NEW YORK — Moments after knocking off No. 1 overall seed Villanova 65-62 in Buffalo last Saturday, No. 8 seed Wisconsin (27-9) senior forward Nigel Hayes went over to the crowd to find his family.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — As Zak Showalter watched the final seconds of No. 8 seed Wisconsin’s (27-9) 65-62 win over No. 1 seed Villanova (32-4) tick off the clock, his arms shot up toward the sky.
BUFFALO — When the clock hit 0.00 redshirt senior guard Zak Showalter’s two hands shot up into the sky.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — After picking up his fourth foul just over seven minutes into the second half, No. 8 seed Wisconsin (27-6) senior guard Bronson Koenig sulked as he headed to the bench. After the game, the senior guard said that he knew after picking up the foul, that he had to come out of the game.
BUFFALO — Like elite runners in a 4-man relay race, the No. 8 seed Wisconsin Badgers (26-9) know the importance of a good handoff. Senior guard Bronson Koenig might have carried UW’s baton for most of its 84-74 victory over Virginia Tech (22-11) Thursday night, but when the Badgers needed a play most, Koenig passed the baton off to senior forward Nigel Hayes and let Hayes take Wisconsin to the finish line. Leading by only one point with 2:25 to play, Hayes received a pass from sophomore swingman Khalil Iverson on the left block.
BUFFALO, NY — With blistering winds and constant snowfall, No. 8-seed Wisconsin’s (25-8 overall) trip to Buffalo certainly isn’t the most warm or inviting location for a Spring Break trip.
With seniors Bronson Koenig, Nigel Hayes, Vitto Brown and Zak Showalter playing in their last NCAA Tournament for Wisconsin, the team will have some extra motivation to make a deep run this March. However, for that to be possible, there are some facets of play that Greg Gard’s team needs to emphasize in the immediate future.
Vitto Brown almost never wears his two Final Four rings. He knows where they are—in a mural of his athletic achievements at his house in Bowling Green, Ohio—but the rings, for now, are just museum relics on display for visitors of the Brown house to marvel at. Over the past two years, Brown—who still uses his 2014 Final Four backpack—has come to fully appreciate UW’s 2014 and 2015 deep tournament runs.
Happ goes off at the Garden: Under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, redshirt sophomore Ethan Happ walked onto one of the most hallowed floors in all of basketball and took center stage, delivering his best performance of the season. In Wisconsin’s 61-54 overtime victory over Rutgers, Happ carried the load on both ends, torching the Scarlet Knights for a career-high 32 points while also anchoring the defense with two blocks. On a night when scoring woes nearly cost Wisconsin the game, it was up to Happ to keep his team alive.
Vitto Brown burst onto the scene last year in his junior season when he lept from 6.4 minutes per game to more than 25.
WASHINGTON — All season, the Wisconsin senior class talked about wanting to close their careers with a Big Ten Tournament crown.
WASHINGTON — It was a long night on the offensive end for the No. 24 Badgers (12-6 Big Ten, 25-9 overall) Sunday at the Verizon Center as they couldn’t string enough successful possessions together to knock off Michigan (10-8, 24-11) 71-56 and claim the Big Ten Tournament crown. Wisconsin fell behind early, 30-20, but clawed back into the game to close the half.
WASHINGTON — On multiple occasions this season, redshirt sophomore Ethan Happ has had to run extra sprints in front of teammates at the end of a Wisconsin practice.
WASHINGTON ? The Badgers opened their Big Ten Tournament semifinal game with two airballs in the first three possessions.
WASHINGTON — In the games leading up to No. 24 Wisconsin’s (12-6 Big Ten, 24-8 overall) 66-59 loss to Northwestern (10-8, 23-10) in mid-February, the Badgers had been playing with fire. While UW had won eight games in a row, in its wins over Nebraska, Indiana, Illinois and Rutgers, Wisconsin pulled out victories not because of its offense, but in spite of it. Against the Wildcats, the Badgers finally got burned.
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Solutions by The State News
