Oregon 72, Wisconsin 54: Poor shooting haunts Badgers
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Wisconsin’s return to the NCAA Tournament, after a one-year hiatus, was short and bittersweet.
One and done.
Poor shooting was the primary culprit one more time, this time for the last time in 2018-19, though uncharacteristic defensive breakdowns contributed to a tight contest turning into a blowout after halftime.
Twelfth-seeded Oregon followed the lead of Payton Pritchard, who dominated UW’s guards in a 72-54 victory in front of a crowd of 14,331 Friday at the SAP Center.
"There was a seven, eight-minute stretch there where we got discombobulated defensively," UW coach Greg Gard said. "Obviously, we had a hard time making perimeter shots for most of the game, but we were still battling and finding ways.
"But then we had three or four possessions consecutively where we didn't get good looks or turned it over, and they were able to capitalize. And then they got separation."
BOX SCORE:Oregon 72, Wisconsin 54
Game, set and match. Season over.
UW entered the tournament having shot just 27.2 percent from three-point range (25 of 92) in its last five games, including just 23.7 percent in the Big Ten tournament (9 of 38).
The Badgers shot just 20 percent from three-point range (6 of 30) and 33.3 percent overall (20-60).
That won’t get it done against mediocre teams.
"There were a lot of threes that I shot that I thought were going to go down," sophomore Brad Davison said. "I couldn’t break the seal. That is extremely disappointing because I know I left a lot of good looks out there."
Davison and D’Mitrik Trice, a combined 11 for 48 from three-point range in the previous five games, were off the mark one more time.
Davison was 0 for 3 from three-point range in the first half and finished 0 for 7. Trice hit 2 of 10 attempts, Brevin Pritzl finished 0 for 3 and Aleem Ford and Kobe King were both 0 for 2.
"Honestly, I think that we got pretty good looks," Trice said. "I thought Ethan did a really good job of getting out when the double-team came, and I think we reversed the ball really, really well. It was just a matter of making shots, and more times than not we obviously missed them."
Ethan Happ, averaging 15.8 points and 8.3 rebounds in six NCAA Tournament games before Friday, was held in check. He left with 1 minute 28 seconds left with UW trailing by 19 points. His final line: 12 points, eight rebounds, five turnovers and no assists.
"Anytime we had an opportunity to double him, we wanted to," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "You know, he's probably best as a play-maker. The thing that I'm probably most happy is he didn't have the five assists that he averages. You know, zero assists and five turnovers."
Nate Reuvers, who missed all seven shots in the Big Ten semifinal loss to Michigan State, hit 3 of 10 shots against Oregon. He finished with nine points and five rebounds.
Senior Khalil Iverson contributed nine points and four rebounds in the opening half to help UW turn a seven-point deficit into a 25-25 tie. He finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
Oregon brought an eight-game winning streak into the tournament, built mostly on its smothering defense.
The Ducks (24-12) smothered UW for most of the game but also dismantled UW's defense over the final 20 minutes.
Oregon hit 5 of 6 three-pointers (83.3 percent) and 17 of 24 shots overall (70.8 percent) en route to 47 points.
Remember, UW came in limiting teams to 61.4 points per game.
"I think we probably had our worst seven minutes of defense all year," Reuvers said of a critical stretch during which Oregon turned 48-42 lead into a 63-49 cushion. "We usually have the answer when we don’t shoot well. But to give up that many points in the second half, it’s not good."
Pritchard, arguably the Ducks' most valuable player, was fabulous from the start.
He carried Oregon with 12 points, three rebounds and three assists in 17 first-half minutes and finished with 19 points, eight assists and five rebounds.
"He was great," UW assistant Howard Moore said. "He controlled the game, controlled the tempo. He scored but kept guys involved. He is a great floor general."
He got plenty of help after halftime from Louis King (3 for 3 from three-point range, 17 points), Paul White (14 points) and Kenny Wooten (nine points, six rebounds and four blocks).
"You’ve got to put the ball in the basket," Gard said. "It is a simple game when it comes to that. And that alleviates the pressure in the paint...
"We knew we were going to have to play well. At this point in the year, you’re not going to play a bad opponent. And if you have a stretch of time where you deviate and don’t do some good things, you’re going to get sent home."