The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team has now closed the final chapter on their 2019-2020 season that resulted in a Big Ten Championship.
The team endured the highest of highs and some very low moments. Through it all they put together some amazingly gritty performances that were capped off by individual efforts that helped the team win.
Let’s look back at the top overall games put together by individual players this season according to our arbitrary and not all knowing minds at B5Q.
No. 10: Brad Davison late game heroics: Maryland (1/14/20)
Davison’s statline of 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting does not appear on the surface nearly up to snuff with the rest of this list. However, peeling back to the final 20 seconds of that game, and it makes the cut.
Down at the time, Davison stole the inbounds pass in opposing territory and threw it off the inbounder, and went on to nail a colossal three-pointer to win the game.
Davison also brought down three boards during the game, but what he did in the waning moments of that game was so crazy in person that it carried his effort onto this list. To be honest, this could easily be the top spot.
With Maryland beating Michigan today, Wisconsin is now locked in as the #1 seed for the Big Ten Tournament.
— George Balekji NBC15 (@GeorgeBalekji) March 8, 2020
A good time to revisit Brad Davison closing the game for the Badgers over Maryland back in January, that shaped the B1G tourney seeding today.pic.twitter.com/80oTBI489d
No. 9: Nate Reuvers near triple-double vs Eastern Illinois (11/8/19)
Against the short frontline of Eastern Illinois, Nate Reuvers cleaned up. The big man helped steady the ship as the Panthers made the game much more interesting than previously expected.
For the game Reuvers tallied 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting, grabbing his season high 14 boards, and adding in a ridiculous nine blocks. Statistically, this game was one of the best outputs of the season, but against far inferior competition it is hard to justify higher than ninth.
Nate Reuvers of @BadgerMBB earned #B1GMBBall Player of the Week after averaging a double-double with 18 points & 10 rebounds per game along with 6.5 blocks per game vs. # 20 Saint Mary’s (Calif.) and Eastern Illinoishttps://t.co/89f4ji5ihA pic.twitter.com/rN4Ny9VYZg
— Big Ten Men's Hoops (@B1GMBBall) November 11, 2019
No. 8: Brevin Pritzl leads the Badgers over Ohio State (2/9/20)
Against Ohio State, Wisconsin had the scoring numbers spread out fairly evenly, except for Brevin Pritzl. The senior was everywhere against the Buckeyes.
Pritzl had a team high 19 points, 15 of which came from three-point land, and also added five rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes of play. Pritzl was a huge boost to the team that afternoon, and really all season long at times.
Brevin Pritzl scored 19 points to help lead @BadgerMBB to a 70-57 win over Ohio State. pic.twitter.com/E1DFyZkKO3
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) February 9, 2020
No. 7: Nate Reuvers pushes the Badgers over Ohio State (1/3/20)
In an extremely close road game, Nate Reuvers carried the team to victory.
While he did not shoot particularly well, Reuvers was phenomenal at the charity stripe making 10-of-12, on his way to lead the team with 17 points, and nine rebounds.
The team as a whole struggled with shooting, but Reuvers not only shouldered the load from the free throw line, but he also matched up with Kaleb Wesson all night long, outplaying him for the win on the road over the then ranked No. 5 team in the country.
Nate Reuvers just 1 board shy of a double-double with 17 pts, 9 reb
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) January 4, 2020
Plenty of candidates for Player of the Game in last night’s road win at #5 Ohio State
Who gets your game ball? #OnWisconsin » #Badgers pic.twitter.com/bah2V2QUCz
No. 6: D’Mitrik Trice drops 31 versus Milwaukee (12/21/19)
Against the in-state Panthers, D’Mitrik Trice took over. The junior point guard dropped 31 points on 11-14 shooting, including a balmy 5-of-6 from deep. Everything was working for him that day inside the Kohl Center, as he added in five rebounds and three assists as well.
