The struggles for Wisconsin (4-5 Big Ten, 17-5 overall) continued Saturday afternoon, when Ohio State handed the Badgers their third consecutive home loss.
After a poor performance against Northwestern earlier this week, the Badgers came out focused and rejuvenated in the first half.
The Badgers jumped to an early lead, but Ohio State would not allow UW an opportunity to widen the gap.
The Buckeyes got their spark from sophomore guard Amedeo Della Valle, who knocked down two 3-point shots. Della Valle, a bench player who averages five points per game, led Ohio State in scoring at halftime with nine points.
UW carried a slight lead into halftime, holding a 33-29 advantage. An impressive 21 of Ohio State’s points at halftime came from its bench, while Wisconsin’s bench tallied only six.
Wisconsin struggled to find any good looks in the early minutes of the second half, and the Buckeyes capitalized by taking a 42-39 lead at the 15:00 mark, thanks to leading scorer LaQuinton Ross, who got hot in a hurry. The junior forward more than doubled his first-half points and scored seven points in the first five minutes of the second half.
The Badgers responded, thanks to freshman forward Nigel Hayes, who stepped up huge for Wisconsin in the second half. Hayes caught fire and scored 13 second half points, along with four rebounds, in what was probably his best game thus far as a Badger.
“I saw some guys hustling out there, I saw some guys banging on the glass, I saw Nigel just working,” said head coach Bo Ryan. “And [Hayes] does it without talking about it. Maybe that can be infectious.”
The game was tied at the 11-minute mark, until redshirt junior guard Josh Gasser ignited the Kohl Center and hit a 3 to take a 47-44 lead and the momentum.
The Badgers pushed their lead to as much as seven points, but the Buckeyes would not let up. With 3:53 to play, OSU senior guard Aaron Craft hit a 3-pointer and his first points of the day to get within one, 54-53.
“There were definitely a couple times where we were up by six, seven points, and with the ball and without the ball we just couldn’t get that next bucket, that next stop,” Gasser said. “That’s what you’ve got to do when you come from behind. Keep chipping away, keep chipping away, and that’s what they did. They made one more play than we did.”
With 1:36 to play, Craft made his way to the free-throw line to give Ohio State a one-point lead, with a score of 57-56.
At the 1:08 mark, Hayes was fouled and went to the free-throw line, where he made one of two to tie the game at 57. Hayes was quickly called for a foul on the other end, and OSU junior forward Amir Williams converted on one of his bonus free throws to earn a one-point Buckeye lead with 49 seconds to play.
Ohio State was up 59-57 with 16.5 seconds to play when junior guard Traevon Jackson was fouled and converted on one of his two bonus throws to get the game within a point.
The Badgers caught a break soon after when the Buckeyes were called for a travel in transition, a play that could have easily resulted in an Ohio State layup.
With 8.4 to play, Jackson pushed the ball the length of the court before losing handle of the ball and dishing the ball to sophomore forward Sam Dekker, who threw up an off-balanced shot from beyond the arc. The shot missed off the glass and Wisconsin was handed its fifth loss in six games.
“[Jackson] lost the ball. He misdribbled and had to pick it up. The idea was for him to take it,” Ryan said. “If they helped off on him he could kick, but he loses his dribble, so he really can’t make a good, solid play. It was just mishandled.”
The struggling Badgers shot only 17.6 percent from beyond the arc (3-for-17), an area that UW has had troubles with in recent games.
The Buckeyes, on the other hand, shot 5-for-9 from 3-point range and 43 percent from the field.
“We have to change something, so we’re going to get back at it,” Brust said. “We can’t sulk. We’ve got to move on. There are nine games left and we’ve got to try and turn those nine games positively.”
UW will look to get back on track the second half of the season, beginning with Illinois Tuesday night.
