MILWAUKEE, Wis.- Despite a competitive first half effort, turnovers and a second half surge from Wisconsin doomed the AU men’s basketball squad in its 75-35 loss to Badgers in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
“Wisconsin is a really good team, I wish we could have made a better game today and represented ourselves and the [Patriot League] a little better for ourselves,” head coach Mike Brennan said after the game.
Wisconsin (26-7, 12-6 Big Ten) jumped out to an early lead thanks early baskets from its All-Big 10 forward Frank Kaminsky and three AU (20-12, 13-5 PL) turnovers.
The Eagles mounted a small comeback in the opening minutes of the game with junior guard John Schoof scoring the Eagles first eight points of the game and a jumper by junior guard Darius Gardner to tie the game at 10 at the 14:41 mark.
Shortly after tying, AU took a four point thanks Wroblicky hitting two free throws and a jumper, giving the Eagles their first lead of the game.
After taking a 17-10 lead with 9:50 left in the first half, self-inflicted wounds in the form of turnovers and poor shots, led to the Badgers to go on a 12-3 run to capped off by a layup from Ben Brust to put Wisconsin ahead 22-20
Brust scored 11 of his 17 points in the first half. Traevon Jackson led the Badgers in scoring with 18.
First half turnovers continued to be a problem for AU as the team ended the first half with eight, compared to Wisconsin’s four. The turnovers sparked the Badger offense on the other end and Wisconsin in the bonus late in the first. This in turn allowed Wisconsin to expand its lead and take a 10-point, 32-22, into the break.
During Wisconsin’s late offensive surge, AU’s offense went cold scoring just five points in the final nine minutes of the half.
To start the second half, Wisconsin’s offense began to take over, going on a 7-2 run to open up a 15 point lead with 17:22 remaining in regulation as turnovers and sloppy play continued to plague the Eagles.
Every shot seemed to go in for the Badgers in the second half as they shot a blistering 57 percent from the field in the second half and 50 percent for the game.
Offensively, the Eagles managed just four points and shot just 15 percent on 3-of-19 shooting in the second half and failed to match Wisconsin’s power. Even foul shots seemed to elude the Eagles, as AU went just 6-of-11 in the second half, a 54 percent, off from their regular season average of 71 percent.
Wroblicky and Schoof led all AU scorers with 11. After his hot start in the first half, Schoof would score just three points in the remainder of the game.
By the end of the game, the Eagles would commit a total of 17 turnovers to just seven for Wisconsin.
While the season is over for the Eagles, there are still positives to take away. AU graduates just one, Wroblicky, and two of the three teams leading scorers are expected to return next season, including Patriot League Tournament MVP Darius Gardner.
“They’ve had a terrific year, they worked really hard all year,” Brennan said. “I’m proud of all they’ve accomplished.”
