Tag: trice

D’Mitrik Trice’s late heroics lift Wisconsin over Indiana in double OT

The Badgers outlast Indiana at the Kohl Center

No. 8 Wisconsin got all they could handle and then some from Indiana on Thursday night at the Kohl Center. The Hoosiers brought energy from the opening tip, and erased a five-point halftime deficit to go up six with just under six minutes remaining.

The after hours D’Mitrik Trice show ultimately lifted the Badgers to an 80-73 double overtime win that was anything but routine.

Indiana brought early energy, both on the floor and on their bench. Similarly to Wisconsin’s loss against Maryland, it felt like the Hoosier bench was up and active, cheering, and the louder of the two sidelines at the Kohl Center. Without second-leading scorer Armaan Franklin, everybody knew the basketball would be in Trayce Jackson-Davis’s hands even more, and he brought his best.

16 second-half points for Jackson-Davis flipped the game on its head, as he walked all over Wisconsin bigs Micah Potter and Nate Reuvers on the interior. With the Badgers down six and under six minutes left, Wisconsin clamped down on defense and got themselves to the free throw line to get back in it. From then on, it was D’Mitrik Trice’s world, we were just living in it. Combining for 11 points on 4-5 shooting in the last two minutes of regulation and the overtimes, Wisconsin’s point guard looked like a superstar.

After Trice tied the game with a floater in regulation, Jackson-Davis had the chance to win it for Indiana. His left-handed layup rolled off the rim and the two Big Ten foes headed to overtime.

The first overtime was nearly a replay of regulation. With the Badgers down a deuce and just 21 seconds remaining, Trice tied the game with a jumper and the Hoosiers had the final chance. Hounding defense from Brad Davison and Wisconsin forced a second overtime.

After not playing the final 6:38 of regulation and overtime likely due to defensive struggles and an altercation on Wisconsin’s bench, Potter re-entered in the second overtime and the Badgers went on a 6-0 run to close the game out. Potter’s re-entry at that moment didn’t spark the run, but it was when the difference making plays came from Tyler Wahl. Wahl hit consecutive threes to give the Badgers a seven point lead that they would never let go of in the second extra session.

It wasn’t the smoothest of rides, but in the end the Badgers got to their destination. On Trice’s night, he lead Wisconsin with 21 points, a majority of which came late into the evening. The Badgers improved to 10-2 and 4-1 in the Big Ten, while the Hoosiers dropped to 7-5 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten.

Wisconsin PG D’Mitrik Trice named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list

The Badger PG earns preseason honors

After a championship season in the Big Ten conference, Wisconsin PG D’Mitrik Trice has been named to the 2020-2021 Bob Cousy Award watch list. Each year, the award goes to the best point guard in college basketball.

Trice is one of 20 players around the country that earned their way on to the initial list. The Badger guard is joined by Big Ten stars Geo Baker (Rutgers) and Ayo Dosunmu (Illinois).

Coming off of a season in which Trice elevated his game during an eight-game winning streak en route to a conference title, the senior guard is ready to lead an experienced Wisconsin unit. The Ohio native finished last season averaging 9.8 points, 4.2 assists, and over 4 rebounds per contest.

The award is named after Boston Celtics legend and six-time NBA champion Bob Cousy, who was an outstanding college PG at Holy Cross in the late 1940’s.

In January, this initial list of 20 will be narrowed down to ten players, with five finalists being announced in February. The award will be presented on April 9, 2021.

Wisconsin basketball the highest seeded Big Ten team in the latest ESPN Bracketology

The Badger are up their with the Big Ten’s best in the latest bracketology

ESPN college basketball insider Joe Lunardi released his latest Bracketology column on July 15, and the Badgers are projected as high as they have been by any publication.

In the mock 68 team NCAA tournament, Lunardi placed the Badgers as a two seed in Wisconsin’s favorite west region. The Badgers were on the same seed line as Michigan State, who landed as the two seed in the east region. The Big Ten led the bracket with nine teams in, tied with the ACC who also had nine squads in the field.

Here are the other Big Ten teams that made it in:

Illinois- 9 seed

Rutgers- 6 seed

Purdue- 7 seed

Ohio State- 4 seed

Michigan- 7 seed

Iowa- 3 seed

Indiana- 6 seed

Film Room: We saw the best version of D’Mitrik Trice after Micah Potter became eligible

For Wisconsin, getting Micah Potter not only improved the team as a whole, but helped elevate the point guard play of D’Mitrik Trice

[lawrence-newsletter]The eight-game winning streak that ended Wisconsin’s season and culminated in a share of the Big Ten regular-season title did not happen for one, singular reason. It seemed like everybody on the roster suddenly became the best version of themselves amongst late-season adversity. There may not be a better example of a player improving throughout the season than Wisconsin point guard D’Mitrik Trice.

