Wisconsin Basketball: 3 takeaways from win over Colgate

Greg Gard’s defensive adjustments huge for Wisconsin Basketball down the stretch

Whether or not an adjustment was made by Greg Gard schematically or if it was as little as a shift in the mindset of the players, Wisconsin’s defense improved mightily over the game’s last 10 minutes. Whatever be the case, the change in defensive intensity was huge for the Badgers trying to finally put Colgate away.

Things started to get a little scary for Wisconsin when Colgate came out of the break and made 6 threes in a row after missing their first 3-point attempt of the second half. After their blistering hot start from 3 in the second half, the Badgers tightened up defensively, and the Raiders were never able to get going at any point in the final 10 minutes.

Wisconsin was uncharacteristically bad at defending the perimeter. Colgate’s 10 made threes were the most that the Badgers had given up all season.

With the game and the season on the line, the Badgers were going to have to extend their defense to advance. Colgate was held to only 8 points over the game’s final 10 minutes and didn’t make another three-pointer in that stretch.

For a lot of the game, it felt like a classic March Madness upset was in the works. Colgate was hot from the outside, and Wisconsin didn’t seem to have an answer for it.

Ultimately, it was the higher seed, the so-called Goliath, that would be able to hold on for the victory. With the home crowd backing them, Wisconsin was able to turn up the energy defensively late and help themselves come away with a victory.