If you enjoy fast-paced, efficient basketball, this game was not for you.  If you enjoy points being scored, this game probably wasn’t for you either. Wisconsin and Pittsburgh struggled mightily to put the ball through the basket.  Pittsburgh shot just 37.5 percent from the floor, while Wisconsin managed just 32.1 percent.  The two teams were a combined 7-30 from the three-point line.  Free throws didn’t come too easy either.  Wisconsin made only 60 percent of their attempts, while Pitt could muster only a mere 57.1 percent from the charity stripe.  I am no mathematician, but I know enough to realize that shooting these percentages isn’t going to win you very many basketball games, especially ones in the NCAA Tournament.  With that being said, a team does have to win the game and that team turned out to be the Badgers. They fell behind early and found themselves down at halftime but battled back to eventually take the lead and hold on.  This game was very similar to the Badgers’ season as a whole.  After making the Final Four last season, Wisconsin lost its two best players Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker to the NBA and got off to a rocky start.  They then were dealt with former head coach Bo Ryan retiring mid-season.  The team was able to put the misfortunes behind them and make an improbable run to the NCAA Tournament that didn’t look possible at many times throughout the year, just like they were able to put their shooting woes behind them and advance to the round of 32 with a win.  Big Ten freshman of the year Ethan Happ led the way with a game high 15 points for Wisconsin.  

From here on out, if Wisconsin is going to keep their season alive, the ball is going to have to go through the basket a bit more than it did against Pitt.  The Badgers will play Xavier in their next game.