Lucas’ 3-Pointers: Wisconsin vs. Maryland
December 28, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Mike Lucas
Three things to know as the Badgers return home to play the Terrapins
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — The Badgers return home for a Big Ten matchup on Monday against Maryland at the Kohl Center. Here are three things to know:
1. Better Nate Than Never
By his own admission, Nate Reuvers had an uneventful first half at Michigan State. He played a little more than 10 minutes and missed the only shot that he attempted. It didn't start out much better in the second half. Reuvers missed his first two shots, both 3-pointers, both good looks. When he wasn't scoring, he tried to stay locked in defensively with the mindset "when your opportunities come make the most of them." That's exactly what Reuvers did by scoring six straight points over a 1:16 span in a 10-1 run, much to the delight of Gard who observed, "We got him some deep-post touches … we were able to spread the floor and most of those feeds came from the top, so he was able to play one-on-one in there a little bit easier. He got a couple of friendly rolls, too. He got some confidence going … Obviously, he came up big at the end. He had a blocked shot there late and secured a couple of rebounds." Reuvers opened the season with four straight games in double-figures, a continuation of last season when he scored 10 or more points in the first nine (and 12 of the last 15). But over the last five games, he's averaging around eight points (which is what he finished with in East Lansing, Mich.) and has been in double-digits just once (10 against Nebraska). Maryland, at times, has brought out the best in Reuvers. As a sophomore, he had 18 points (four triples) and seven rebounds. Last season, he had 17 points and five boards. While his statistics were modest against the Spartans, Reuvers' impact was not because of the timeliness of it. Praised Gard, "He showed up big when seniors show up. When it was crunch time and we needed to step on the gas a little bit to get separation and start to put it away, he made some big plays for us and got some big buckets."
More Gard: "They don't care who it is (making plays), whichever of those eight (in the rotation) or if we have to go deeper, they're just willing to contribute … Every single person who played, all eight of those guys, gave us sparks and made important plays. Time after time again, guys were making plays ... That's the mark of a good team — down nine on the road against a really good team — and you find a way to battle back."
2. Stepping Up By Posting Up
College basketball analyst Stephen Bardo has suggested that the Badgers might be the best post-up team in the nation. It stems in large part from having multiple players who are efficient scoring from the block or low post. Bardo knows what kind of actions can make a defender uncomfortable. In 1989, the same season that his Illinois team made the Final Four, Bardo was the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year. Gard has forever preached the value of playing inside-out as much as possible. At Michigan State, the Badgers were able to exploit some matchups and draw fouls. Besides going 17-of-21 from the free throw line in the second half, the Spartans didn't have any fast-break points ("We got to the bonus and that helps stymie some of that transition if we can set up our defense," Gard said). Micah Potter had his own take on post-ups, "The biggest thing is doing your work early and making sure you're reading the situation whether it be with the matchup or what's going on around the floor … Also make sure you're being patient. A lot of the time the big men catch the ball and they put their head down and they start crabbing towards the middle and you've got other people crowding you. Be patient in seeing the floor, seeing the space and angles you have. Make sure if they double you, that you have an outlet to pass the ball."
3. Maestro Meech And Sweet String Music
During his post-game Zoom interview, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was lavish in his praise of D'Mitrik Trice (known to family and friends by his nickname, Meech). Izzo had another name for him: Maestro ("Trice just kind of has a calming effect on that team," he said). Of course, Izzo coached Trice's older brother, Travis, who was in attendance at the Breslin Center with multiple members of the Trice clan. During his senior year, Travis Trice averaged 15 points and five assists (197 total) in helping lead the Spartans to the Final Four. Little Bro, who's averaging 13 points for the Badgers, had 29 on Christmas Day, including four triples and 11-of-15 from the free throw line ("I don't want to make him out to be Michael Jordan, but as far as running the team, making shots, making plays, he's as good as there is in this league, maybe as good as there is in the country," Izzo said). On elevating his game in the Breslin Center, where the Badgers hadn't won since 2004, Trice said, "I knew somebody had to make plays or get to the rim or make some shots, so it just happened to be my turn."
More Trice: "We've got a lot of heart. Obviously, we've got a lot of experience. But it really showed when we got down nine. We could have folded, and we could have let them continue to go on a run. But we battled back. We've got a lot of guys who can make a lot of plays in big-time moments … It just shows our depth … We're never going to stop fighting, no matter how much we get down. We have to continue to be that hard-nosed, gritty defensive team that Wisconsin always has been."