D'Mitrik Trice with a big game! Trice recorded 31 points 5 rebounds and 3 assist to put the Badgers over Milwaukee 83-64 #Ohiomade pic.twitter.com/yV2IEE9utt
— Push Sports Group (@PUSHSportsGroup) December 23, 2019
No. 5: Aleem Ford pushes Wisconsin over Purdue (2/18/20)
In a highly contested matchup against Purdue, Aleem Ford put together one of his best games of the season. Purdue’s size inside was tough of the tea all day long, but Ford held his own. The forward had a team high 19 points on better than 60% shooting, with five three-point makes. He also snagged a team high seven rebounds, three of which came on the offensive end to help the Badgers win a nail biter.
Aleem Ford scored 19 points to lead @BadgerMBB to a 69-65 win over Purdue. pic.twitter.com/uuSljt8KqN
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) February 19, 2020
No. 4: Brad Davison and Wisconsin beats Minnesota (3/1/20)
A big-time Sunday tip-off with rival Minnesota was too close for comfort throughout. The Gophers blew out the Badgers a few weeks earlier, but Brad Davison wasn’t having it in the second game.
Not only did Davison lead the team in points with 20, but he also led the squad with seven rebounds, and added five assists to finish off the Gophers in a narrow win.
Davison was also responsible for guarding Payton Willis, who torched the team earlier in the year, and he held him to only three points.
Brad Davison beats the buzzer for the #Badgers to take a three-point lead into halftime. The Minnesota native his three of his last four shots to lead all scorers with 13 points at the break. pic.twitter.com/AZwf6aEq8P
— George Balekji NBC15 (@GeorgeBalekji) March 2, 2020
No. 3: Brad Davison drops 30 against Nebraska (2/15/20)
Riding a winning streak, the Badgers took their talents to Lincoln and did not disappoint. Junior guard Brad Davison was the shining star that afternoon.
Davison was on fire against the Cornhuskers, shooting 11-of-17 from the field, but more importantly making an insane 8-of-11 from distance. In total he had 30 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Nothing went wrong for him that day, nothing.
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) February 15, 2020
FIFTEEN 3s (road school record)
Brad Davison with 30 points alone
Top Plays from our win at Nebraska#OnWisconsin » #Badgers pic.twitter.com/MjxIzDg8t2
No. 2: D’Mitrik Trice helps Wisconsin top Michigan (2/27/20)
Playing 35 minutes against one of the best points guards in the Big Ten, D’Mitrik Trice ate. While Trice played extremely well over the final eight games of the season, the Michigan game was his most impressive game statistically.
Against the Wolverines, Trice scored a team high 28 points, making 5-of-6 three-pointers, as well as dishing out four assists.
With this game being so important, Trice raised his game at the perfect time to get the road win.
It was D’Mitrik Trice's night.
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) February 28, 2020
Highlights from the @BadgerMBB win at Michigan: pic.twitter.com/MICAuAGdEZ
No. 1: Micah Potter double-double against Penn State (1/11/20)
Penn State was near the top of the Big Ten for most of the season, but that didn’t stop the Badgers, from stealing a road win from the Nittany Lions. A big reason for the win was the stellar play of Micah Potter. Against Penn State, Micah Potter had 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including four three-pointers. He also hauled in a team high 13 rebounds. He accounted for over 40% of the team’s points that night, in a huge road victory.
Wisconsin earned their 13th straight win over Penn State today! B1G 24 point performance from Micah Potter coming off the bench. @BadgerMBB pic.twitter.com/KC12jqdZ3F
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) January 11, 2020
Having watched every minute of the games this year helps in curating a list of top performances, but undoubtedly I will have missed some. The order of this was hard to determine, so vote for your favorite below!
Poll
What was the top individual performance of the season?
This poll is closed
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14%
Potter’s 24 points 13 rebounds against Penn State
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12%
Trice’s 28 points over Michigan
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0%
Brad Davison’s 30 points at Nebraska
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0%
Davison has 20-7-5 against Minnesota
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42%
Aleem Ford pushes the Badgers over Purdue
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0%
Trice takes down Milwaukee with 31 points
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0%
Reuvers 17 and 9 take down No. 5 OSU
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3%
Brevin Pritzl leads the way over Ohio State
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0%
Reuvers almost triple-double
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23%
Brad Davison crushes the last 20 seconds against Maryland