In a game that was decidedly less thrilling than Wisconsin opening-round victory over the Arizona Wildcats, the Badgers fell 74-61 to the Gonzaga Bulldogs in Tuesday’s semifinal matchup in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational.
It was another foul-filled affair as Wisconsin and Gonzaga combined for 37 fouls and 39 attempts from the charity stripe. The result was disappointing to say the least for head coach Bo Ryan’s squad, but there were a few bright spots.
Sophomore guard Jordan Taylor showed what he can do on the offensive end when given the opportunity to create off the dribble, scoring a career and game-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor, 2-for-3 from beyond the arc and 3-of-6 from the free throw line.
Likewise, junior forward Jon Leuer showed flashes of dominance down low, grabbing five rebounds to go along with 18 points. Unfortunately for the Badgers, though, Leuer also missed a lot of chances, going 8-for-17 from the floor and 0-for-3 from long distance.
Gonzaga opened up a double-digit lead early and kept it there for much of the game, taking a 10-point lead into the locker room at the break.
Wisconsin managed to cut the lead to just six points in the second half with nine minutes remaining, but failed to get any closer than that as the Bulldogs rallied back to put the game away.
The Badgers (3-1) will have to bounce back quickly from their first loss of the season as they are set to battle the No. 21 Maryland Terrapins in Wednesday’s third-place game. Tipoff is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. local time, or 3:30 p.m. CST.






Leave a comment