The Badgers knows what it is like to fall to an unranked opponent at home, and Michael Flowers, or ""Johnny on the Spot,"" as his head coach referred to him, was not going to let it happen again.
The junior guard's putback of an Alando Tucker miss with 10.6 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 65 and Winthrop's Torrell Martin's 3-point try was uncharacteristically no good, sending the game to overtime. In OT, Wisconsin disposed of the Eagles, cementing the game with a 3-pointer by Tucker from the left corner to put UW up by seven. The Badgers went on to an 82-79 victory.
For Flowers, who added five points in the OT period, the buzzer beater was the icing on the cake. The first-year starter had a career-high 21 points to go along with five assists. Flowers' putback came after a hectic last possession in which UW missed three shots.
""I saw that Tucker was in possession to shoot the ball so I went to the weak side to just get in the best position to get the rebound,"" Flowers said. ""Either me or one of my teammates was going to get the ball and it turned out I got it and I put it back in.""
For Winthrop head coach Gregg Marshall, the play was devastating.
""We couldn't get a rebound,"" Marshall said. ""The ball hit the ground a couple times and they kept coming up with it and credit to them. That was a big time effort by them and they got the shot that they needed.""
Except for Martin's missed 3-pointer to close out regulation, Wisconsin was unable to contain him. The senior made 11-of-18 shots and hit seven 3-pointers, tying a Kohl Center record. In fact, the entire team shot the lights out from 3-point range, making 60 percent of their shots from behind the arc. But for Martin, what stood out in his mind was the missed three as the second-half buzzer sounded.
""I had a great shot and I just didn't knock the shot down,"" Winthrop's leading scorer said. ""I was about as open as I can get and I didn't follow through like I should've. I'd been hitting shots all day and I felt comfortable, but I just didn't make the play when we needed to make it.""
When Martin released the shot, a groan could be heard from the Kohl Center student section.
""My heart sank,"" Flowers said. ""I literally thought that I was about to have a seizure on the court. I thought it was going in.""
A free throw by junior forward Brian Butch, who poured in 17 points and nine rebounds, gave the Badgers their largest lead of the night 46-33 with just over 13 minutes remaining in the second half. The play was one of many clutch plays from Butch on the night as it completed a 15-2 run.
But the Eagles did not give up. Back-to-back long range buckets by Michael Jenkins, Martin and then Jenkins gave Winthrop at 65-63 lead before Flowers' putback. An untimely turnover by senior guard Taylor, who missed six 3-pointers and was held to six points, almost cost the Badgers the game.
Jenkins chipped in with 17 for Winthrop, making five 3-pointers of his own. Kyle Moore, who received 28 minutes due to the injury to Chris Gaynor, made the most of it, scoring nine points on three 3-pointers and dishing out four assists.
Wisconsin shot 46 percent to Winthrop's 54 from the field, but made up for it at the line and on the boards. Wisconsin attempted 34 free throws, 24 more than the Eagles, and outrebounded their opponent by 22.
