MADISON, Wis. – In Bo Ryan’s tenure as coach at Wisconsin, few opposing teams have figured out the formula for success at the Kohl Center.
Ryan’s teams have lost just three times at home since 2001 – including only one defeat in the Big Ten.
On Saturday, Northwestern’s formula of turnovers, missed layups and poor shooting had bad results – a 68-52 loss against No. 21 Wisconsin.
“If you’re going to beat (Wisconsin) or get to the last three or four minutes of the game with a chance to win, then you have to take advantage of opportunities,” NU coach Bill Carmody said. “There were some there in the first half, but we didn’t really capitalize.”
During the first nine minutes of the game, the Badgers (14-2, 4-0 Big Ten) missed 10 of 14 shots and turned the ball over three times.
But the Wildcats (9-6, 2-2) had similar struggles, with six turnovers and 3-of-10 shooting during the same span. They trailed Wisconsin by two points with 10:46 left in the first half.
It was a lost opportunity for NU.
Wisconsin stretched its lead to 12 points by the break, shooting 9 for 15 in the final 11 minutes of the half.
“It was only a matter of time until they got going,” Carmody said. “They had a stretch where they turned the ball over a bunch of times, but we were doing the same thing on the other end. You have to play well to beat them, and we did not.”
For the 12th time this season, NU got outrebounded, as Wisconsin had a 40-28 advantage on the glass.
The Cats committed a season-high 19 turnovers against Wisconsin’s man-to-man defense. NU also missed 13 layups in shooting 35 percent from the field.
Carmody was visibly frustrated as layups rolled off the rim.
“It drove me crazy,” Carmody said. “We’re not a very good shooting team. I think if we make a few layups, that loosens things up for shooting. It makes guys feel a little bit better going into the locker room with eight points instead of four. And then the shots come easier.”
NU senior guard Mohamed Hachad said the Cats were able to execute their offense against the Badgers but were unable to capitalize.
“We weren’t able to finish off our plays,” said Hachad, who played 27 minutes in his second game since returning from injury. “We weren’t running our stuff perfectly, but we were able to get the ball to the right guys a few times. I missed a lot of layups, and Sterling and Tim.
“When you get a chance to make them, you have to make those layups.”
Senior forward Vedran Vukusic led NU with 15 points, six below his season average. Freshman guard Craig Moore had 14 points for the Cats, and junior forward Bernard Cote added eight.
Wisconsin junior forward Alando Tucker led all scorers with 20 points. Senior guard Ray Nixon had 13 points, and senior guard Kammron Taylor had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Badgers.
With three of the Cats’ next four games on the road, including Wednesday at Michigan, Vukusic said the Cats have to limit their mistakes.
“I don’t even know how to explain it,” Vukusic said. “It’s frustrating. It doesn’t happen in practice. That’s why I’m so surprised. We had wide-open layups that we never miss in practice, and we had turnovers here and there. We lost in a bad way. We can’t afford those mistakes on the road.”
Reach Scott Duncan at [email protected].
