game with nine points while Ford finished the game with eight points as he went scoreless over Wisconsin’s last two games.

Although Wisconsin finished the game with 16 points in the paint they did feed the post in order to help create there open looks from three.

With nine different players scoring for Wisconsin it helped create a balance on offense throughout the game. The balance that Wisconsin had amongst its scorers was established early in the game as eight different players for Wisconsin combined to score the Badgers first 24 points to begin the game.

Despite Wisconsin getting into a groove offensively from three, the Badgers did commit 11 turnovers against Nebraska. The 11 turnovers by the Badgers broke a four game streak of nine or fewer turnovers. The Cornhuskers were able to find a way of cashing Wisconsin’s mistakes into points as they finished the game with 19 points off of the Badgers turnovers.

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