Brust goes clutch as Badgers stun Michigan, 65-62, in OT Thriller
Michigan fans have to be sick of seeing Wisconsin players hitting clutch last second shots on them - first it was Josh Gasser two years ago in Crisler Arena. Now they'll likely be cursing the name of Ben Brust, who had 14 points, none bigger than the final six he put in. First, Brust stepped up to hit a half-court buzzer beater with Wisconsin down 60-57 and just 2.4 seconds left, he then would top that with a game winning triple with 39 seconds left in overtime. Game, set, match Wisconsin. 65-62 was the final score and the students rightfully stormed the court in celebration.
What happened that set up Brust for his late game heroics will be debated in the Wisconsin and national scene for quite some time.
Conventional wisdom says you foul with three fouls to give and less than 30 seconds to go on the clock. Smart basketball also tells you you foul a guy sitting outside the 3 point line before he shoots with under 5 seconds left in the game. Instead Wisconsin allowed Tim Hardaway, Jr. (18 points, 4 rebounds) to nail a three and put Michigan up 60-57 with 2.4 seconds left.
That's when Ben Brust went all sorts of crazy clutch as he hit a half court shot that was nothing but net with time expiring on the game to tie it up at 60-60 - an ending most of us (myself included) had already given up on.
It was the 2nd straight overtime game for both Michigan and Wisconsin and the Badgers have found ways to outlast their opponents in each of them. Brust's three pointer with 39 seconds left broke a 2-2 tie in the OT period and a combination of good defense and bad shooting by the Wolverines in the ensuing possessions allowed the Badgers to come out on top.
So, let's bask in the glory of a 2nd win over a Top 3 opponent in Big Ten play and get to the player grades, huh?
| Player | Stats/Thoughts | Grade |
Ben Brust, G |
14pts, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 4-10FG's, 4-73pt FG's, 2 steals, 40 min. No way Brust gets anything but an A from us today, right? Hard to argue with 4-7 from deep and his overall effort to begin with. He was effective on both ends of the court and mixed it up down low more so than he has done in recent weeks. |
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Ryan Evans, F |
11pts, 9 rebounds, 5-15FG's, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 34 min. Evans wasn't great at the FT line, but we've given up on that happening a long time ago at MTB. He was a big component of keeping things alive offensively, but once again his shot selection was questionable at best. Shooting just 33% to get to double digits in points isn't great. All-around effort gets him this grade today. |
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Mike Bruesewitz, F |
5pts, 8 rebounds, 2-5FG's, 1-3 3pt FG's, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 30min. Bruesewitz was back to being the junkyard dog in this one. He also was a great passer on the offensive end of the court. This was the type of quiet game that you have to watch closely to understand just how good he played. It wasn't perfect, but it was damn effective. |
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Traevon Jackson, G |
7pts, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 turnovers, 2 steals, 29 min. He was far more aggressive on the offensive end, but that turned out not to be the best of things as he nearly cost Wisconsin big time down the stretch with turnovers in tow of three key possessions. Luckily his defensive effort bailed him out a few times as well. The 1:1 assist/turnover ratio is something that has to be worrisome for UW going into a big stretch of games. |
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Jared Berggren, F |
13pts, 8 rebounds, 5-11FG's, 1-5 3pt FG's, 1 block, 37min. Save Brust's crazy buzzer beater the biggest play of this game was Berggren going from the right side of the 3pt elbow and posterizing Trey Burke for the hoop & harm. Both should be SC Top 10 nominees. He had a big time impact on this game and overall played smart basketball. The only blemish was his 3pt shooting, with most misses being mechanical mistakes - things that can be fixed. |
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George Marshall, G |
3pts, 1 rebound, 1-2FG's, 11 min. Marshall didn't have a big time effect on the game offensively, but he needs to figure out how to play better against the screen from the big man. For whatever reason Marshall and Co. can't get on the same page on switching out screens and that nearly killed them in this one. |
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Sam Dekker, F |
12pts, 5 rebounds, 5-9FG's, 2-5 3pt FG's, 4 turnovers, 26 min. Dekker had another "growing up" game. He was inconsistent (4 TO's & back-to-back mistakes on D) at times, but spectacular on both ends of the court at times as well. I've been more impressed with his play on the defensive end each week & he's being far more aggressive on that end, but needs to not make the mental mistakes that cost him today. He'll learn, and this game was impressive against one of the best teams in the country. |
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Frank Kaminsky, F |
0pts, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, 8 min. Kaminsky didn't see a lot of action thanks to getting into some foul trouble and the fact that Berggren was playing so well. However, he did bring it on the defensive end with two big time blocks - one that actually led to a rare Badgers break away on the other end of the court. He didn't attempt a shot, but he made an imprint on this one and that's all you can ask from a guy playing under 10 minutes. |
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3 Takeaways:
- Why Wisconsin never fouled Tim Hardaway as he was coming across the face of Mike Bruesewitz with under 5 seconds left I will never know... It should've happened and with 2.4 seconds left it would've really put the pressure on Michigan to have to come up with a perfect play with two more fouls to give by Wisconsin to win it. Oh well, alls well that ends well, right?
- If Wisconsin isn't ranked in the next set of Top 25 polls it's a complete joke. They've won on the road and at home against TWO teams ranked in the Top 3 - in conference play nonetheless. Oh, and we're tied for 2nd in the Big Ten and have two more wins than a Minnesota team that's at .500 in conference play and are still ranked in the Top 20? Give me a break.
- The OT win extended Michigan's losing streak to 13 straight at the Kohl Center... It's the longest losing streak of any team in the conference at any other school (at least according to our quick research & we're never wrong, right?). Combine that with the fact that UW has 11 straight over IU and I'm not sure which one is more remarkable if you ask me.
