IOWA CITY, Iowa—The UW men's basketball team held on for a 57-46 victory over the Hawkeyes (3-4 Big Ten, 11-10 overall) Sunday, but it took some halftime adjustments to secure their seventh conference win.
The Badgers (7-0, 21-1) had only four players score in the first half, including senior forward Alando Tucker accounting for 17 of the team's 26 points.
Things changed in the second half as junior center Brian Butch scored 10 points to finish with 13. Both head coach Bo Ryan and Butch admitted that a talk at halftime helped change things.
""I think it's the first time I used the technique that my coach used to use at halftime in talking to a guy that's missing some shots. He said, ‘Just shoot the ball. Just shoot it, don't think about it,'"" Ryan said after the game.
Butch hit 3-of-6 3-pointers in the game and pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds to finish with a double-double.
""Everybody knows [Tucker] is going to be there and for Butch to come out and hit those three or four 3's that he hit was a big boost for our team ‘cause nobody else was scoring,"" senior guard Kammron Taylor said. ""And then once you saw Butch score, then [sophomore forward Marcus Landry] got into it and it was like a domino effect.""
Butch's first three in the second half gave him confidence, and the junior admitted he was feeling it at the time.
""That shot was the one where I started running down the floor before I even knew it was going in because it felt so good,"" Butch said.
Stifling defense
The UW offense was not especially explosive Sunday outside of Tucker's 27 points, but it did not have to be with the way the defense shut down Iowa's two leading scorers in senior guard Adam Haluska and freshman forward Tyler Smith. The two were a combined 6-of-35 from the field.
""[Haluska] had some shots that I know he would like to have back. They were open but they just didn't go down,"" Ryan said. ""I'm hoping that had something to do with the way we were wearing [him down].""
Haluska finished with a team-high 16 points, but nine of them were from free throws.
Overall, the Hawkeyes shot 28 percent and only 14 percent from beyond the arc.
J-Bo back home
Playing in Iowa for the first time in his Badger career, freshman guard Jason Bohannon played three minutes and was showered with boos from the hostile Hawkeye crowd every time he touched the ball. The Marion, Iowa-native chose Wisconsin over Iowa a year ago, and the fans were not hesitant to show him how they felt about his decision.
""I've played here a lot ... I've gotten familiar playing here a little bit and just had to go out here and play and not worry about what was going on off the court,"" Bohannon said after the game.
In just his first possession in the game, Bohannon found himself about three feet beyond the arc and the shot clock winding down. The freshman put up the shot in the midst of the boos and drained it.
""I was happy for [Bohannon],"" Taylor said. ""Because right when he got the ball the crowd was booing him and I've been through that before in Minnesota and to see him come in a hostile environment and knock that three down, I was excited for him.""
After the game, Ryan drew some comparisons between Bohannon and Haluska.
""In practice he's usually like a Haluska, or whoever is a good outside shooter and a guy that can play like that offensively. [He] and Trevon Hughes are the guards and they can pretty much emulate any guards in the league right now,"" Ryan said.
The head coach added that Bohannon's work on the scout team has helped others become better defenders.
""That's why Flowers is a good defensive player, among other things, because he's got to guard somebody like Bohannon everyday,"" Ryan said.
Wisconsin travels to Indiana Wednesday to take on the Hoosiers.
