The Wisconsin Badgers fell the Iowa 77-73 in Iowa City today. This marks the end of the regular season for the Badgers. They will next play in the Big Ten Tournament. Opponent and time is to be determined. Micah Potter lead the Badgers with 23 points. Brad Davison and Johnny Davis had 14 and 11, respectively. We look at the takeaways from this game.
The Officiating Was Horrendous
I will let all of you go on social media. You’ll see everything you need to know. This was a hard fought Big Ten game that was taken away by awful officiating. The game was very physical, which results on a lot of fouls. A lot of fouls tend to take away the flow of the game. The officials took away the flow with choppy calls and unnecessary trips to the monitor. They also got a majority of the monitor calls wrong too. As a result, the Big Ten should be embarrassed with the officiating today. Unfortunately, the officiating in the Big Ten has been really bad all season.
To the officials working today's game between Wisconsin and Iowa:
Congratulations.
You've successfully ruined a heck of a college basketball game.
Sincerely,
America
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 7, 2021
It begins with D’Mitrik Trice. Bo Boroski calls an unnecessary foul on the Badger guard after no contact on Iowa’s Jordan Bohannon. This was in a tied game with a minutes left. Point blank, there’s no foul.
D'Mitrik Trice fouls out with 34.3 seconds left, Jordan Bohannon hits all three FTs to give Iowa the lead. I don't see a foul here, whether on the floor or on the shot. pic.twitter.com/ySsdcwrR17
— George Balekji (@GeorgeBalekji) March 7, 2021
All in all, it was a great game taken away by poor officiating. The Big Ten needs to address this. It’s bad look when your conference is the laughing stock of social media.
Wisconsin Didn’t Execute In The Last Minute
Despite the officiating, the Badgers still had every chance to beat Iowa. After the three free throws by Bohannon, Keegan Murray was called for a foul on Brad Davison. The officials went to the monitor and determined Davison did a hook and hold on Murray. This resulted in a double foul and Iowa getting the ball up by 3.
After a great defensive effort by Trevor Anderson, the possession arrow favored Wisconsin. Aleem Ford then rushed an unnecessary three that wasn’t close. This resulted in the game all but over for Wisconsin. There’s no need to take that three from Ford. As a senior, game awareness has to be there.
This Was A Team That Can Make Noise
Despite the loss, when was the last time we felt great about this team? The effort, passion, and energy they brought today was really encouraging. This looked like the team that ran the table last season and won the Big Ten championship. As a result, there is a lot to like about this performance, both today and Tuesday against Purdue.
#Badgers were +12 today with D'Mitrik Trice on the floor. Only got to play 26 minutes due to foul trouble, however.
— Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) March 7, 2021
The Badgers ran through Johnny Davis, Micah Potter, and D’Mitrik Trice. These are the three play-makers on this team. They all played really well today and the result showed. The Badgers were competitive and had one of the best teams in the country on their heels in their home building.
Up Next
The Badgers will play Thursday in the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. Time and opponent TBD. Is this the momentum this team needs? It will be interesting to see how they respond in postseason play.
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