The Wisconsin Badgers pulled off an 85-82 victory over the Washington Huskies on Thursday, moving on to the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals against the Illinois Fighting Illini on Friday.
It was a game of runs, as the Badgers started off hot before Washington caught up later in the first half. But Wisconsin finished the half strong to take a 10-point lead at halftime and extended that to 18 with 13:23 left in the game. Still, the Huskies were relentless, taking advantage of the offensive glass to bring
the game all the way back to a one-point Badgers lead.
Nonetheless, Wisconsin got the job done and will see the Fighting Illini for the second time this season on Friday afternoon.
After the game, head coach Greg Gard spoke with the media and gave his thoughts on the game, while looking ahead to Illinois. Here’s everything Gard said after Wisconsin’s win over Washington on Thursday.
Opening Statement…
Obviously, give Washington a lot of credit for making a comeback and pushing us to the limit there. I thought Steinbach was terrific, just like he was in our first game, and we got a little loose with the ball at times, and obviously, loose defensively and gave them some confidence that started in the beginning of the second half.
We were able to respond. Obviously, JB hit a big shot, Rohde with two free throws to be able to put us back up
three. I’ll look through the tape.
We’ve got to quickly turn the page and get ready for tomorrow. That’s what this time of year is about, just find a way to get to the next one, and that’s what we’ll do.
On what the next 24 hours will look like…
The players are the most important thing, rest and recovery. Obviously, we played Illinois. We know they’re a terrific team. So the assistants have already worked ahead knowing that, if we took care of business today, we’d be playing Illinois tomorrow.
We’ll get back. We’ve got a meal. We’ve got study table. Actually, we’re doing academic work while we’re here on the road. We’ve got a scouting report later tonight, another meal, and then get ready to go tomorrow.
On plan for Keaton Wagler…
Yeah, he’s really good. I’m going to be up all night. He’s a terrific player.
On how Big Ten Tournament prepares you for NCAA Tournament…
I think they’re hand in hand. I think playing in this prepares you for what’s coming next. You don’t play back to back in the NCAA Tournament. There’s obviously a day in between if you’re fortunate enough to win the first one. I think just being in a different environment, obviously a lot of bright lights and cameras and locker room access and all the things that happen within the NCAA Tournament, you get a feel for that during this tournament.
Obviously you want to continue to advance and win, and there’s a trophy at stake, and they’re keeping score. We’re going to put everything on the table we can, but just like any other experience, you have to build upon it and use it to your advantage as you walk forward.
How the veterans have pushed the team…
Yeah, I think that’s important. It starts with these two guys that were sitting to my right (Boyd and Blackwell). Postseason play is really guard play is vital, and I got two of the better ones in the country. You just maximize using those experiences, whether Braeden Carrington’s got some experience. This will be the first time he’ll play in the NCAA Tournament. Andrew Rohde is a senior.
So we’ve got some guys that maybe haven’t been with us for a long period of time and transferred in but brought with them experience wherever they were prior.
On what the small ball lineup brings…
Washington, they went to four guards. They had done that a lot yesterday against USC. We’re better defensively guarding four guards with four guards. So that’s really — between that and obviously Rapp had some foul trouble, Rohde had some foul trouble,
Garlock had some foul trouble, but playing smaller to combat what they were trying to do is really what we — once they went with four guards with Steinbach, just trying to keep those matchups as much as we could and not get caught where we had some mismatches on the floor.
How past Big Ten Tournament runs can help…
I think just the things I’ve talked about in terms of your recovery. You’re moving on. You’re taking one game at a time. You’re only guaranteed the next 40 minutes. We’ve been in a lot of tight games. We’ve been against really good teams. We’ve been in a lot of raucous atmospheres, which I know it will be loud in here tomorrow night or tomorrow afternoon. I’m sure a lot of red and a lot of orange.
So it’s just you draw on all those other experiences. Every team is a new team. This is their journey through
postseason play, and you use those experiences from each player that they’ve had. I have a few that have been
with me before. But you draw more on the experiences and the growth you’ve had together during this current
season to continue to walk you forward in the postseason.
How bigs have grown without Nolan Winter…
Absolutely. I think this is big for them. This is huge. Aleksas, with how he played last week at Purdue and how he played again today, you know, I thought — you know, Steinbach is a handful. He’s so good on the offensive glass.
So all those experiences that he can get against that type of competition help, and obviously, Aussie getting more experience and more run during the guts of the game, so to speak, it’s going to help them, which in turn, it helps us when Nolan comes back. Hopefully, the end result makes us better. As Bieliauskas and Rapp get better, that continues to raise our floor.
On what he’d tell NBA teams about playing vs. Hannes Steinbach…
I don’t know him, so I can’t speak to his personality. I’ve heard great things about him, that he’s a great kid and a he’s a terrific worker. Obviously, the measurables he has, you look at length, bounce off the floor. His hands are terrific. He’s got big hands. I think they make those decisions on those internal things, but for a kid that age to be able to do the things he’s done and how he plays — I mean, I was impressed with him before I ever got to Washington, when he was playing in the Euro stuff.
Whatever he does, if he goes in the Draft or he stays at Washington, there’s a lot of options on the table for sure for a young man like that. It certainly sounds like from a personality standpoint, he’s A-plus, from what I’ve gotten from Danny Sprinkle. I’m glad I don’t have to play against him tomorrow. He’s been — like I said, he was really good in both games, but that’s who he is. He’s been really good all year.
