John Blackwell nailed a deep three at the buzzer to give Wisconsin the 78-75 win over Minnesota at The Barn. The Badgers battled back from a seven-point halftime deficit and trailed for 26 minutes of the game. Then they got hot from three, making 10/18 in the second half, and used a 14-0 run to […]
John Blackwell nailed a deep three at the buzzer to give Wisconsin the 78-75 win over Minnesota at The Barn. The Badgers battled back from a seven-point halftime deficit and trailed for 26 minutes of the game. Then they got hot from three, making 10/18 in the second half, and used a 14-0 run to take a nine-point lead with under 3 minutes to play. The Gophers clawed back into the game, tying it at 75-75 on a Cade Tyson three. But Blackwell took the inbounds and nailed the dagger to secure the Badger win. Blackwell led all scorers with 27 points, 20 of which came in the second half, and was 5/7 from three for the game.
THE STAT: The Badger offense came alive in the second half. As mentioned, they were 10/18 from three in the second half after shooting 4/15 in the first. Wisconsin’s point per possession in the second half was 1.61, which is a very high number. The Gopher defense was worn down and the Badger shooters picked the right time to get hot.
TURNING POINT: The Gophers led by five, 52-57, with 10:42 left in the game. At this point, Wisconsin started a 14-0 run where Braeden Carrington hit three threes. Obviously, the Blackwell buzzer-beater was the actual point when this game was over, but following this 14-0 run, Minnesota was on their heels and fighting to get back into the game.
HOT: Former Gopher, Carrington had himself a career night, returning to the Barn for the first time since he transferred to Tulsa following his junior year. The Park Center kid nailed seven threes and finished with 21 points and five rebounds.
NOT: The Gopher bench, while clearly not a strength of this team, finished with just five points and played a collective 23 minutes. Wisconsin’s bench outscored Minnesota’s 21-5. Again, this is a known issue for this depleted Gopher roster, but they are going to need more bench production as the grind of the Big Ten season continues.
NOTABLE: Just a handful of games ago, Langston Reynolds was shooting 46% from the free-throw line for the season. Over the last four games, the senior has been making 74% of his free throws and has been averaging nearly 15 points and over seven assists. He is really coming into his role within Niko Medved’s system.
UP NEXT: On Saturday, the Gophers head to Champaign, IL to face the #13 Ilini. Game time is 11:00 AM and will be aired on BTN.
Category: General Sports
