UW notes: Badgers benefit from Michigan's decision to intentionally foul Ethan Happ late
MADISON – Wisconsin coach Greg Gard was adamant the officials made the correct call when Ethan Happ was fouled away from the ball in the final minute of UW’s 64-54 victory over previously unbeaten Michigan on Saturday.
Michigan coach John Beilein begged to differ.
After Michigan’s Ignas Brazdeikis “intentionally” fouled Happ with 51.2 seconds left and UW holding a 57-54 lead, the officials ruled the foul a Flagrant 1.
That meant Happ would get two free throws and UW would retain possession.
“It’s a rule,” Gard said. “It’s in the (instructional) video. Can’t do it. They made the video after last season. Anything where there’s not a play on the ball like that, it’s a rule. I thought it was the right call.”
Happ, a 49.3 percent free-throw shooter, made 1 of 2 attempts. UW got the ball inside to Happ after the inbound and he missed but grabbed the rebound and scored quickly before Michigan could foul for a 60-54 lead.
According to NCAA rules, the officials can call a Flagrant 1 for “fouling a player clearly away from the ball who is not directly involved with the play, specifically designed to stop or keep clock from starting.”
Beilein apparently wasn’t aware of the rule.
“I’m going to have to be schooled up on that,” he said when asked about the foul call. “Because in the past officials have come to me on the sideline and said: ‘Are you going to intentionally foul?’
“And I’ll say yes. I told them we were going to foul. We have never done that off the foul but you can do that.
“Apparently it is something new to me that I have to educate myself in. Because I told him (to) foul him off the ball. No different than fouling him on the ball.”
BOX SCORE:Wisconsin 64, Michigan 54
RELATED:UW dominates down the stretch to hand Wolverines first loss
Trice is right
The final stat line for sophomore guard D’Mitrik Trice included some unsightly numbers. Trice missed all 3 three-point attempts and made just 2 of 10 shots overall.
Nevertheless, he didn’t let his shooting woes affect other parts of his game, made several critical plays in the second half and contributed six points, three rebounds and three assists.
After drawing a charge against Charles Matthews with 4 minutes 36 seconds left and UW holding a 50-46 lead, Trice drew two defenders into the lane and passed to Happ. Happ had a clear lane to the basket and dunked for a 52-46 lead.
“You don’t want to be emotionally tied to whether the ball goes in or not,” Gard said. “You’ve got to find other ways to fuel your fire.
“He isn’t going to make that (pass) a year ago. He isn’t going to make that six months ago. He is slowly starting to become more of a point guard in terms of feel, vision, decisions.”
Hustle plays
Brad Davison and Happ made two spectacular defensive plays in a span of 37 seconds to give UW momentum and the lead for good.
After Trice missed on a drive, Michigan’s Jon Teske grabbed the rebound and passed long up the court toward Matthews.
Davison hustled back, though, and leaped to tip the ball with one hand. He saved the ball back inbounds to Kobe King with 7:45 left.
Happ took advantage of the play to score inside to give UW a 45-44 lead with 7:32 left.
Happ then poked the ball away from guard Zavier Simpson, dived on the floor to gain possession and called a timeout with 7:08 left.
“That is our All-American,” Davison said. “I don’t know how many All-Americans dive on the floor for loose balls but ours does. That is something we feed off of.”
After the timeout, Happ got the ball in the lane and passed out to King, who buried a three-pointer to give UW a 48-44 lead.
“That was a dagger,” Beilein said.
Reuvers rises
In case you haven’t noticed, sophomore forward Nate Reuvers is becoming a force for UW.
Reuvers had hit double-figure points in six of the nine games before Saturday and made plays on both ends of the floor against the Wolverines.
He had three of UW’s 11 turnovers but hit 1 of 2 three-pointers, 4 of 8 shots overall and finished with nine points, three rebounds, two blocks and two assists.
His block on a three-point attempt by Simpson with UW holding a 60-54 lead showed how his length can be an issue for shooters.
“It is a team game and it is huge when we have Nate stepping up and hitting those big shots,” Happ said. “But his defense…was big for us.”
Overtime
Michigan entered the day averaging 73.6 points per game. The Wolverines finished with a season-low point total. Their previous low was 56 in a 19-point victory over Holy Cross on Nov. 10. Asked why his team struggled to score, Beilein said: “Wisconsin’s defense. How is that for an answer? They were really good defensively.”
UW has seven victories over top-10 teams under Gard, including four against teams ranked in the top five.
Happ recorded his 12th double-double of the season (26 points, 10 rebounds), the No. 2 mark nationally.
