No. 11 Wisconsin turns page, shifts focus to Washington

Despite a stumble at home that coach Greg Gard called “uncharacteristic,” No. 11 Wisconsin remains in the mix for a top-four seed and accompanying double-bye in the Big Ten tournament. The regular-season title is still in play with four games to go, too.The Badgers pursue those objectives when they host last-place Washington on Tuesday in Madison, Wis.Wisconsin (21-6, 11-5 Big Ten) led visiting Oregon by as many as 17 points on Saturday and went ahead 62-47 with 7:57 to play in regulation. That’s when the Badgers’ offense stopped humming, and the Ducks stormed back to tie the game at 66 and force overtime.The back-and-forth extra period concluded with a 77-73 Oregon victory, ending Wisconsin’s five-game win streak.Gard said Oregon caused Wisconsin to play with an unusual absence of aggression.”The stats bear it out,” he said. “When you don’t shoot any free throws, you have 17 turnovers, 11 in the second half — when you turn the ball over like that, it’s a lack of aggression, it’s a tentativeness (and) I felt we didn’t play on our toes and keep the throttle down like we had in the first half.”John Tonje continued his hot streak for Wisconsin, leading the Badgers with 22 points and seven rebounds. He’s paced the team in scoring for nine games in a row, averaging 24.8 points per game in that span while shooting 53 percent from the field and 45.3 percent from 3-point range. Tonje and John Blackwell guide the Badgers at 19.7 and 14.9 points, respectively.Wisconsin is tied with Maryland for third in the Big Ten as of Monday, trailing Michigan State (13-3) and Michigan (12-3). UCLA and Purdue, both 11-6, are also vying for a top-four seed.Before the Oregon loss, Gard spoke about the maturity of his team to turn the page after a three-game skid in December. He said his players — including six seniors or graduate students — don’t get too high or too low.

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