With sophomore center Greg Stiemsma and freshman forward Marcus Landry not joining the team on its trip to Columbus, the Badgers went into the game against Ohio State with little room for error. The injury bug bit again early in the first half when sophomore forward/center Brian Butch rolled his ankle while pulling down a defensive rebound. This left the Badgers with junior forward Jason Chappell as their only big-man. Butch did return but the damage was already done. The Badgers kept senior forward Terrence Dials in check somewhat by holding him to 15 points, but he only took 10 shots and made seven of them. Stiemsma and Landry were both missed greatly, and it showed. Wisconsin's bench only produced five points without Stiemsma and Landry, and the Badger's defense suffered without possibly their two best defensive big men.
Defensive Woes
Last night's game displayed a Badger defense that we are not accustomed to. Ohio State spread out Wisconsin and was able to break them down with fundamentals. Their ability to run the pick-and-roll continuously was key in the Buckeye victory. With their defense so spread out, the Badgers were unable to help on the pick-and-roll and this lead to many easy buckets for the Buckeyes. The Badgers also had a tough time rebounding, especially late in the game after missed free throw attempts. Both of these defensive mishaps can be related to the absence of Stiemsma and Landry. Ohio State also was able to shoot consistently from behind the arc, another area that the Badgers usually shut down. All of these reasons were key to Ohio State's victory.
Poor shooting percentage
The Badgers struggled not only defensively, but offensively as well as they shot only 35.2 percent from the field and 24 percent from the 3-point line. While Ohio State got hot and stayed hot throughout the second half shooting 53.8 percent, the Badgers had trouble finding any offensive rhythm. With Stiemsma, Landry and Butch out for either all or part of the game, the Badgers had to rise to the challenge and were simply unable to. With only five points off of the bench and only three players in double digits, the Badgers just could not get any continuity on offense. Wisconsin went the final five minutes and 55 seconds without a field goal, putting the team in a deep hole early.
