Wisconsin Badgers interim Head Coach Greg Gard may have come away with his first victory Wednesday night against the UW-Green Bay Phoenix, but it was far from lacking any drama toward the end of the game.
The Badgers defeated the Phoenix 84-79 after mounting a 30-point lead at one time halfway through the second half.
Wisconsin seemed to play one of their more solid halves of basketball in the first half, forcing seven UW-Green Bay turnovers on their way to their most points in a half (48) and biggest lead in a half (21) of the season.
But just around the midway point of the second half is when the Phoenix really turned up the pressure and dialed about full court presses that Wisconsin just simply could not handle. The Badgers turned the ball over numerous times as the Phoenix went on a tremendous 33-6 run to get right back into the game. The closest UW-Green Bay was able to get was within three points, which happened three separate occasions in the final two minutes of the game.
Redshirt freshman Ethan Happ, who had 16 points to go with eight rebounds, said it best about his team’s lack of effort in the second half.
"It was embarrassing to our program. It was embarrassing to us. I know it made me sick. I'm sure it made the other guys sick as well. We cannot play like that in the Big Ten season and expect to win at any point in the game."
UW-Green Bay’s Carrington Love scored a game-high 28 points and was a key component in getting the Phoenix back in the game and within striking distance. Jordan Fouse also added 17 points for the Phoenix, backed by 3-of-5 shooting from the three point line.
Leading Wisconsin in scoring was Nigel Hayes, who by far had one of his most complete games of the season. Hayes scored 24 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field including making all nine of his free throw attempts.
One of the bigger surprises of the game was the play of redshirt sophomore Jordan Hill who saw 22 minutes of action due mainly to Bronson Koenig and Zak Showalter getting into early foul trouble. Hill had 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and hit two free throws with five seconds left to seal it for the Badgers in what was by far his best game of his young career in Madison. Prior to Wednesday night’s game, Hill saw the floor just 18 different times and scored seven points in those appearances. It will be a breath of fresh air for Gard knowing that he can now count on Hill for some valuable minutes going forward.
Next up for the Badgers is a date with the 14th ranked Purdue Boilermakers as they will visit the Kohl Center to tip off Big Ten play. Gard will be looking for his first conference victory as coach of the Badgers, although it will be far from easy getting past this stout Boilermakers team.