UW men's basketball: Defense sets these Badgers apart
INDIANAPOLIS -- There are many statistics that best sum up the ascent of the University of Wisconsin men's basketball program from perennial loser to one of the winningest Big Ten teams over the past 10 years. But one really stands out today:
In the history of the Big Ten tournament, which is beginning its 11th season with first-round games today at Conseco Fieldhouse, the Badgers have never allowed an opponent to score 70 or more points in a game. No other Big Ten team can make that claim.
That's a great example of why Wisconsin basketball has become as synonymous with defensive basketball as Penn State's football team is with linebackers and the Chicago Cubs are with losing.
Good defense is the biggest reason why the 8th-ranked Badgers (26-4) just won their third Big Ten regular-season title -- and second outright title -- in the past seven years. It's why the Badgers are celebrating their 10th straight winning season and will head to their 10th straight NCAA tournament next week.
It is also why they've had 17 winning seasons over the past 18 seasons after bad defenses led the Badgers to 41 losing seasons in the previous 45. And of all those great defensive seasons that have turned a once moribund program into such a consistent winner, none compares to what this year's group is putting together.
They've won at Texas, Indiana and Ohio State while compiling a 10-2 road record mainly because of their defense. They held their opponents to 60 or fewer points in 15 of their 18 conference games while winning the regular-season title.
As of today, the Badgers, who play the winner of today's first-round matchup between Iowa and Michigan, are favorites to win the conference tournament title. They also have the ability to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament and perhaps even win it all, mainly because of their defense.
Ryan's system
In terms of Xs and Os, the Badgers' defense isn't any different this year than it has been since UW coach Bo Ryan arrived at Wisconsin after the 2001 season. It follows the same man-to-man principles Ryan learned from legendary coach Bob Knight that puts an emphasis on players working together to keep offenses out of the paint and away from the rim and force them toward shots that are out of their comfort zones.
It also has some novel twists that Ryan first implemented when he was coaching at UW-Platteville like chasing 3-point shooters so they can't get a good look. Few do that better than Wisconsin's senior guard Michael Flowers.
"It's not real intricate, but it takes work and timing and guys believing in one another and playing off of one another defensively," said Ryan.
That's precisely what has elevated the defense above all the others at Wisconsin over the past years, including those developed by former Wisconsin coach Dick Bennett. It was Bennett who began the Wisconsin rebuilding project in 1996 and took the Badgers to the Final Four in 2000 by emphasizing defense.
While trust, balance and knowledge have been the keys to the Badgers' offense this season, the same holds true for the defense that forced Big Ten opponents to shoot 39 percent overall, 31.1 percent from 3 and average just 54.4 points a game and 0.91 points per possession.
"They have a great understanding, as great as any group we've ever had, in terms of what they need to be successful. They don't have a false sense of who they are," said UW assistant coach Greg Gard after Wisconsin's defense forced record keepers to dig deep into the archives to find the last time a team put up comparable numbers in Big Ten games.
As it turns out, the Badgers' 3-point field goal percentage defense and points per possession defense in Big Ten games this season are records. The opponent's field goal percentage is the lowest since 1958 and the opponent's scoring average is the lowest since 1949 when the conference schedule was just 12 games. It's a program record for an 18-game schedule.
Gard marveled at how smart the Badgers are individually and as a group this season.
"When there is a breakdown, they know exactly what happened," Gard said. "We don't have to say a lot in the huddles. This is a very easy group to coach from that standpoint."
At halftime, Gard said the players spend anywhere from the first five to nine minutes discussing strategy before the coaches start talking to them. "They are talking about how to handle a certain screen or how is this or that guy is getting open," Gard mentioned. "Then coach Ryan comes in and repeats what they are already talking about amongst themselves."
Solid inside and out
Ask the Badgers about it and they'll tell you how hard they've worked to get where they are today. They remember last season when the Badgers' defense worked to near-record levels as it allowed just 0.92 points per possession, but there were holes -- namely Alando Tucker and Kam Taylor -- opposing offenses could sometimes exploit. This year they vowed to have no holes.
