It's probably the most used cliché in the Big Ten: grinding out a win.
But that's exactly what the UW men's basketball team did Saturday in a 65-56 win over Minnesota at the Kohl Center.
It's a Big Ten conference game. It was a typical one,"" senior forward Brian Butch said. ""You just keep on playing. You just keep trying to get the loose balls and the easy buckets. There's not many easy buckets in Big Ten games so you just try to do all the little things and hope at the end you come out on the right side.""
Butch was one of four Badgers to score 11 points, but an emphatic dunk by junior forward Marcus Landry in the final minute gave him a team-high 12 points. However, the dunk was in no way an accurate representation of a game that was decided at the free throw line.
After both teams hit eight free throws in the first half, UW (11-2 Big Ten, 21-4 overall) outscored Minnesota (5-7, 15-9) 17-4 from the stripe in the second half.
""We tried to add the fouls up on them, and when people are aggressive you have to try to get to the line, so sometimes that takes 40 minutes or 35 minutes or 30 minutes,"" head coach Bo Ryan said. ""It probably doesn't happen in the first 10 minutes. You just have to keep grinding and that's exactly how this game was.""
The biggest contributor at the line was sophomore guard Jason Bohannon, who hit all six of his free throws. The sixth man has not missed a free throw since Jan. 19 against Northwestern, hitting 28 in a row.
Ryan did not know if he was going to have Bohannon Saturday, after he twisted his ankle in practice Friday. Bohannon said he knew about two and half hours before the game that he was going to be able to go.
""I landed on [somebody's] foot and right away I didn't know what my status would be for the game today,"" Bohannon said after the win. ""Obviously I wanted to get back and play. It's the Big Ten season and we're right in the middle of the conference championship contention. That's a real big thing and Minnesota is a real good team.""
Bohannon finished with 11 points to equal Butch's total, but in a season where a balanced scoring attack has been the major theme, Saturday's box score might have been the best example of UW's offensive attack. Five players scored in double figures, with sophomore guard Trevon Hughes and senior guard Michael Flowers joining Bohannon and Butch with 11.
""If you were a defense it would be hard to match up against a team of players that are all capable of scoring 15 to 20 points,"" Bohannon said. ""Today we had five guys in double figures, and it's a pretty special team to be a part of when anyone can make that last shot, and everyone has that ability with the shot clock to make that shot and make the big play, so that's pretty cool.""
The reality was that for 31 minutes, Minnesota actually was able to guard Wisconsin's balance.
With 8:44 to go, UM freshman Lawrence McKenzie's 3-pointer tied the game at 45, but that was when UW's ability to get to the line killed Minnesota's chances for an upset. Wisconsin only converted three field goals the rest of the game, but hit 13-of-14 free throws in that stretch to pull away.
The win allowed Wisconsin to keep pace with Purdue in the race for the Big Ten title. Purdue beat Northwestern Saturday to maintain its one-game lead over the Badgers. UW heads to the road this week for back-to-back road games at Illinois and Ohio State.
