NEW ORLEANS—You can say whatever you want about the so-called ""Wisconsin style"" of basketball, but whatever your views, Thursday's Sweet 16 loss at the hands of Butler was not a failure of the system. It was a failure to execute that system.
Wisconsin didn't score 29 points in the first 30 minutes of the game because ""Wisconsin basketball"" is too slow and too boring, they scored 29 point in those 30 minutes because they didn't execute the system that got them to New Orleans.
When people speak of Wisconsin Basketball, its usually about limiting turnovers, using the shot clock, getting to the foul line, making free throws and playing tough defense.
But on Thursday night, the Badgers never consistently executed on any of those principles: Eleven turnovers leading to 17 Butler points. Six missed free throws. Plenty of quick looks.
Largely the result of the late spurt that saw UW climb within four in the waning moments, junior guard Jordan Taylor paced the Badger scoring with 22 points on six of 19 shooting. But, and I doubt he would argue the point, Thursday was one of his worst performances of the season.
There is a lot of truth in the oft-mentioned axiom, ""As Taylor goes, so goes the Badgers."" But it isn't about scoring: Its' all about executing.
UW missed six free throws, shooting just 68.4 percent to close out a year in which they shot over 80 percent from the line. Add those six free throws and it's a whole new contest.
UW committed eight turnovers in the first half, leading to 15 Butler points as the Bulldogs built a nine-point halftime lead. Keep in mind this is a Wisconsin team that averaged just 7.5 turnovers per game throughout the season. Take even a portion of those 15 points away and it's a ballgame.
Despite failing to execute, the Badgers still had a good shot to win if not for an abysmal shooting night. While the looks UW got were, for the most part, fairly good, they managed to shoot just over 30 percent from the field, hovering closer to the 20 percent mark for most of the second half before finishing the game with a 25-9 run.
If they shot the ball the way they are capable of, UW would probably be facing Florida on Saturday. Had played Wisconsin basketball, had they executed the basic fundamentals as they have all season, the Badgers very likely would have been able to overcome the lid being on the basket seemingly all night.
Thursday night, Butler beat Wisconsin. This doesn't mean the UW approach should be altered nor does it mean that the Wisconsin system is destined for games like this.
Thursday night, all that happened was that the Butler Bulldogs executed the fundamentals better than Wisconsin.