Junior forward Joe Krabbenhoft has gone from a one-time defensive liability to the Big Ten's All-Defensive team this season. Fellow post defenders Marcus Landry is just as solid and Brian Butch has learned to hold his own. Trevon Hughes is a major upgrade as a defender at the point guard spot and Michael Flowers has been the defensive catalyst for the third straight season.
Off the bench, shot-blocking Greg Stiemsma is a nightmare for any offense to deal with while sophomore guard Jason Bohannon might be the most improved defender on the team.
"So, really, you have some really solid perimeter defenders and good solid post defenders and we're clicking on a level that is probably unexpected but I'm hoping will continue," said Flowers.
But they weren't very good right away. They have come a long way from the team that looked helpless while Duke ran away with an 82-58 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Nov. 27.
"They spread us out more and did high ball screens and came off screens with sharp curls," said Flowers. "They really attacked us and caught us off guard and made us really think about going under or over screens instead of sticking to the rules. We became more disciplined where we're not out there thinking, just reacting."
The Badgers also got more efficient on offense so teams don't beat them with easy baskets off turnovers or long rebounds from badly missed shots. Duke overcame shooting just 42.6 percent against Wisconsin by scoring 23 points off the Badgers' 18 turnovers. They also scored 17 fast-break points.
It was a far different story later in the season when Wisconsin faced Michigan State, which lives off turnovers and loves to run as much as Duke. The Badgers beat the Spartans 57-42 on Feb. 28 at the Kohl Center after committing just one turnover. Without any mistakes to feast on, the Spartans were forced to deal with the Badgers' tenacious defense in the half court and shot just 34.5 percent for the game.
"The start of playing good defense is being able to play good offense. It's not about scoring all the time, it's about taking good shots, making people guard you, taking care of the ball," said Gard. "A bad shot is as bad as a turnover in terms of starting transition and the ability to give up an easy basket on the other end."
Continuity key
As important as it to understand and overcome any mental hurdles in order to play defense at Wisconsin, the physical hurdles sometimes prove to be even more difficult in a players' quest to earn their coaches' and teammates' trust.
Butch worked on his footwork for five years and finally earned his coach's trust to play defense late in games just a few weeks ago. That allowed him to make a couple of big defensive plays at Indiana before banking home a 3-pointer in the final seconds that gave the Badgers a 68-66 victory.
He also made two huge defensive plays in the final minutes of the Badgers' 58-53 win at Ohio State. Both victories were key in Wisconsin winning the Big Ten title.
Bohannon got more playing time after he got stronger and improved his ability to chase guards. "I didn't know how to push them into certain areas. I used to let them go where they wanted. They'd push me and go where they wanted," said Bohannon. "I learned some different things from Mike (Flowers) on how to keep them on one side of the floor and use your body to push them in one direction so you're not trailing so far behind."
That's the final piece of Ryan's program puzzle that has helped him win everywhere he has coached. That trickle-down approach that has older players passing down what they know to younger players is becoming as invaluable at Wisconsin as it was at Platteville. It explains why Ryan recruits players who he knows will stay for four years.
"You're really starting to see the continuity of guys being in a program four, five years and guys being taught for four, five years and really understanding how everything is done. It just snowballs, it perpetuates from there," said Rob Jeter, the UW-Milwaukee coach who was a longtime assistant coach and player under Ryan at Platteville, Milwaukee and Wisconsin.
"The system is intact, the environment is intact, the coaches are intact, everybody is on the same page, everyone knows what they are supposed to do," Jeter added. "The guys really coach and police themselves in the offseason. You're starting to see the effects of how that plays out on the court."
File photo
Michael Flowers pulls down a rebound in front of Penn State's Danny Morrissey and Wisconsin's Brian Butch in this March 5 file photo.
