The Washington Huskies lose to the No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers in a game that was in control entirely by the Badgers. The Huskies were outperformed in nearly every stat during tonight's game except for blocks thanks to Franck Kepnang who had three of the Huskies' five blocks in the game.
The battle of the boards was won overwhelmingly by the Badgers as they totaled 41 rebounds while the Huskies ended with just 28 total rebounds, while Wisconsin more than doubled the Dawgs offensive rebound total by a margin of 13 to six.
The Huskies were led by their big men tonight as Great Osobor was the only double-digit scorer with 11 points, while Franck Kepnang had seven points, seven rebounds and tallied a team-high three blocks. Badgers Sophomore guard John Blackwell led the way with 24 points and 10 rebounds for Wisconsin for his sixth 20+ point performance.
Washington Huskies fall flat on the road against No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers
In the first half, the Huskies had went down 43 to 28 due to nearly back to back runs of 15-5 as well as 13-4 by the Badgers. Although the Huskies shot 50% (5/10) from beyond the 3-point line, their overall shot volume compared to Wisconsin was quite low as they ended the half 11/24 total compared to Wisconsin shooting 18/32 in the first half.
Mekhi Mason, who has been playing very well over the past three games, led the way tied with Great Osobor in scoring as they each had six points. This certainly isn't ideal if they want to beat a good scoring team like Wisconsin, as John Blackwell lit up the scoresheet with 19 points in the first half. The Huskies were also behind in the overall rebound battle in the first half 17-10 to the Badgers which was led by a majority of guards which is concerning considering the size that the Dawgs have on the court in Breidenbach, Osobor and Kepnang.
The second half was ran completely by the Badgers, with their lead ballooning up to 32 points as the Huskies shooting did not really improve as the game went on. The Huskies really struggled from beyond the 3 point line only hitting 2 of their 12 3-pointers in the second half. Wisconsin went on a 25-7 run midway through the 2nd half and really ran away with the game at that point.
The Dawgs also didn't take advantage of their free throws only shooting 38 percent (3/8) from the charity stripe despite the limited opportunities. Despite their shooting struggles, the Dawgs were also to get more shots up in the 2nd half as they shot 15/34 total, but the Badgers had continued on the same pace they had in the first half shooting 15/32.
Great Osobor ended the game with 11 total points, nearly doubling his first half total, which may sound nice, but it really wasn't the case as he was the only double digit scorer for the Huskies.
The Huskies next game is at home at Alaska Airlines Arena on Saturday March 1st versus the Indiana Hoosiers (16-11). They are a very tall team, with their top scorers all being above 6-foot-8, including former Arizona Wildcat Oumar Ballo.
Ballo is a 7 foot tall senior center who is averaging 13 points and 9 rebounds a game and will likely continue with that streak. This is their third to last game, so being able to end the season off with a few mins would be great morale for the players who do decide to return.