Whatever Saturday’s border battle lacked in beauty was certainly made up for in drama, as it was a missed free throw with 1.7 seconds left that ultimately proved to be the difference in a 45-44 Wisconsin victory.
Both teams entered play struggling on the offensive end of the floor, with both the Gophers (3-4 Big Ten, 15-5 overall) and Badgers (5-2, 14-6) failing to reach the 50-point mark in midweek losses. So when the scoreboard read 43-43 as Wisconsin took possession with 39.1 seconds left, very few in the Kohl Center crowd were surprised.
More surprising, perhaps, was Wisconsin’s response. After nailing a cold-blooded jumper with 1:03 left to tie the game, sophomore guard Traevon Jackson got a friendly roll on another short jumper, barely beating the shot clock to give UW a two-point lead with less than four seconds left.
“He shot-faked and we jumped out the way. Once again, a mistake,” Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith said. “That’s a recipe for getting a loss.”
A Minnesota timeout eventually gave the Gophers possession at half-court with 1.8 seconds left on the clock and, after a lob pass intended for Minnesota senior forward Trevor Mbakwe resulted in a foul against senior forward Mike Bruesewitz, the game came down to a pair of free throws.
With Mbakwe injured on the play, Wisconsin chose Gopher senior forward Rodney Williams to shoot the free throws in his place. After making the first with ease, the Minneapolis native was too strong on the final attempt, and a Badger rebound brought the slugfest to its conclusion.
Both teams were clearly on the brink heading into Saturday’s game. After a big win last week at Indiana, UW had dropped two straight to Iowa and Michigan State, while Minnesota’s slide hit three games after a 55-48 loss at Northwestern Wednesday.
“We’ve had three chances now to break it,” Smith said. “We just haven’t stepped up to the plate.”
Fortunately for Wisconsin, Jackson did step up to the plate. Having come through a stretch of two-plus games shooting just 5-of-26 from the field, fans had to, understandably, cringe when Jackson lifted to shoot on each of his two jumpers down the stretch. Struggling or not, Jackson took each shot without any doubts, showing a confidence Wisconsin seemed to be sorely lacking.
“People that have the mindset of being a competitor, there isn’t any other thought process,” head coach Bo Ryan said. “When you are presented with the moment, there can’t be any doubts.”
Though the Badgers still shot just 37 percent from the field Saturday, they did enough off the ball to come away with a win, capped off with a crucial charge taken by junior guard Ben Brust in the game’s penultimate possession.
“That was very good footwork, very good awareness and he deserves a lot of credit for making a play,” Ryan said. “He made a play that helped us get that ballgame on the left-hand side. That was a huge charge to draw.”
With road games at Ohio State and Illinois looming in the next week, Wisconsin simply could not afford to lose a second straight at the Kohl Center to remain in contention for a Big Ten title.
“This was a must-win game,” Jackson said. “You have to take care of home court when you get a chance.”
