Greg Gard, Steven Crowl reflect on throttling Maryland, advancing to Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal

Wisconsin’s first game in the Big Ten Tournament, a second round matchup against Maryland on Thursday afternoon, went about as well as the Badgers could’ve dreamed it up. And it was all kicked off by some selfless offense, according to head coach Greg Gard.

The Badgers poured on 87 points in an 87-56 win, and Gard was quick to praise the way his team dominated on the offensive end. All told, the Badgers went 16-of-25 from 3 and had 25 assists on 31 made field goals.

“Well we shared it. I’ve got a really unselfish team that, when we’re clicking, we’re really hard to guard because we’re unselfish and we have so many guys that are so versatile and can put the ball in the basket,” Gard said.

But he brought up the defense, too. Maryland shot under 40% from the field and star big man Julian Reese finished with just 10 points.

Gard also added that coming into Thursday rested while Maryland played on Wednesday played a role.

“Well it’s an advantage to not have played yesterday. I think that obviously, we were able to — but we’re playing better. I think we were playing better the last week. We played against Rutgers, we played well at Purdue and obviously we played well here today. So I’m happy with where we’re trending,” Gard said.

Badgers big man Steven Crowl lauded what Reese can do — and how his team handled him on the defensive end.

“He’s a great player,” Crowl said. “A lot went into the scout and trying to guard him. It wasn’t a 1-on-1 effort, it was on the bumpers and the guys trying to hit him, coming down the middle of the paint because he’s a load when he does. But we did a great job on him, but he’s a great player. “

And Crowl was at the center of the offensive explosion on the court for the Badgers, finishing with 17 points in the onslaught.

Playing in the Twin Cities, Crowl got to enjoy a strong performance in front of friends and family as a native of the area.

“It meant a ton to me,” Crowl said. “Usually I have pretty good games when I come back home. I don’t know what it is but like you said, just have a bounce back game, not only for me but for the whole team. Feels good and hopefully we get it done tomorrow, also.”

With the win, Wisconsin moves on to the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals and a matchup with Northwestern on Friday.

Crowl and Co. will began prep for the Wildcats on Thursday evening, but not before taking a least a brief moment to celebrate starting off the postseason 1-0, and in dominant fashion.

“I think we’re kind of similar to each other in our DNA and I’ll find out more when we do the scout later, but should be a good game, should be a lot of fun,” Crowl said.