Early in the season, I may have chosen my words differently when referring to the 6-0 guard. As the year progressed, Trice earned the label of point guard as he developed into the offensive general that this team needed to make a run.

After the saga that was Micah Potter and his eligibility finally came to an end on December 21, Wisconsin sat at 5-5 facing a home contest against UW-Milwaukee. With Potter eligible, the Badgers went 16-5 over their final 21 games and ended the year as Big Ten champions. It was not only the impact that the Ohio State transfer himself made, but also the impact he had on the players surrounding him that elevated the team, most notably Trice.

Wisconsin’s point guard showed significant differences in his numbers with and without Potter. In the 21 games with the UW big man active, Trice averaged 10.9 points per contest to go along with nearly five assists. In the ten games without Potter, the Ohio native averaged just 7.7 points and barely over three assists per game.

Their chemistry was evident on film. Keep in mind that although Potter was held out of game action, the two have been working together since the Ohio State transfer arrived on campus in December of 2018. That off-court work paid off in a big way during the second half of this season. The most notable area where Trice and Potter wreaked havoc on opposing defenses was in the high pick-and-roll, usually either very early or very late in the shot clock. Let’s dive into some film.

In this clip against Michigan State, UW showed a set that worked well when both Potter and Nate Reuvers played together. Here, Wisconsin runs a version of the “horns” set, a very popular set run at nearly every level of the game. Two forwards set screens slightly above each elbow, and in this iteration Potter slips while Reuvers pops off their respective screens. Trice does an excellent job at reading the defense by rifling a pass to Potter for a slam.

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In the standard high pick-and-roll, Trice and Potter also made defenses pay. In this clip against Maryland, Trice draws both defenders after Potter sets the screen. The UW point guard once again makes the right read to find a rolling big man at the rim. Potter also shows tremendous patience with a fake that gets the help defender in the air, and creates an and-one opportunity.

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In this next clip, as Trice navigates around the screen, a 45% three-point shooter in Potter frees himself up for an in-rhythm look. Potter was an inside and outside threat off the screen. Trice feels Minnesota big man Daniel Oturu way out of position and once again makes a solid point guard read.

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The chemistry also lead to highlights in transition. You should always reward your big man for running the floor, and that is exactly what Trice did in transition against Rutgers.

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The most exciting part of it all for Badger fans? These guys are both coming back along with 88% of Wisconsin’s scoring from 2019-20. Hopes should be high in Madison for a deep NCAA Tournament run in 2021.

Film Room: Yesterday’s win shows the evolution of D’Mitrik Trice

Earlier in the year, and earlier in the career of D’Mitrik Trice, yesterday’s shooting performance would have defined his afternoon. Earlier in the year, late shot clock situations were disastrous for the Badgers and their starting point guard. …

Earlier in the year, and earlier in the career of D’Mitrik Trice, yesterday’s shooting performance would have defined his afternoon. Earlier in the year, late shot clock situations were disastrous for the Badgers and their starting point guard. Earlier in the year, perimeter shooting defined the junior’s offensive impact. Wisconsin’s point guard was just 2-10 from the field and 0-3 from three. Shots he has knocked down for most of this eight-game winning streak were not falling for him yesterday.

The Ohio native had a goose egg in the scoring column with Wisconsin down three at the half. To make matters worse, Devonte Green, his matchup for most of the day, had 16 of the Hoosier’s 28 points at the break. Earlier this year, with Trice’s shot not falling from the perimeter and his defensive assignment making contested threes look like layups, it would be hard to see how the point guard could put his stamp on the game. This, however, is not December. It’s March.

Trice went on to play an exceptional second half of defense on Green, whose fire quickly turned to ice. The Indiana guard went 0-7 in the second half, and 0-3 from three with Trice being the defensive pest against shifty guards that he has been all year. Then, with the game on the line in a late shot clock situation, 0 called his own number. With 1:20 left, the shot clock under five, and UW clinging to a three point lead, Trice got the switch he wanted on Indiana forward Race Thompson. The point guard used his quickness and a killer crossover to beat Thompson off the dribble and finish a floater high off the window. There was no panic late in the shot clock:

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The ensuing Wisconsin possession with the Badgers now up 2 once again turned into a late shot clock situation with the ball in the hands of Trice. Indiana once again ends up with Thompson defending Trice with the game on the line. Once the speedy guard beats the IU forward off the dribble, Trayce Jackson-Davis is forced to help. The help forces Jackson-Davis to leave his man, Nate Reuvers, all alone under the rim for the board and bucket to put the game on ice:

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On paper, the win at Indiana may have not looked like the finest basketball we have seen from D’Mitrik Trice this season. However, as the tape shows, he was calm, cool, and collected when it counted most.