Three keys to Wisconsin basketball bouncing back with a win against Washington

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Wisconsin basketball lost its first game since the start of February this past Saturday, as the Oregon Ducks pulled off a major late-game comeback to notch a 77-73 overtime victory. It wasn’t the prettiest game for the Badgers, who only capitalized on 25% of their three-point attempts and turned the ball over a season-high seventeen times.

Head coach Greg Gard and company will look to bounce back on Tuesday night when they host the Washington Huskies. Washington, coached by first-year head coach Danny Sprinkle, hasn’t had the ideal debut season in the Big Ten — it ranks dead last in the conference standings. That standing is especially important this season, as only 15 of the 18 teams will make the Big Ten Tournament field.

Washington is led by Utah State transfer Great Osobor, who followed Sprinkle from Logan to Seattle. He hasn’t lived up to expectations this year and has seen a considerable dip in efficiency from the field, going from 57% in 2023-2024 to 47% in 2024-2025.

With the first conference matchup between the Badgers and Huskies approaching fast, here are three keys to Wisconsin pulling off a bounce-back win:

Wisconsin must have improved defense in the paint

Washington only attempts 20.2 three-point shots per game, which ranks 281st in the nation. It’s safe to say that the Huskies will be trying to score a majority of their field goals from two and inside the paint. Wisconsin struggled to defend Oregon Nate Bittle in the second half on Saturday, which allowed Oregon to come back from the fourteen-point deficit in the final six minutes of the game and win it in overtime.

The Badgers need to bring their A-game defensively to this matchup and specifically make sure to keep Washington from getting good looks inside. As a team, the Huskies are shooting 35% from three, so they are more than capable of making shots from the outside. Generally, focusing on outside shooting is not their typical game plan. If Wisconsin had to choose, it would make more sense for it to force…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/three-keys-wisconsin-basketball-bouncing-112527980.html

Author : Badgers Wire

Publish date : 2025-02-25 11:25:00

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