Wisconsin had three players that played big for them and they needed every ounce that they gave to survive against Georgetown. Coming into the game, both teams were undefeated. Wisconsin was 5-0 and Georgetown was 4-0. However, Wisconsin was ranked #2 and Georgetown was not ranked. To remain undefeated, the Badgers needed a second half rally.
Sam Decker scored 17 points, Nigel Hayes scored 15 and Bronsen Koenig scored 14 points for Wisconsin. Hayes may have had the better game out of the three. He scored his 15 points on 5 for 7 shooting. He also landed 7 rebounds as Wisconsin held a small rebound edge 25-20. It was also his tip in with 20 seconds left that secured the win for the Badgers.
Wisconsin normally relies on Frank Kaminsky, but he had an off night. He ended up 12 points short of his game average with only 6 points. He had only one field goal. He only had 4 rebounds as well, but he gave them a solid 37 minutes and hustled and motivated his team as he let the others carry them to victory. To show his “off-day”, it was Kaminsky’s 34th game with at least 8 shots and prior to today where he shot 12%, his lowest percentage was 30%.
Georgetown was powered by junior D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera who had 29 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Outside of Smith-Rivera there was no one that stood out for Georgetown. Despite that, the Hoyas were in the game for the entirety and they thought they had the win until the last minute. Smith-Rivera had a chance at the end, but missed a 3 pointer. It was his only miss, he was 5-6 from the 3-point arch.
The Badgers were down by 9 with 11 minutes left in the game and then they turned on the intensity. With the intensity turned up, Wisconsin went on a 22-6 run. With that run, they secured a win and kept their perfect record intact. However, it was not pretty and it was an ugly played game. Here is the ugly stat of the game: Combined, the teams had 16 assist and 29 turnovers. Wisconsin has to control the ball better if they want to beat Oklahoma in the championship game.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Tim Aylen