Analyzing stats that defined the Wisconsin basketball surprising loss to Oregon

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The Wisconsin Badgers, despite leading by 14 points with just over six minutes remaining, lost to the Oregon Ducks on Saturday.

The team struggled to inbound the ball late in the second half, handing Oregon a clear path to come back and tie the game. The Ducks are a tournament team, so the loss shouldn’t raise major alarms. It is, however, a game Wisconsin shouldn’t lose considering that late-game context.

The result is Wisconsin’s first loss since January 29th. The team started February 5-0, a vast improvement on last season’s significant struggles during the month. It drops the team to 21-6 on the season and 11-5 in Big Ten play. After the weekend of results, it sits two games behind first-place Michigan State in the Big Ten standings.

As we continue to unpack Wisconsin’s puzzling late-game collapse against Oregon, here are five key stats that defined the result.

Wisconsin’s nine assists

Wisconsin has been one of the best offensive teams in the country this season, partly because of smoother ball movement than in previous years under Greg Gard. In this game, it felt like the Badgers resorted back to old bad habits, leading to several sub-par shot attempts down the stretch of action.

Wisconsin finished the contest with only nine assists, six fewer than the team’s per-game average. For a decent chunk of the second half, the Badgers were stagnant on offense and relied too heavily on isolation looks for players, including John Tonje and John Blackwell. They struggled to deliver in those key situations. Wisconsin needs to stick to the ball screen and passing offense that has driven its success all season. Otherwise, a result like Saturday’s could happen again.

Wisconsin’s seventeen turnovers

It is ironic that Wisconsin turned the ball a season-high 17 times on the same day that Dick Bennett and the 2000 Final Four team was honored. Dick Bennett and his son Tony Bennett are both known for coaching teams that don’t turn the ball over.

The opposite was the case on Saturday as the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/analyzing-stats-defined-wisconsin-basketball-233946588.html

Author : Badgers Wire

Publish date : 2025-02-23 23:39:00

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