Wisconsin 56, (17) Maryland 54: Last word

January 15, 2020
|In Badgers
|By Zach Heilprin

MADISON — Brad Davison hit a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left to lift Wisconsin past No. 17 Maryland 56-54 on Tuesday night at the Kohl Center.

Player of the Game: Davison

The junior guard didn’t lead Wisconsin in any specific category against the Terrapins but he made the two biggest plays of the night. The first came with the Badgers trailing 54-53 with 12.3 seconds left when he managed to tip away an inbounds pass and then knock it off a Maryland player. It allowed for his second big play when he came off a screen by Nate Reuvers for a corner 3-pointer that gave Wisconsin its final points of the night.

Wisconsin’s Brad Davison (34) watches his game-winning 3-point basket over Maryland’s Darryl Morsell (11) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020, in Madison, Wis. Wisconsin won 56-54. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)

The good: The two bigs

They didn’t share the floor at any point Tuesday night but Reuvers and Micah Potter combined for 31 of Wisconsin’s 56 points. Potter did much of his damage in the first half, scoring nine points and grabbing three rebounds. He finished 6-for-7 from the field and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. Reuvers also hit a pair of 3-pointers and had a huge steal late in the game.

The not so good: Early second-half defense

Wisconsin led 30-25 at the half, but Maryland came out and took it to them early in the second. Coach Greg Gard said the Terrapins scored 21 points in the first 13 possessions, which works out to a significantly higher number than the 1.0 points per possession the Badgers aim to keep teams under. They were better in the final 12 possessions (8 points), but their early struggles put them in a tough spot at the end of the game.

Stat of the Game: 3

That’s the number of ranked teams the Badgers have beaten in their last four games. They took down then-No. 5 Ohio State and then-No. 21 Penn State on the road before handing the 17th-ranked Terrapins their second-straight loss.

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What they said:

Greg Gard on Davison:

“He’s the heartbeat. I’ve said that before. I don’t play him necessarily because of the numbers that he produces. He obviously shot the ball well tonight (and) made big plays, but he’s on that floor because he’s the mortar between our bricks. The kid is just a winner.”

Maryland coach Mark Turgeon:

“That’s a devastating loss.”

In Case You Missed It

— Assistant coach Howard Moore’s son, Jerrell, was sitting on the bench for the game. When Davison hit his 3-pointer, he went crazy on the bench. He was also one of the first to run on the court and celebrate when the final buzzer sounded. Howard Moore is not coaching this season as he recovers from a car accident that took the life of his wife and daughter last May.

— Potter played just six minutes in the second half. Gard said in the postgame it was because he liked the way Reuvers was playing the ball screens on defense.

— Turgeon told reporters that the goal on the final possession was to have guard Anthony Cowan drive to the basket to try and tie the game. Cowan instead pulled up for a 3-pointer that he missed.

What’s next?

Wisconsin (11-6, 4-2) will travel to No. 15 Michigan State (13-4, 5-1) on Friday to face the Spartans.