The Badgers have been cool under pressure in games. That was until Saturday. Wisconsin was ice cold in their game against the North Dakota State Bison, going 16-for-72 from the field en route to losing 62-55.
They ended the first half with 17 percent shooting, 5-for-29 for field goals and finished the game with an embarrassing 22 percent shooting. It did not help that junior forward Alando Tucker, who was averaging 19.1 points per game before Saturday, had no points from the field through the first half and had two field goals all afternoon (2-for-18).
But, as always, Badgers head coach Bo Ryan saw the silver lining.
'How often do you get 72 shots in a game'? he asked.
While this is true, one could ask the converse question: How often does a Division I college basketball team shoot 22 percent from the field?
Second to the Badgers' loss Saturday, the biggest shock was that the score was so close, considering how the game was going for Wisconsin.
In addition to Wisconsin's poor shooting on the game, North Dakota State pulled down 46 rebounds'37 defensive'to Wisconsin's 39, of which 17 were defensive.
The only upside to the Badgers' surprise loss to North Dakota State Saturday was Tucker's free throw percentage. Tucker, who shoots roughly 40 percent from the line at the Kohl Center, hit seven of nine free throws. Unfortunately, this number was not enough to offset the shooting shortcomings of the team.
Bison head coach Tim Miles knew his team would have to limit Tucker's scoring in order to stay in the game.
'We just felt like we had to sell out to him [on defense],' Miles said. 'He's so powerful, so athletic ... We thought, 'Hey, let's put him over two bodies instead of one and make him pass.''
According to Ryan, Tucker has been double- and triple-teamed on defense in the past, but in those instances his Badger teammates have stepped up and hit shots to discourage teams from cheating on defense.
Neither Ryan nor the players made any excuses for their performance Saturday.
'I still have to knock down some shots, period. I shot 2-for-18,' Tucker said. 'I can't be happy with that. If we're going to be top of the Big Ten, that can't happen, especially from a guy like me with a lot of experience.'
