There are always some skeptics in a crowd. For the Wisconsin Badgers’ fan base, I’m betting there are a few skeptics who are looking at Saturday’s 64-63 victory for UW and thinking, “We won this ONLY because Michigan State’s Xavier Tillman was so bad.” That isn’t the majority view, but there are a few of THOSE guys in every room. It’s simply the way it is.
Xavier Tillman’s bad day certainly had something to do with Wisconsin’s season-changing win. Tillman averages (rounded to the nearest whole number) 14 points and 10 rebounds. He shoots 55 percent from the field. Saturday in the Kohl Center, he shot 20 percent from the field — 3 of 15 — and under 20 percent on 2-point shots, 2 of 11. He did miss several shots close to the basket that he normally makes. On most days, he would go 8 of 15. If he had gone just 6 of 15, it still would have been a subpar day for him, but it might have been enough to make a difference for Michigan State. Yes, he was particularly bad; it was impossible to avoid noticing that.
Yet, one can note that Tillman had a bad day and still give credit to Wisconsin.
Tillman scored 15 points in the Jan. 17 win over Wisconsin. Saturday, he had only seven. Wisconsin definitely made life tougher for him. More than that, the Badgers made life a lot more complicated for Michigan State’s frontcourt. The Spartans’ frontcourt blew out UW’s frontcourt on Jan. 17, winning by 25 points, 48-23. In this game, Wisconsin won by 19, scoring a 36-17 advantage in the frontcourt. Going from minus-25 to plus-19 is a 44-point reversal. This wasn’t just about one player, though Greg Gard did say this was Aleem Ford’s best game as a Badger. This was mostly about Ford, but team defense in the paint made sure that Tillman had to shoot a four-foot leaner instead of getting a dunk.
That’s one of the fascinating things about basketball: Players normally make various kinds of shots, but if they get all the way to the rim, they will hardly ever miss. Wisconsin did allow Tillman to get fairly close to the basket on a few occasions, but the Badgers prevented uncontested layups and dunks. That was a manifestation of the toughness and resilience this team showed. Tillman had to make shots in the face of a challenge from a UW defender. Wisconsin asked tough-enough questions; Tillman was unable to answer them.
Luck was involved in this, but Wisconsin worked for its luck and earned it as well. Don’t lose sight of that.