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Washington basketball coach Danny Sprinkle lauded Wisconsin as the model for a winning program when meeting with the media after the Badgers’ big win over his Huskies.
Wisconsin triumphed 88-62. The result was never in doubt, as the Badgers held a double-digit lead for more than 28 minutes of game time and led by as much as 32 at one point in the second half. Washington, currently in its first season in the Big Ten, appeared far from Wisconsin’s quality. According to Sprinkle, that’s a testament to Wisconsin’s ‘championship culture.’
“Credit to Wisconsin,” Sprinkle began. “Like I told our team afterward, that’s a team that has championship culture and championship habits. They make everything hard…There are very few errors — that shows how well-coached they are. You can tell, it’s been passed down. They take a lot of pride in what they do. That’s something, we have to get our program there. It doesn’t happen overnight. But those habits, they have to be established.”
Wisconsin out-rebounded Washington 41-26, forced 10 turnovers, turned the ball over just five times and assisted on 15 of its 33 made baskets. The team’s all-around dominant effort was led by John Blackwell, who recorded his first carer double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds on 9-of-16 shooting. 19 of his 24 points came in the first half, helping the Badgers build an advantage they would not relinquish.
“I thought [John] Blackwell was tremendous the entire game, he was the best player on the floor for all 40 minutes,” Sprinkle continued. “It was a struggle for us tonight to consistently get things going, which is a credit to Wisconsin.”
Blackwell’s outing was complimented by efficient play from John Tonje (13 points), Steven Crowl (12 points), Xavier Amos (12 points) and several other bench contributors. Senior guard Max Klesmit played only five minutes after reaggravating a previous ankle injury. Kamari McGee excelled in his absence, tallying eight points, three rebounds and two assists on 4-of-6 shooting.
Sprinkle continued his praise for Wisconsin’s deep and balanced lineup, stacking it up against the best teams the Huskies have faced this season
“A lot of people talk about [Wisconsin’s] offense, and they’re phenomenal offensively,” Sprinkle continued. “They share the basketball. They always have three guards on the floor that can make ball-screen reads. Their bigs, they can spread you out because they can pop and shoot. They roll you down if you switch, they score on the block. But it seems like they always find the hole in your defense. You may guard it for a couple turns, then all of the sudden, bam, somebody’s getting a shot or somebody’s driving, Tonje or Blackwell. They’re as good an offensive team as we’ve played this season.”
Finally, he focused on the team’s defense, highlighting it as a primary indicator of the Badgers’ winning culture.
“Defensively, their habits, they guard the basketball,” Sprinkle concluded. “They take a lot of pride in guarding the basketball. Even if you do get by a guy, their help defender is there. They scramble out really good. Then they finish off with box-outs. They’re really physical. Even some of the post-plays we tried to run, their post guys were driving us up the lane. They weren’t fouling. They just did a good job playing defense and being more physical than our post guys. To establish the position they wanted. Instead of catching the ball at 4-5 feet, we’re catching it at 8-9 feet. It’s a totally different shot. They do it every time. They’re trained, they do it every time. It’s not 75% of the time. That’s the championship habits.”
Wisconsin basketball is now 22-6 on the season and 12-5 in Big Ten play after the sweat-free victory. The team stands just 1 1/2 games out of first place, though it has only three games remaining. A Sunday road trip to top-ranked Michigan State will likely decide if it has any chance at contending for the conference crown. Otherwise, Wisconsin enters March with possibly the best shot at a run to the Final Four since the start of the Greg Gard era.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin basketball Washington win Danny Sprinkle praises Badgers