MINNEAPOLIS — In March, all you need to do is survive and advance. The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team did that and plenty more Thursday — shellacking the University of Maryland behind a season-high 16 3-pointers on 25 attempts and scoring their most points ever in a Big Ten Tournament game. UW never trailed in the win.
Prior to Thursday’s outburst, the Badgers had surpassed 10 3-point makes just once all season. Against Maryland, they made 10 in the first half.
The contest was a vote of confidence for a UW team who entered the tournament having lost eight of their previous 11 games and built on promising performances in losses to the University of Illinois and Purdue University down the stretch.
“When we are at our best, this is a sample of what we’re like,” head coach Greg Gard said postgame. “We’ve got a lot of weapons and very unselfish people in that locker room.”
They’ll have another opportunity to showcase their best Friday in the Big Ten Quarterfinals against No. 4 seeded Northwestern University — who’s down two starters due to injury — at 1:30 p.m.
The lopsided score gave UW the luxury of resting key players down the stretch and keeping every player under 24 minutes played.
“It’s huge,” Gard said about being able to give key players extra rest ahead of their second game in as many days. “We got great contributions off the bench before I was able to make the decision that I could let some guys rest more.”
The contributions off the bench started with guard John Blackwell, who led the Badgers with 18 points and surpassed the 17-point mark for a third consecutive game. Guard Connor Essegian also rained in nine points in his first three minutes and finished with nine minutes played. Forward Nolan Winter chipped in six points — all in the first half — five rebounds and two assists himself.
Within the first unit, forward Steven Crowl amassed 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field, while making all three of his attempts from beyond the arc. Guard AJ Storr tallied 16 points — 6-for-11 FG, 2-for-4 3-pointers — and five rebounds. Point guard Chucky Hepburn notched 10 points — 4-for-4 FG, 2-for-2 3-pointers — and eight assists with only two turnovers.
The Badgers got off to a red-hot start — knocking down 10 of their first 15 shot attempts and claiming a double-digit advantage just seven minutes into the contest. From there, the lead ballooned as UW continued to nail 3-pointers — going 10-for-13 from beyond the arc in the half to land a 47–26 halftime advantage.
On top of their offensive outburst, UW put together a very strong defensive half, holding every Terrapin not named Jahmir Young to a combined 11 points on 5-of-17 shooting.
Their lockdown defense carried into the second half — keeping Maryland off the scoreboard for the first five minutes of the period as part of an 18–0 run.
The lead would extend to as many 42 points before ultimately settling at 31 — the Badgers largest margin of victory this season.
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Friday’s contest will mark the second time UW and Northwestern have faced off this season, with the Badgers beating the Wildcats 71–63 when they met at the Kohl Center Jan. 13.
Since then, Northwestern has lost Ty Berry (11.6 ppg) to a season-ending meniscus injury and will be without Matthew Nicholson (5.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.4 bpg), who’s been ruled out for the Big Ten Tournament due to a foot injury.
Despite their injuries, Northwestern has won six of their last nine games and have first-team All-Big Ten guard Boo Buie (18.9 ppg, 5.2 apg), who’s showcased the ability to take over games.
Regardless, the Badgers will have the opportunity to further prove they’re over their February skid and book a spot in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals on Saturday with a victory.