Badgers have been buried too often by early deficits in Big Ten play

MADISON – Brad Davison vividly remembers Wisconsin’s first meeting with Purdue.

“They hit 4 threes right away,” Davison said. “It was 12-0. Again, it was a slow start. ... They fed off their crowd and got things going early.”

The Badgers faced that double-digit deficit less than three minutes into the game and wound up losing by 28.

Including that performance on Jan. 16, UW has fallen behind by a significant margin early in four of its last seven losses. 

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To make matters worse, UW (11-16, 4-10 Big Ten) hosts the No. 7 Boilermakers (23-4, 12-2) at 6 p.m. Thursday.

“There’s no common denominator that I can find,” UW coach Greg Gard said when asked about the early deficits. “I’ve looked at game times. I’ve looked at previous days’ practice approach. I’ve looked at shootaround approach. ...

“We’ve talked about everything.”

The numbers in losses at Purdue, at Iowa and at home against Northwestern and Michigan illustrate how poorly UW executed on both ends of the court in the opening minutes. 

UW on average faced a deficit of 14-1 just 4 minutes, 6 seconds into each game. 

The Boilermakers hit 4 of 4 three-pointers and 4 of 6 shots overall in building a 12-0 lead 2:52 into the game.

UW missed three shots and turned the ball over twice.

The deficit grew to 23-4 with 10:29 left in the half. UW finished with 20 turnovers and Purdue hit 14 of 22 three-pointers (63.6%).

"We had 20 turnovers and gave up 14 three-pointers," said Davison, who had a season-high seven turnovers. "Those are two stats we need to change."

The Hawkeyes weren’t sharp early, but they were better than UW and built a 9-0 lead 3:39 into the game. 

The Hawkeyes made only 3 of their first 7 shots, but UW missed all nine attempts including two lay-ins and three tips. 

The Wildcats hit 2 of 2 three-pointers and 8 of 9 shots overall in building an 18-1 lead in 5:31.

UW turned the ball over four times, hit 1 of 2 free throws and missed three field-goal attempts.

“Northwestern his some tough shots,” Gard said. “It was 18 points but 10 of them (came) on tough jump shots that you’re going to have to live with.

“What happened to us on the other end is also what you look at.”

The Wolverines built a 15-2 lead in 5:33. 

They hit 3 of 4 three-pointers and 6 of 8 shots overall, with three field goals in the paint. 

UW turned the ball over three times and made 1 of 4 shots. 

The Wolverines eventually extended the lead to 33-15 with 7:11 left in the first half. To that point, they were 7 of 9 from three-point range. 

“We gave up too many threes,” Ethan Happ said. “That opens a lot of other stuff for them.

“And once we have to go out and defend them deeper at the three-point line, that gives up more stuff at the rim and drive-and-kick. We’ve just got to do a better job at the start.”

The overall numbers from those four games reveal UW allowed the opponents to hit 10 of 13 three-pointers (76.9%) and 21 of 30 shots overall (70%) in the opening minutes.

“We’ve been inconsistent,” Gard said of his team’s defense. “That’s the biggest thing. 

“As much as we drill it, as much as we show it on film, the best teacher I’ve found is that they’ve got to go through experience in games. ...

“The breaking of rules defensively is probably more related to inexperience.”

Defensive breakdowns have been problematic, but they can’t explain UW’s slow starts offensively. 

The overall numbers from those four losses reveal UW hit 1 of 19 shots (5.2%), with 10 turnovers, in the opening minutes. 

“That affects your defense,” Gard said. “Now you’re trying to throw a perfect game. Instead of it being, 9-2, can it be, 9-6? Instead of it being, 15-2, can it be, 15-10?

“Then when you make your push back, instead of coming back from 20, you’re coming back from 7-10 and when you make that run back in the second half you’re going into the lead. ...

"But you’ve got to give the other team credit, too. That is one thing we’ve talked about. You have to weather storm. There is going to be a barrage at some point. Unfortunately, it has been early."