Complete effort propels Wisconsin over No. 2 Maryland

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - - Wisconsin came into Saturday night’s matchup with No. 2 Maryland as the hottest team in the Big Ten, riding a six-game winning streak.

Maryland, however, had already beaten Wisconsin when the two teams played each other on January 9 in Madison, and no Big Ten team had won a conference game at the XFINITY Center since the Terrapins joined the conference prior to the 2014-15 season.

But none of that mattered as the Badgers put together a full 40 minutes of team-oriented basketball with every player doing his part in Wisconsin’s impressive 70-57 victory over Maryland in College Park.

The Badgers started the game struggling from three-point range, knocking down just two of their first nine attempts. During their six-game winning streak, the Badgers had knocked down 42.1 percent of their attempts from three-point range, so it was a little unsettling at first.

But the Badgers have prided themselves and have talked endlessly over the past few weeks about how they have gotten better as a team, and good teams do not simply rely on one aspect of the game to get the job done.

So, to begin the night at least, the Badgers relied heavily on their work on the other end of the floor: their defense.

After Rasheed Sulaimon knocked down a three-pointer from the wing to give Maryland a 14-7 advantage with 13:32 remaining, Wisconsin limited the Terrapins to a total of seven points for the remainder of the half, with Maryland going on an 8:23 scoreless drought and seeing 10 minutes and 52 seconds go by between made field goals.

It wasn’t that Maryland went cold from the field that held it scoreless during that drought, however. In fact, Maryland only attempted seven field goals over that 10:52 stretch due to Wisconsin’s defense that forced Maryland into turning the ball over a total of nine times in the first half.

From the 10:23 mark until the 5:57 mark, Maryland committed six turnovers with four of them coming on consecutive possessions.

“We did a pretty decent job on Diamond and their post players in terms of trying to make post catches difficult, and then trying to squeeze them on drives when we could,” Wisconsin interim head coach Greg Gard said.

Following two Melo Trimble free throws at the 5:10 mark to end Maryland’s scoreless stretch, Wisconsin found its stroke from three-point range.

Having air-balled a three-point attempt from nearly the same spot on the floor just minutes earlier, Bronson Koenig drilled a three pointer from the corner to extend Wisconsin’s lead to 11 points and give Koenig his first field goal of the evening after starting 0-for-4 from the field and 0-for-3 from three-point range.

Two possessions later, Nigel Hayes knocked down his third three pointer of the first half. One possession after that, Vitto Brown knocked down a triple and then a Khalil Iverson slam-dunk on the next possession gave Wisconsin its largest lead of the game at 35-19 with 1:37 remaining.

"That’s what coach Gard always stresses – to make sure that you’re always ready," Nigel Hayes said of the balance the Badgers showed offensively. "If you’re not starting, make sure that when you get in – whether it’s minutes or seconds – make sure that you contribute. Those guys did that, whether it was great defense, rebounding, making extra passes to guys to shoot the ball. I’m extremely proud of us as a team."

Wisconsin took a commanding 36-21 lead into the halftime locker room, which was an unfamiliar spot for Maryland as it had trailed after 20 minutes just five times this season with the largest deficit being a modest eight points.

Maryland came out of the locker room on fire, knocking down its first three shots and cutting Wisconsin's lead from 15 to nine within the first 132 seconds of the half.

More concerning than the score, both Ethan Happ and Zak Showalter picked up their fourth fouls of the game by that point. With both players on the bench, Maryland cut even further into Wisconsin's lead, getting the score to 45-39 with 10:48 remaining and forcing a Wisconsin timeout.

"Our point of emphasis at halftime was that we weren’t going to play to not lose," Brown said. "I think for a stretch we got a little complacent and allowed them to come within five or six, but after that part we reevaluated and decided we had to keep pushing. We did."

And following the timeout, Gard elected to put Showalter and Happ back into the game to halt the Maryland run.

"I had a lot of confidence in the guys who had been out there, so I knew that we could roll the dice here and if they foul out, then I’ve got capable backups coming in behind them," Gard said of why he put Showalter and Happ back into the game. "I knew I didn’t have enough timeouts in my pocket to be able to get through the second half, so we were going to half to withstand the runs and we were going to have to answer them."

Time-and-time again, when Maryland began to creep its way back into the game, the Badgers dug deep and answered right back.

With Maryland down just seven, Koenig knocked down a three pointer to extend the lead to 51-41 with 8:11 to play. Following a Maryland turnover, Brown grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a layup in the open court.

Maryland once again got back within single digits following a Diamond Stone jumper at the 5:32 mark only to have Hayes grab an offensive rebound off a missed free throw that lead to a Showalter three pointer.

And when Maryland knocked down a three pointer of its own at the other end, Brown was able to answer right back with a triple of his own on the ensuing Wisconsin possession to put the lead back at double digits where it would remain all game.

"All of the guys made their shots. Vitto hit some big shots; Showy hit some; Bronson hit some. Guys hit some big shots and guys made plays," Hayes said. "The coaches stressed that we had to hit them in the mouth and take it to them...When a team gives up an offensive rebound, they’re on scramble-mode on defense, which means guys are open. Fortunately we were hitting our shots."

"Tonight was as close to 40 minutes of complete basketball as we’ve played," Gard said. "This team is growing."

And when your team becomes the first Big Ten team to leave College Park with a victory since College Park was a Big Ten arena; and when your team has won seven games in a row in the fashion that is has, your team certainly has grown up.

And your team is also going places.

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