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And it happened again. For the fifth straight season, Wisconsin was bounced from the NCAA Tournament by a mid-major team. This time it was the Butler Bulldogs that escorted the Badgers out of the Dance by a score of 61-54 in a 63 possession game. It’s no secret that Wisconsin relies on jumpshots. This isn’t a bad thing, mind you, as the offense has never been better in Madison. Indeed, even in light of last night’s 0.86 points per possession output, this was still the second-best offense in the country. But apparently there are some nights when the shots just do not fall. Twice this season Wisconsin has posted an effective field goal percentage under 40.0. The first time was when the team scored 33 points against Penn State in the slowest game between Division I foes in some 13 years. The second time was last night.
Other than that, you can’t say that Wisconsin played that poorly. The defense held Butler to under a point per possession. And before you say “well sure, but they’re just Butler,” keep in mind that this is not something that’s happened to the Bulldogs since February 3rd. In fact, every time Butler was held to under a point per trip this season, they lost. Until last night.
In addition to taking a plethora of jumpshots, the Wisconsin offense is predicated on taking more shots than the other teams. Frankly, mission accomplished, as UW attempted 11 more shots than the Bulldogs. But that matters little when the team shoots 37 percent on twos and 24 percent on threes. And while a lot of credit should be thrown in the general direction of Brad Stevens, you simply cannot shoot this poorly without missing some wide open looks. Wisconsin missed plenty of open shots last night, and they paid for that.
Speaking of this Stevens fellow, I continue to be amazed at what he’s put together. It’s one thing for a mid-major team to catch fire in March, and blast all the way to a Final Four. We’ve seen that a couple of times now. But for that same team to do it twice in a row (Florida being the only remaining roadblock), after losing two starters (including its best player), well, the architect of such an accomplishment is worthy of all the praise he receives. This offseason, I expect to see plenty of Athletic Directors waving blank checks in front of Stevens. If the coach takes any of them up on that offer--watch out, Conference Opponents of Team That Hired Brad Stevens.
But back to Wisconsin. Certainly, it’s a bummer for this team to exit the Tournament, but at least this season the Badgers did not bow out at a woefully premature stage. This team was good enough for the Final Four, but not so good that anything short of that would be an underachievement. And that’s been occurring far too often in recent seasons. Assuming Jordan Taylor comes back, there’s no reason this team can’t compete for another Big Ten title next year. Mike Bruesewitz figures to help fill in the very big shoes of Jon Leuer and Keaton Nankivil, and I expect he’ll see some help from Jared Berggren in doing so. So I won’t count Wisconsin out next season, and anyone who does so does so at their own peril (they will, of course). It’s the season after next season that concerns me, however. But that’s a long way out. What will probably happen--as is the custom for Bo Ryan’s teams--is that someone will rip off their redshirt and reveal a superstar in the making. In the unusual event that does not happen, however, then there is a real window here, and it’s closing.
Other than that, you can’t say that Wisconsin played that poorly. The defense held Butler to under a point per possession. And before you say “well sure, but they’re just Butler,” keep in mind that this is not something that’s happened to the Bulldogs since February 3rd. In fact, every time Butler was held to under a point per trip this season, they lost. Until last night.
In addition to taking a plethora of jumpshots, the Wisconsin offense is predicated on taking more shots than the other teams. Frankly, mission accomplished, as UW attempted 11 more shots than the Bulldogs. But that matters little when the team shoots 37 percent on twos and 24 percent on threes. And while a lot of credit should be thrown in the general direction of Brad Stevens, you simply cannot shoot this poorly without missing some wide open looks. Wisconsin missed plenty of open shots last night, and they paid for that.
Speaking of this Stevens fellow, I continue to be amazed at what he’s put together. It’s one thing for a mid-major team to catch fire in March, and blast all the way to a Final Four. We’ve seen that a couple of times now. But for that same team to do it twice in a row (Florida being the only remaining roadblock), after losing two starters (including its best player), well, the architect of such an accomplishment is worthy of all the praise he receives. This offseason, I expect to see plenty of Athletic Directors waving blank checks in front of Stevens. If the coach takes any of them up on that offer--watch out, Conference Opponents of Team That Hired Brad Stevens.
But back to Wisconsin. Certainly, it’s a bummer for this team to exit the Tournament, but at least this season the Badgers did not bow out at a woefully premature stage. This team was good enough for the Final Four, but not so good that anything short of that would be an underachievement. And that’s been occurring far too often in recent seasons. Assuming Jordan Taylor comes back, there’s no reason this team can’t compete for another Big Ten title next year. Mike Bruesewitz figures to help fill in the very big shoes of Jon Leuer and Keaton Nankivil, and I expect he’ll see some help from Jared Berggren in doing so. So I won’t count Wisconsin out next season, and anyone who does so does so at their own peril (they will, of course). It’s the season after next season that concerns me, however. But that’s a long way out. What will probably happen--as is the custom for Bo Ryan’s teams--is that someone will rip off their redshirt and reveal a superstar in the making. In the unusual event that does not happen, however, then there is a real window here, and it’s closing.