3 quick takeaways from Badgers buzzer beating win over Minnesota: 2nd halfs are becoming a thing

The Wisconsin Badgers used another second-half comeback to beat the Minnesota Gophers 78-75 in the Border Battle to win their 10th-straight game in the series and improve their record to 23-5 all-time.

It was a tale of two halves as the Badgers underwhelmed in the opening period, trailing 35-28 at halftime, but they turned things around in the second half to secure their third-straight win.

Things got tight at the end, as Wisconsin took a nine-point lead, saw that diminish over the final minutes, but got the victory on a game-winning three from John Blackwell.

Here are three quick takeaways from Wisconsin’s 78-75 win over Minnesota on Tuesday.

Another second-half explosion

The Badgers offense was far too inconsistent in the first half. They weren’t bad to open the game, scoring eight points in the first four minutes, but that was overshadowed by their porous defense.

They went on a stagnant run for a bit after that, but picked things up, with Braeden Carrington hitting a pair of triples to tie things up at 24 apiece at the eight-minute mark, as Wisconsin scored 10 points in a four-minute stretch.

Well, you guessed what came next. The Badgers scored just four points over the final eight minutes of the half, including a scoreless 5:11 stretch to end the period, as they were completely flustered by Minnesota’s zone. Wisconsin settled for some bad threes, shooting some tough looks and also some deep shots off the dribble, which aren’t efficient shots. And they couldn’t move the ball well against the zone, turning the ball over and not getting any paint points.

It was tough that the Badgers couldn’t really get much in transition against a Minnesota team that plays at one of the slowest paces in the country, as the Gophers looked quite good when defending in the halfcourt, both in man and in zone.

When Wisconsin’s offense is stagnant, they’re usually not hitting threes at a good rate. Well, they were just 4/15 from deep in the first half, with the starters shooting 2/10 from deep. When you’re that inefficient, you have to adjust. For some reason, Wisconsin has struggled to do so when it gets off to these slow offensive starts.

In the second half, the Badgers flipped the switch. They came out hot, hitting four of their first five shots, including three three-pointers, as John Blackwell hit a pair and Nick Boyd had one of his own. Suddenly, an 11-point lead was cut to five.

That hot start carried throughout much of the second half. After an amazing second half against the Wolverines, the Badgers were on a heater again in Minnesota, scoring 38 points over the first 12.5 minutes, as they were 11 of 15 from the field and eight of 11 from three. That flipped the script, as the Badgers took a 66-57 lead with 7-and-a-half minutes left in the half.

The offense slowed down at the end of the game, going on a two-and-a-half minute drought as Minnesota climbed back into things, as they shot 2 of 10 to end the game. They were looking to win out with the free-throw game, but had a few misses at the end that allowed Minnesota to climb back in and tie things with a Cade Tyson three with six seconds left.

Then, John Blackwell won it all with a game-winning three-pointer, giving the Badgers the 78-75 win in a thriller.

Wisconsin ultimately hit 14 three-pointers after hitting 15 against Michigan, rebounding well in the second half. It was their first win this season, though, where they scored less than 80 points.

Defense rebounds from slow start

The Badgers were awful to start the game defensively. They could not stop dribble drives, and Minnesota got anything they wanted in the paint. The Gophers scored on their first nine possessions of the game. That’s ridiculous. Seven were off shots inside the paint, one led to free throws, and another was an early three.

The Badgers were switching everything defensively, getting beaten there. But the guards weren’t doing a good job either of keeping the ball in front of them, and Minnesota’s ball movement to create open looks was impressive.

After that slow start, Wisconsin had a good defensive stretch, allowing just two points in nearly four minutes of action as the offense started to catch up. And the defense held up well for the rest of the half, but the Badgers’ offense was non-existent, and Minnesota went into halftime with a seven-point lead.

In the second half, Wisconsin’s defense picked up where it left off in the first half. While Minnesota shot well enough from two, they weren’t getting anything from distance, and leading scorer Cade Tyson didn’t have his regular impact.

Still, the Gophers averaged over 1.2 points per possession in the half, but the Badgers offense did enough to pull off the win. Defensively, Wisconsin is going to have to figure out its niche. They’re not very disruptive (two turnovers forced, one block on Tuesday), struggle with the dribble drives, and are inconsistent on that side of the court. When the offense plays at a high level, they win. But with a tough Big Ten slate, finding ways to win or lead with the defense will be important.

Revenge game for the hometown kid

Wisconsin was going to need some extra spark in this one. Insert Braeden Carrington, the Minnesota native who spent the first few seasons of his career with the Gophers.

Carrington entered the game in the first half and immediately made an impact, hitting a three and drawing a charge. He hit a team-high two threes in the first half, being the saving grace for an inefficient offense. In the second half, he went off.

Playing a big role, Carrington caught fire from three and was instrumental in the comeback, hitting five of his first six threes in the second half. He’s had two great games for the Badgers off the bench in the wins over Wisconsin and Minnesota, and has been what Wisconsin needed: a senior presence for a very young reserve group.

He finished with a season-high 21 points on 7 of 13 from the field, including 7 of 12 from three, giving Wisconsin the offensive spark it needed in a tight game.