Men’s Basketball

MADISON, Wis. — Vic Law looked like he could have broken through the hardwood and onto the cold, hard ice underneath the Kohl Center’s floor as he stomped to the sideline when he subbed out of Saturday’s game for the last time.

Coach Chris Collins slapped the senior forward hard on the backside as Law walked off the court with 1:55 to go and Northwestern down 15 points to Wisconsin. Then Law stared in awe at the scoreboard after turning in a six-point performance.

This was frustration at its fullest at the end of the Wildcats’ (12-8, 3-6 Big Ten) 62-46 loss to the Badgers (14-6, 6-3).

Wisconsin is a unique matchup for Law. Because of the nature of the Badgers’ lineup around star forward Ethan Happ, Law would either start the game defending 6-foot-11 forward Nate Reuvers or 6-foot-3 guard Brad Davison. Law would either be defending a traditional post-up player or a shifty pick-and-roll ball handler with a bag full of tricks he uses to create separation.

There are rewards to being a team’s tried-and-true defensive anchor, including the satisfaction of helping limit potential NBA lottery pick Romeo Langford to 12 points on 40 percent shooting inside a captivated Welsh-Ryan Arena.

And then there are moments that are less appealing — the early afternoon games in unenergetic buildings being asked to play post defense against a team’s fourth option. Law started the game on Reuvers, and when Reuvers picked up two early fouls, Law spent more time defending Davison and guard D’Mitrik Trice.

After an offseason focused on Law’s growth on the offensive end, Law is now asked to play an interesting yet undefined role on a team having an up-and-down season.

For four years, he’s left his fingerprints everywhere as a primary defender, an aggressive rebounder and as a general nuisance to everyone in the conference. Against Wisconsin, Law finished with 11 rebounds, an assist and a steal, but the Cats couldn’t break 50 points for the first time all season as Law struggled from the field.

It’s said that a team goes as far as its best player, and as a result of some impressive player development and a little osmosis, Law has that role this season.

Over the first 10 games of the season, he averaged 19.7 points and displayed his new-found growth as a dynamic off-the-dribble player. And then he suffered an injury, which the Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein reported to be knee tendinitis. Law eventually missed a game against Michigan but returned to action following 10 days off the court.

He’s played in three games since he missed the game against the Wolverines, shooting 17.2 percent from the field. Friday, before the road trip to Madison began, Law arrived more than 45 minutes early to practice Friday and to work on his shooting form. Then, in the Kohl Center, Law finished 2-11 from the field and had a dunk blocked by the rim in the second half.

After the game, he was not made available to the media, and an athletic department spokesman told the Daily he was receiving treatment but did not specify Law’s status.

According to an interview done by Cavs.com with former athletic trainer Max Benton, “repeated training on a hard surface” is a potential cause of knee tendinitis, and the injury’s primary systems are pain and tenderness. “If you do not rest properly,” he said, “the pain, inflammation, and tenderness of the tendon will be present before, during, and after activity and will increase in intensity.”

If Law were solely focused on his professional career, you could argue he’d be best suited shutting it down and recovering for the pre-draft process. Projected lottery pick Darius Garland recently did just that following a knee injury of his own. But that doesn’t sound like Vic Law.

After Law graduated this past June, he could have transferred to a higher profile program to gain more exposure. Instead, he decided to see things out in Evanston. For one of the best players in the conference, it only gets more difficult from here.

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Twitter: @2021_charlie