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UW men's basketball: The smother of all wins

Rob Schultz  —  3/17/2008 5:50 am

INDIANAPOLIS -- Michael Flowers did his best to play along with all the negative descriptions he heard about the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team's wire-to-wire 51-34 victory over Michigan Friday afternoon.

Ugly, morose, boring, brutal. You name it and Flowers heard it.

"I think I fell asleep out there on the court a couple of times,'' said Flowers, who offered up a bold-faced lie in his earnest effort to draw a laugh.

It didn't. But that was apropos because the effort that Flowers and the eighth-ranked Badgers made while shutting down the Wolverines in record fashion during a second-round Big Ten Conference tournament game at Conseco Fieldhouse was anything but amusing.

The Badgers (27-4), the No. 1 seed in this tournament, won their eighth straight game because their defense held the Wolverines to the lowest point total and field goal percentage in tournament history. Michigan shot just 20 percent overall and erased the old record of 25.9 percent set by the Badgers during a 54-43 loss to Illinois in the 2005 tournament title game.

Michigan (10-22), the No. 9 seed, had its season end after making just 10 field goals, including a mere four from inside the 3-point arc. Only three Michigan players scored in the first half while Anthony Wright scored all of their four field goals in the second half as the Wolverines suffered through college basketball's equivalent of surgery without anesthesia.

The highlight of the Badgers' defensive effort was how Flowers stymied Michigan freshman star Manny Harris, who scored a season-low four points on 1-of-12 shooting and had no assists and three turnovers. That was the penalty Harris paid for scoring 26 against the Badgers during a 64-61 Wisconsin win Jan. 22 at the Kohl Center.

"Mike got upset about that,'' said sophomore guard Jason Bohannon of Harris' game at the Kohl Center. "He took it a little more personal this game.''

Flowers is taking this tournament personally, too. That's why he hoped all the Badgers' future opponents are taking note of how they trashed the Wolverines' offense.

"We definitely want to send a message that we've come here aiming for that trophy and we're going to do anything to get it,'' said Flowers as the Badgers set their sights on playing No. 4 seed Michigan State (25-7) in a tournament semifinal game here Saturday afternoon.

"Anytime you hold a D-I team to 34 points in 40 minutes, you have to take your hats off to the players and the coaches and everybody involved with the team,'' Flowers added. "It just goes to show how dedicated we are to get a victory.''

UW coach Bo Ryan lauded the Badgers for winning despite an off-night offensively by the team and Brian Butch. Their consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection finished with a season-low one point as he missed all seven shot attempts. The Badgers shot just 37.3 percent overall (19-of-51) and 33.3 percent from 3-point range (8-of-24).

Joe Krabbenhoft led the Badgers with 12 points and seven rebounds. Flowers added 11 points.

"We had the energy, but we just didn't execute as well as I thought we could have, and then they caught themselves,'' Ryan said. "They got to the free throw line. They did some very good things defensively and helped pick each other up, and then hit some shots when we needed them. I think it was a great effort by the entire team.''

Wisconsin jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead but the Badgers' offense was choppy the rest of the way. Thus, the Wolverines stayed within a couple possessions of the lead until the Badgers pulled away in the second half. It also kept Ryan frustrated.

"I thought we needed more of a cushion when we had the opportunities to score. That's why I got a little upset. I didn't think we were taking advantage of the opportunities we were getting early,'' Ryan said.

In particular, he was angry with Butch. Ryan was whistled for a technical foul in the first half after the UW coach was berating Butch for an ill-advised shot and official Steve Skiles thought Ryan was yelling at him.

Butch was particularly out of sorts as he battled bad shots and foul trouble. But senior reserve center Greg Stiemsma stepped in with a solid effort that included four points, seven rebounds, two big blocks, a steal and an assist.
 
"The past month he has really picked up defensively, discouraging guards from coming in there and getting easy layups. On the offensive end, he's aggressive,'' said Krabbenhoft. "We're a better team with Greg Stiemsma playing the way he is.''
 
After owning a 26-18 halftime lead, the Badgers methodically stretched it out throughout the second half so the game ended with them holding the biggest lead of the game.

"I think some of our best offense sometimes is good defense,'' said Stiemsma. "If we're locking teams down and holding them to limited shots and tough shots and if they aren't going down, we aren't worried about making shots or forcing shots. So we can be a little more patient and let it come to us.''

Or just wait to take advantage of another Michigan mistake. That's what they did whenever the ball was in the hands of Harris, who could not shake Flowers on the floor and in his head.

"Mike did a great job of pushing him to where other people were,'' said Bohannon. "There were a couple of times when he pushed him right into Greg or Brian and he shot an ugly shot and we got the rebound and went the other way and scored. That's how the game was, when we forced them into ugly shots like that.''

Harris was impressed after Flowers defended him for the third time this season. "I felt like this was his best defensive effort. Not only him, but the other guys too,'' said Harris. "As a team, they play great defense. A lot came from him, but they played great defense.''

Some might have called it ugly, but Flowers' final assessment was that any victory is pretty. "You have ugly wins and you have great wins when everybody is clicking,'' he said. "But it doesn't matter if you get a W.''

By the numbers

128 -- Career games played by Michael Flowers, tying him for fourth all-time at the UW along with Mike Kelley, Andy Kowske and Mark Vershaw.

85 -- Combined points by Michigan and Wisconsin set a Big Ten tournament record. The previous low was 89 points in a 49-40 Michigan win over Minnesota in a 2007 first-round game.

51 -- Wisconsin's points total was a season low. It's the lowest score in a UW win in over two seasons. It's also the Badgers' scoring average over their three last Big Ten tournament games.

39 -- Jason Bohannon's consecutive free throw streak ended at 39 when he missed the first of two free-throw attempts in the second half.
 
34 -- Michigan's points set a Big Ten tournament record and were a season low for the Wolverines. It also was the lowest point total for a Michigan team since a 58-34 loss to Northwestern on Feb. 4, 1999.
 
20 -- Shooting percentage by Michigan is a tournament record. It's also the lowest by a UW opponent this season. Remarkably, it wasn't a season low by Michigan, which shot 19.4 percent in a loss to UCLA.

18 -- First-half points Michigan scored against Wisconsin in two of their three games this season.

16 -- Number of times in the last 19 games that Wisconsin has held a conference opponent to 60 points or less.

12-9 -- Wisconsin's record in Big Ten tournament games.

8 - Consecutive wins for the Badgers.

4 -- Season-low point total by Michigan freshman Manny Harris, who entered the game averaging 16.5 points.

3 -- Number of times Wisconsin has held an opponent under 40 points this season.

1 -- Butch's scoring output is the lowest since he scored one point during a 72-69 win over Ohio State at the Kohl Center on Jan. 9, 2007.

Rob Schultz  —  3/17/2008 5:50 am