Baylor 76, Wisconsin 63: Badgers ousted from NCAA Tournament as Bears take advantage of UW's first-half mistakes

Not good enough.

Those three words summarize Greg Gard’s basketball team in 2020-21.

Harsh? Perhaps.

But UW’s 76-63 loss to top-seeded Baylor in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis reaffirmed what the Big Ten season revealed.

That is, an experienced UW team could hang with the top teams in the country and on some days push them to the final few possessions.

But the ninth-seeded Badgers weren’t nearly good enough to outplay those teams for 40 minutes and win.  

"At times it was turnovers," senior guard D'Mitrik Trice said. "At times it was not making shots.

"Tonight it was a little bit of both. Credit to Baylor. Obviously, they are a great team. Every time we made a mistake they capitalized on it."

UW turned the ball over just twice in the first half in an impressive first-round victory over No. 8 North Carolina and finished with seven. The Badgers came in Sunday averaging 8.9 turnovers per game, the lowest mark in the country.

BOX SCORE: Baylor 76, Wisconsin 63

Baylor forced nine turnovers in the first half and scored 12 points off those turnovers in building a 42-29 halftime lead.

The Bears made just 3 of their first 9 shots but hit 13 of 21 the rest of the half, including 4 of 9 three-pointers.

UW couldn’t protect the ball or slow Baylor’s offense.

What had to make the turnovers even more frustrating for the UW players is that they hit 5 of 9 three-pointers (55.6%) and 11 of 23 shots overall (47.8%) and still trailed by 13 points at the break.

UW finished with 14 turnovers, which led to 16 points for Baylor.

"I thought we got a little sped up early, tried to play a little too fast at times," Gard said of the turnovers. "Second half was a little bit better.

"But they do a good job. They’re athletic. They’re strong. They can put a lot of pressure on at every position, specifically when they go smaller."

UW, which trailed by as many as 18 points in the second half, pulled to within seven three times but the Bears answered with points each time.

The Badgers, who finished sixth in the Big Ten in the regular season and were ousted from the league tournament by Iowa in the quarterfinals, saw their season end at 18-13.

Brad Davison (29 points) and Trice (21 points) hit a combined 18 of 30 shots, including 8 of 15 three-pointers, against North Carolina.

They combined for six points on 2-for-11 shooting in the opening half Sunday and finished a combined 8 for 28.

Davison entered Sunday 15 of 31 from three-point range (48.4%) in the previous five games. He hit 2 of 6 from three-point range but only 3 of 11 overall for eight points.

Trice came in 6 of 15 from three-point range and 16 of 32 overall in the previous two games. He finished 2 of 7 from three-point range and 5 of 17 overall for 12 points.

"We got quite a few good looks that we normally knock down," Trice said, "but they did a great job of pressuring us and getting us out of our comfort zone at times."

Nate Reuvers added 11 points, Jonathan Davis and Micah Potter added 10 points apiece and Aleem Ford had eight for UW.

Reserve forward Matthew Mayer entered the day averaging 8.0 points per game but led Baylor with 17 points, six rebounds and two steals. 

"I thought the difference today was Mayer, the plays he made off the bench," Gard said. "When they needed a basket in the second half, he answered for them."

Guards Donovan Mitchell (16 points, eight assists and two steals) and Jared Butler (16 points and four rebounds) combined to hit 4 of 7 three-pointers and 11 of 19 shots overall.

"We saw how well they played against North Carolina," said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose team finished with 15 assists and only four turnovers. "Really knew that our guys were locked in through the scouting, and I thought we'd play well."

Six seniors played Sunday for UW. Although seniors have the option to return next season, most are expected to leave. 

Gard again declined to speculate whether any would choose to return and said he would give them time to get over the season-ending loss. 

He took time to salute how they handled nearly losing assistant Howard Moore in the spring of 2019 and rallied to win a share of the Big Ten title last season.

"I’ve never been around a group that has had to endure more over the last two-plus years," he said, "going back to coach Moore and that whole tragedy that they still carry with them. Rallying and winning a piece of the conference championship last year. Having no (NCAA) tournament, which was an emotional blow.

"And then this year having to navigate through a season in the middle of a pandemic...

"They’ve had great jubilation and some extreme trials. As I told them, that’s life. You’re going to have some things go your way and have some things not go your way.

"But as long as you are doing the best you can and giving your best effort, that’s all we can ask. And every day they gave us all they could.

"Were able to play in the tournament this year. Got one win. Obviously wanted more. But there was never a deficiency of effort and giving of themselves to our program."