The #21 Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Northwestern Wildcats 68-51 Sunday night. The Badgers improve to 16-8 overall on the season. The Badger have now won 10 conference games for the 18th time in the last 20 seasons. The Badgers were led by Micah Potter with 19 points. D’Mitrik Trice added 13. Below are the takeaways from this game!
It Was The Potter And Trice Show
Following his 23 point performance against Iowa, Micah Potter added 19 points, including 15 in the first half. The senior big man also added 8 rebounds and was 3-3 from the three point line. It’s been really encouraging to see Potter hit his stride at the right time. Since he has come off the bench, he looks more comfortable and is playing a lot better.
#Badgers were +24 with D'Mitrik Trice on the floor tonight. Senior guard had 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in 34 minutes.
— Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) February 22, 2021
When D’Mitrik Trice is playing well and shooting the ball well, this is a better Wisconsin team. Trice had 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assist. He also took only 6 shots total. It’s not the most appealing stat line, but Trice looked more confident than he has in awhile. He is the engine of this Badger team. The Badgers will go as far as he takes them.
It Was A Double Figures Party
The Badgers also had three other players in double figures. Sophomore Tyler Wahl had 10 points. Brad Davison and Johnny Davis both chipped in 12 points. When the Badgers have multiple players in double figures and balanced scoring, this is when this team is at their best.
Tyler Wahl Was Great After Halftime
Tyler Wahl was literally everywhere on the court in the second half. It began on the defensive side of the ball. He did a great job defending Miller Kopp. His stat line only shows 10 points and 3 rebounds, but he played so much better than that against the Wildcats.
While Wahl isn’t the flashiest player on the roster or on the court, he does a great job doing all the little things. When players do the little things on both sides of the court, they will be rewarded.
#Badgers Tyler Wahl doubled down in the lane to force a kick-out and then recovered to the three-point line and stripped Bouie, which led to a lay-in by Davis. UW 54-39 lead with 8:54 left. Terrific sequence by Wahl.
— Jeff Potrykus (@jaypo1961) February 22, 2021
This Was A Much Needed Win
I believe the Northwestern Wildcats are better than what their 6-14 record shows. Northwestern is young, talented, and are a year or two away from being really good in the Big Ten schedule. This was a win Wisconsin needed to win. They picked a good night not to only win, but play their best game in a awhile. For a team looking to feel good and gain some momentum at the end of the regular season, the Badgers did what they needed to in order to get the win.
The Badgers were not stellar shooting the ball, but their defense was really solid just like the first time these two teams matched up on January 20. The Badgers only shot 40.4% from the field and 34.6% from three. However, Northwestern only shot 39.2% from the field and 30% from three. This was a classic Wisconsin victory where the offense did enough and the defense was the ultimate decider.
Up Next
The Badgers host Illinois in their home finale on Saturday. Wisconsin fell to Illinois 75-60 in Champaign on February 6. The Badgers will need to handle Kofi Cockburn and Ayo Dosunmu. The duo combined for 44 points in the first meeting. A win for the Badgers would be huge for their NCAA tournament seeding.
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