Trip to Illinois gives Wisconsin basketball a chance to show it’s learning from mistakes

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MADISON –  One of Wisconsin coach Greg Gard’s first messages to his team following the loss to Marquette on Saturday was to move on.

“We don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves,” he said. “We’ve got to get better and turn around and play in two days.”

The Badgers (8-2, 0-1 Big Ten) are in the middle of the most challenging portion of their early-season schedule. The four-game, four-city tour that started in Madison took them to Milwaukee on Saturday and now has them on the road to Champaign, Illinois.

The trek ends in Indianapolis versus Butler at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday, but first UW takes on Illinois (6-2, 0-1) at State Farm Arena at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Consider it another opportunity to gain more lessons that could really pay off next month when Big Ten play gets fully into action.

One of the challenges in facing Marquette was to put one of the key lessons from the loss to Michigan into practice. The Badgers weren’t getting enough higher percentage shots at the rim in a three-point loss.

“We took bait,” said Gard, whose team dropped nine spots to No. 20 in the Associated Press poll and 11 spots to No. 22 in the USA Today Coaches poll. “That is not where you want to live analytically.  We’ll be better because of it.”

What UW has learned from loss to Marquette

Against Marquette there was definite improvement in that regard. So what were the top teaching points from the Marquette loss?

* A greater attention to finishing defensive possessions with rebounds. Marquette had nine offensive rebounds in the second half that led to 17 second-chance points.

* Tightening the cracks in the team’s defense of the lane. Kam Jones mercilessly beat the Badgers’ defense with dribble penetration. The Golden Eagles scored 44 points in the paint, 30 in the second half.

“As I told the team, we learned a lot from Michigan from an offensive standpoint,” Gard said. “I thought we did better things, got better shots today and this one is going to help us more defensively in…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/trip-illinois-gives-wisconsin-basketball-110428972.html

Author : Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Publish date : 2024-12-10 11:04:00

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