Lucas: Vogt at center of second-half spark
December 09, 2021 | Men's Basketball
Senior big man helped Badgers erase 22-point deficit
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Take his word. Chris Vogt was not scoreboard watching. Except for once in the first half when he glanced up at the video board hanging over center court. Indiana was leading Wisconsin by 20 points, and he thought to himself, "We've got to do something to turn it around.''
Moments later, the Hoosiers increased their lead to a seemingly insurmountable 42-20. But then, Johnny Davis heeded the call and did something to begin turning it around by scoring the final five points of the half. Although the Badgers were still in a sizeable hole, there was something to build on.
Let the rally begin.
Smack dab in the middle of it all was the 22-year-old Vogt, a surprise offensive source and difference-maker. Not only did he tend to his strong suit by grabbing five rebounds in the second half, but he scored nine points or two more than he had through the first eight games combined.
He also had an assist. None was bigger on this memorable Wednesday night at the Kohl Center.
Passing deftly out of traffic in the paint, it was the 7-foot, 257-pound Vogt feeding Davis who buried a cold-blooded corner-3 to push the Badgers into a 60-59 lead with 1:18 remaining – punctuating a closing 11-0 run against the stunned Hoosiers in Wisconsin's historic comeback and 64-59 win.
In retrospect, Vogt had a good understanding of the situation. He knew the score. Or did he?
"I honestly didn't look at the score one time in the second half until Johnny hit that 3,'' he confessed. "I was just playing. Once he hit the 3, I looked up and saw that we were up one … we had the lead for the first time in who knows how long? It just mentally got us over the hump.''
Davis' only make from the 3-point line would not have been possible without Vogt's playmaking.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, I think I had a guard on me on that play,'' he assessed correctly. Indiana's Xavier Johnson was initially checking Vogt. "So, I was trying to post hard to get an easy paint touch. Once I got the ball, they kind of collapsed on me.''
After corralling the entry pass, Vogt was sandwiched by the 6-8 Race Thompson (behind him) and the 6-5 Parker Stewart (in front of him). With his left hand, he was able to get the ball around Stewart to the right-wing corner and Davis in what was a Patrick Mahomes-like delivery.
"I don't know if I would give myself that much credit, it (the pass) was a little low,'' he said, grinning. "Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him (Davis) spotting up in the corner and I knew he'd be open more than likely and have a good chance of knocking it down. He made a great catch and shot.''
Anthony Leal contested Davis' jumper to no avail. This was the same Leal who had taken a hard foul earlier and had players from both teams milling about and jawing in each other's faces before the cool, calm and collected Davis served as a peacemaker, one of his many estimable skills.
That Davis made four of seven field goal attempts in the second half was not surprising. That Vogt made four of six was. He didn't even take a shot in the first half. When Vogt scored and drew a foul at the 15:36 mark, it was his first basket since the season opener against St. Francis Brooklyn.
"That kind of took off the lid a little mentally,'' admitted Vogt who had attempted only eight shots in eight games while seeing limited playing time off the bench (averaged 9.6 minutes). "I felt I was able to settle in and play a little bit and be a little more aggressive (after the 3-point play).''
During one sequence in the rally, Vogt made three straight shots, including two floaters.
"It's something I've always practiced and kept in my arsenal,'' he said. "It helps with my touch around the post. It also helps in situations like that where I've just got to quick catch it and shoot. It's kind of too close to be a jump shot but far enough away where I can't just shoot a layup.
"It was Tyler Wahl who both times found me. He made great passes.''
Vogt has shown a scoring touch in the past. After spending two years at Northern Kentucky, he transferred to the University of Cincinnati where he averaged 11 points during the 2019-2020 season. He shot 65 percent from the field, scored in double-figures 20 times and twice had 21 points.
Told that he looked like that offensive-minded Chris Vogt against Indiana, he said, "I definitely felt more like my old self and not as much as how I've been playing recently. Hopefully, this game won't just be an outlier, but I can use it as a steppingstone and continue to contribute.''
Prior to the game, UW assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft foreshadowed Vogt's emergence.
"As we go into Big Ten play with bigger bodies, and longer stretches of time with real 5-men out there, I think Chris Vogt is going to be a key player for us,'' Krabbenhoft predicted. "I just think that we're going to have to call on him a lot more here as we see these bigger bodies.''
It was especially true after Steven Crowl picked up his fourth foul midway through the second half. Alert to any scenario, Vogt said, "If the cards fall in a certain way, where I need to play this amount of minutes (20:56) or X-amount of minutes, I just need to be ready to play – play my role and star in it.''
Vogt was not the only reserve with that mindset. Considering that the Badgers were shorthanded – minus Lorne Bowman, Jahcobi Neath and Markus Ilver who were all out of uniform – Ben Carlson and Jordan Davis stepped into the void and played 20 and 12 minutes, respectively.
The Badgers got 17 points from their bench – the most since getting 19 in the rout of Green Bay the second game of the season. On one possession, it was Carlson who aggressively chased down an offensive rebound, and it was Jordan Davis who nailed a 3-pointer on an assist from Brad Davison.
Comeback Complete ✔️ 1-0 B1G 💯 pic.twitter.com/6UtYhH7FzN
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) December 9, 2021
"I'd say it just shows the character and the grit of our team,'' Vogt said of the role players contributing in the clutch. "We had some guys sick and unable to play and we were down by 20 so we had everything going against us. But we were able to rally together and just play for each other.
"We played good defense and got stop after stop and we were able to crawl back and win.''
More than anything, it was team defense that limited the touches of preseason All-American center Trayce Jackson-Davis, who was 1-of-4 after intermission and 4-of-10 for the game. He ended up with nine points well under his average (21.0) and the 43 that he got against Marshall 11 days ago.
There were a bunch of hustle plays in the final minutes at both ends. After Vogt missed a putback jam, Davison forced a turnover on Johnson. With Davison arousing the crowd by punching the air, it led to Davis nailing the triple giving the Badgers their first lead since four minutes into the game.
On an extended Indiana possession, it was Davison diving into the lap of Hoosiers assistant coach Dane Fife while pursuing a loose ball, not unlike his foray into the courtside seats at Georgia Tech. There was a series of critical blocked shots, too, with Wisconsin clinging to a 60-59 lead.
Chucky Hepburn denied Johnson on a drive to the glass. Wahl blocked Thompson's jumper. And came right back to block Stewart's layup attempt. Forced to foul, the Hoosiers put the unflappable Hepburn on the line, and he made four-of-four free throws. He's made 13 straight the last four games.
"There's definitely something to be said about this team's ability to find ways to win,'' said Vogt who also noted the willingness to make gritty plays. "If the ball is there – loose ball, 50/50 ball – there's only a certain amount of those in a game and the more we can win, the more possessions we get.''
Nobody appreciates that mentality more than the strong-willed Krabbenhoft.
"The box score doesn't tell the whole story with a lot of our guys and that's a sign of a good team,'' he said. "Just because the numbers aren't there – points per game, or whatever it may be – each guy brings tremendous value to this team. Chris Vogt is a prime example of that.''
Volunteering an example from the Georgia Tech win, another intense, physical battle, Krabbenhoft continued, "The ball was on the floor, and Chris laid out his entire body for it. He really had no chance of getting it without fouling and I think it was his fourth foul.
"But we can live with that. And I can sleep well at night knowing our biggest guy on the floor is laying it all out on the line for a loose ball. That's the kind of effort you want as a coach. Once we get that effort, we know that we're in a good spot.''
Krabbenhoft slept well, no doubt, after what he saw Wednesday.
