Greg Gard shares what Wisconsin must do to hold off Northwestern in Big Ten Tournament

Wisconsin trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half of Friday afternoon’s Big Ten Tournament game against Northwestern, before rallying to take a four-point lead at the break.

Badgers coach Greg Gard joined the Big Ten Network at halftime and discussed what his team must do to keep that momentum going in the second half and finish off the win.

“I thought we attacked the rim better. We’ve still gotta do a better job of finishing inside,” Greg Gard said. “We’ve gotten deep. We’ve gotta convert when we get the ball point blank.”

According to the Big Ten Network, Wisconsin was only 6-for-14 on layups in the first half. Still, the Badgers led 33-29 at the half.

Freshman John Blackwell struggled from the field in the first half, which is somewhat understandable because he had the tough task of slowing down Northwestern star Boo Buie.

Buie had 16 points in the first half, and Gard shared what it will take to do a better job on him in the second half.

“He’s not a freshman anymore,” Gard said of Blackwell. “He’s been playing terrific for a long time. So it’s him, it’s Max [Klesmit], it’s Kamari [McGee] on Buie, and it’s going to take a group effort.”

It’s safe to say Wisconsin players received the halftime message from Gard. The Badgers went on to earn a 70-61 win, advancing to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Wisconsin will play Purdue on Saturday at 1 p.m. with a spot in the Big Ten championship game on the line. Tip off is set for 1 p.m.

AJ Storr reflects on 30-point outburst as Wisconsin advances to Big Ten Tournament semifinals

Wisconsin sophomore guard AJ Storr exploded for 30 points in a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal win for the Badgers on Friday afternoon in Minneapolis. And it was all a matter of getting under control.

Speaking on Big Ten Network briefly after the game, both Storr and his head coach, Greg Gard, said the guard started to dominate when he was getting into the paint and playing “on two feet” on offense. When that switch flipped early in the first half, Storr started to score in droves.

“Because I started off attacking the rim, got to the free throw line a little bit. Got my rhythm. Got my feet underneath me then it’s over from there,” Storr said.

Storr finished 10-of-16 from the field and made 3-of-5 from 3. He also was near perfect from the free throw line, making 7-of-8.

“He started playing under control around the rim,” Gard said. “The first couple in the first half, I thought he went in out of control and he started playing off two feet. When he gets a crack of daylight, he’s pretty hard to stop.”