Behind second-half heroics from star forward Trevon Bluiett, No. 15 Xavier basketball was able to knock off the Wisconsin Badgers in the Kohl Center.
This was arguably the most exciting game of the Gavitt Tip-Off Games to this point. Behind Ethan Happ, the Wisconsin Badgers represented the home crowd well by pushing the No. 15 ranked Xavier Musketeers all the way to the finish. The final score may show Xavier winning by double-digits but it was a much better game than the score indicates.
In fact, Wisconsin held a 66-64 lead with 2:30 left in the game. That is when Xavier’s star, Trevon Bluiett, took over the game. Bluiett, who was already in the midst of an outstanding second half, went on a huge 8-0 run by himself that included two 3-pointers. This run put the Musketeers up 72-66 with one minute left to play and the team did not look back from there.
Although this game was won at the end by Bluiett’s heroics, he was not alone in contributing to this victory for Xavier. Bluiett may have been the star of the second half, but J.P. Macura and Kaiser Gates both played major roles throughout the contest.
While shooting an incredibly efficient 10-for-15 from the floor, Macura put up a very solid night of 20 points and 8 rebounds. On the other hand, Gates’ box score numbers of 11 points and 7 rebounds do not jump off the page, but he knocked down three huge 3-pointers at crucial moments of this game.
On the opposite side of the court, Wisconsin was (shockingly) led by star center Ethan Happ. Bluiett will get the credit for coming out with the victory in this game, but Happ was just as good in the battle of star players. Happ imposed his will inside the paint throughout the game and was excellent in distributing as well as scoring. He finished the game with 21 points and 8 assists.
After Happ, guards Brevin Pritzl (13 pts) and Brad Davison (12 pts, 4 stls) scored in double figures for the Badgers. On the whole, though, it was Wisconsin’s poor shooting (41.0 FG% to 50.9 FG% from Xavier) and rebounding (28 total rebounds to Xavier’s 37) that became their undoing.