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The Wisconsin basketball team bounced back nicely from their disastrous loss against Oregon over the weekend as they easily handled Washington on Tuesday. The Badgers were on cruise control all night as they grew a big lead in the first half and never looked back. Wisconsin ended up winning 88-62, but they did lose guard Max Klesmit to an injury. Head coach Greg Gard provided an update after the game.
Max Klesmit played just five minutes for the Wisconsin basketball team against Washington. He apparently re-aggravated a lower leg injury that has bothered him this season, but Badgers head coach Greg Gard doesn't think that it's anything to be too worried about.
“Yeah, just, he's had that for, I don't know that it's too serious, but sometimes he can't get it loose,” Greg Gard said after the game, according to an article from 247Sports. “So, once he came out it was bothering him, so he just decided it was gonna be it. Today, we have four days here, and it's been getting better, but, for tonight he couldn't get it loose early in the game. … It's a lower leg, lower leg, yeah.”
Other than that, everything was positive for the Badgers on Tuesday night. After blowing a late 15-point lead against Oregon over the weekend, Wisconsin needed this.
“Yeah, I think from start to finish across the board, everybody was aggressive,” Greg said. “We were in attack mode, from start to finish. I'll go through the film and see all of the possessions, but, I don't think we ever really relented, or backed off. Even when we had a large lead, it was a mindset to continue to attack in timeouts, and play aggressively. To be able to do it for that long of a stretch was good. We didn't do it for that long of a stretch on Saturday, and…lesson learned.”
Despite the brutal loss to the Ducks a few days ago, the Badgers are still one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten right now, and they still have a chance to win the regular season crown. Wisconsin didn't get here overnight.
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“Well, I think you know, there are a lot of people that have helped this program get to where it is with the sustainability and consistency that we've had, over the last 25-plus years,” Gard said. “I think as we've gone through a lot of our evolution offensively, it gets a lot of attention, but we've also understood the foundation of this place, and what works here, and stayed true to that. Even though we've morphed and evolved with some things, you understand what it takes to win in this league, and win consistently.”
Greg Gard gave the credit to his entire staff for what this Wisconsin team has been able to accomplish so far this season.
“And, a lot encompasses that. So, that is a credit to my staff, I've got a phenomenal staff,” Gard continued. “Obviously, we have a really really good program here, an unbelievably sound foundation, and our players are the leaders of it. We've had great players come through here, but, your player-led teams are always better than your coach-led teams. They take a lot of pride in this place, like players and coaches of the past, so it's just our opportunity in this time frame to keep pushing this forward, and raising the bar.”
There is still a lot left on the table for the Wisconsin basketball team this year. They are now 22-6 overall after the win against Washington, and 12-5 in Big Ten play. The Badgers are 1.5 games back of Michigan and Michigan State for first place, and their next game is on the road against the Spartans on Sunday.
