Greg Gard, Nick Boyd React to Wisconsin's Final Play vs. USC
MADISON, Wis. — There isn’t so much disappointment in the fact that USC snapped Wisconsin’s five-game winning streak with a 73-71 victory in Madison on Sunday. Rather, it’s how it happened that stings the most.
From the start of the second half until the 12-minute mark, it looked like the Badgers were going to extend their streak to six games. They went up by 12 points just under halfway through the period, having gone on a 17-2 run. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there.
USC would cut the lead with an 8-0 run across three minutes before Nick Boyd calmed things down with a fastbreak layup. But it was a temporary patch, as the Trojans would immediately go on another 8-0 un before Nolan Winter once broke a separate Badger scoring drought with a three.
Wisconsin couldn’t seem to find any consistency in the final 12 minutes, because after Winter’s jumper, USC would outscore the home team 11-8 to seal the victory. But the Badgers’ final play to tie it was a big talking point afterward, almost as much as their 28 missed threes.
Despite the scoring droughts, despite USC grabbing eight offensive rebounds in the second half, Wisconsin had a chance to even things up with 14 seconds left. After a great defensive possession to force a miss, Boyd had the ball down 71-69.
Rather than the Badgers calling a timeout, the senior guard took in the length of the court, was slowed down from the perimeter, and drove for a contested layup. USC would grab the miss and go up four points, sealing the deal.
Nick Boyd Reacts to Wisconsin’s Game-Tying Opportunity
After the game, Boyd spoke about the last play, noting how it shouldn’t have been so rushed. The senior guard was still the clear-cut MVP for the Badgers, finishing with 29 points, six rebounds and three assists on 10-for-17 shooting. He was the only player on his team to shoot above 40% from the field.
“I think I should have just taken my time a little bit more, but I was just trying to get downhill,” Boyd said. “I got to where I wanted to, just missed it. Gotta make it.”
Boyd also discussed what went wrong after the 12-minute mark in the second half. The offense was pretty throughout the entire game by any means, as UW shot 43.8% from the field and 27.8% from three in the first half. However, a 12-point lead squandered that quickly is certainly disheartening.
“I just feel like we took our foot off the gas,” Boyd said. “Shots weren’t falling all around for us today. We had that lead, but just toughness, offensive rebounds. Maybe we got a little bit comfortable. We spoke about it, and we’re looking forward to the next game.”
Greg Gard Explains Rationale Behind No-Timeout
Greg Gard, who typically refuses to call timeouts in these situations if Wisconsin is in a rhythm, also spoke about that final play. Just under two weeks ago, the Badgers beat Minnesota on the road off a John Blackwell buzzer-beater.
The head coach decided not to call a timeout after the Golden Gophers nailed a game-tying three, which led to the junior star taking the length of the court and hitting a deep shot. Unfortunately, the trend did not hold up well on Sunday.
“[USC] was backpedaling. They were in retreat. I thought [Boyd] got too deep, and at a point I thought he was going to get to the rim,” Gard said. “I’ll look and see if there was some physical contact or not, but I thought about [calling a timeout]. But he was coming with a good speed, and they were scattered. They were backpedaling.
“You put the ball in your better player’s hands, and you try to make a play. I let him do that, and we’ve done it many times, and today we didn’t [convert].”
