The last time the Badgers (6-3 Big Ten, 15-7 overall) played Iowa (3-6, 14-8), they were coming off a win at then-No. 2 Indiana and atop the conference standings. However, the Hawkeyes jumped out to a 20-point lead in the first half and eventually topped Wisconsin, 70-66, despite a 20-point second-half effort from redshirt freshman guard George Marshall. It was Iowa’s third consecutive win over UW and the first of three Badger losses over a four-game stretch.
Sophomore forward Frank Kaminsky, who has yet to beat the Hawkeyes in three tries during his college career, said Iowa’s hustle—specifically for loose balls and offensive rebounds—has been a big factor in its recent success over Wisconsin.
Wisconsin did a relatively good job of limiting Iowa’s second chances in the Jan. 19 meeting; in fact, UW pulled down 10 offensive rebounds compared to the Hawkeyes’ seven. Despite that advantage, Kaminsky, who missed UW’s game in Iowa City with an eye injury, said the Badgers would need to avoid those defensive lapses if it wants to be successful Wednesday.
“We get them down and we make them take a tough shot at the shot clock, and then we don’t get the rebound and then they get another possession and they score,” Kaminsky said. “There’s plays where we do have stops, but we let them get a loose ball, outhustle us.”
It will certainly help Wisconsin to have its backup big man in the rotation against Iowa. Associate head coach Greg Gard said Kaminsky’s addition simply gives UW’s offense another dimension.
“It helps with our front line, giving us another body to run through the rotation,” Gard said. “It’s a 6-[feet]-10-[inch] that defenses have to shoot over, it’s a 6-[feet]-10-[inch] that you have to chase around the perimeter a little bit. And obviously he was able to get to the free throw line as well [Sunday] and shot it really well.”
The Lisle, Ill., native scored a career-high 19 points, including 12-of-14 from the free throw line in UW’s 74-68 win over the Fighting Illini. It could be coincidence that junior guard Ben Brust, who scored 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting Sunday, had a big game because of Kaminsky’s extended playing time (23 minutes). Regardless, Brust said Kaminsky will be a key for the Badgers down the stretch this season.
“Frank was playing really well before he got hurt, so it was good to see him after his injury come back and have a good game,” Brust said. “It’s always good to have a bench player who can come in and contribute right away, and he did that.”
Brust, who took just five shots in 34 minutes of playing time during UW’s previous meeting with Iowa this season (3-of-5, 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists), was particularly effective at Illinois because he mixed his 3-point shooting with dribble penetration into the lane. He had not necessarily been ineffective on offense, having shot 15-of-32 (47 percent) from the floor in the last five games, but he was more effective Sunday because of the offensive balance (2-of-5 from 3-point range, 5-of-6 from inside the arc).
“I think I missed more threes than twos, which is good for getting a little more variety,” Brust said. “But getting in the lane and making good things happen, it doesn’t always have to be scoring, it can be getting in there and finding other people.”
While the Hawthorn Woods, Ill., native didn’t feel like he was struggling, he said he had perhaps gotten away from his play earlier in the season, when he was regularly attempting more field goals from inside the arc. Before Sunday, 40 of Brust’s 60 field goal attempts in Big Ten play had come from 3-point range. The junior said he wasn’t playing as aggressively as he had been earlier in the season.
Gard noticed much of the same, but not only when Brust had the ball in his hands.
“I thought what was better Sunday is he was a little more aggressive with the ball in terms of attacking, getting fouled. And he’s doing a better job cutting away from the ball and using screens and setting up defenses that way,” Gard said. “We just gotta make sure we find him. We were caught napping as a passer a couple times.”
The associate head coach said the important thing for Brust is to make sure he takes what comes to him, and sometimes that means driving to the basket and drawing defenders instead of looking for an open jump shot.
“It’s as balanced as his game has been in quite a while in terms of mixing twos, free throws, knocking down some threes,” Gard said. “So that was good to see, and hopefully that’s a step forward for him.”
Wisconsin doesn’t currently lead the Big Ten, but it is certainly in contention for a conference title, and its matchup with the Hawkeyes this time around is arguably bigger than last month’s matchup. Not only does UW have home-court advantage, but also its next three games are against ranked teams, including a showdown with No. 3 Michigan at the Kohl Center Saturday.
The Badgers are not guaranteed to beat Iowa Wednesday, but Gard is positive they aren’t concerned with the Wolverines just yet.
“We’re not good enough to worry about any trap games,” Gard joked. “Our margin for error is so paper thin that we can’t afford to have any lapses, because we haven’t beaten Iowa in a while.”
