The Wisconsin Badgers finished atop the Big Ten standings as the season closed last week due to rampant concerns surrounding public health and safety.
The team had amazing plays through the season that catapulted them into contention for the conference crown, including an amazing eight game winning streak that sealed the deal.
With this year now in the rear view mirror, let's look back at some of the key plays that defined the 2019-2020 season.
Honorable mention: Reverse layup fun (1/3/20)
On the road in a hostile environment, true freshman Tyler Wahl delivered one of his best games, and gave a glimpse of what he can do.
Using Brad Davison and his defender as a natural pick, Wahl was able to get around the corner, and then finished a reverse layup in traffic that was magical. The Badgers were trailing by seven points at the time, and he was able to get a run started that propelled the team to triumph.
This individual play was too good to not make the list.
Tyler Wahl sneaks a B1G move underneath for @BadgerMBB. pic.twitter.com/7vl8tkOjsB
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) January 4, 2020
No. 10: Alley-oop time on Michigan State (2/1/20)
Wisconsin had everything going in the first half against Michigan State. That trend only continued in the first 30 seconds of the second as well.
On the opening possession of the second half, Greg Gard drew up a set play that worked to perfection. Aleem Ford and Brevin Pritzl shielded the defense, and Tyler Wahl tossed the alley, Nate Reuvers finished the oop.
Wisconsin would barely hold on to win this game, feeding off the crowds energy throughout. In one of the biggest wins of the season, this alley-oop was huge, after all the Badgers only won by a single point.
Just as he did in the first half.@Reuvers35 | @BadgerMBB pic.twitter.com/olFrc9KInz
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) February 1, 2020
No. 9: Rebound and trey ball by Brevin Pritzl (11/17/19)
On their home court, Wisconsin was able to take down a feisty Marquette team early in the season.
During the contest, Brevin Pritzl delivered the play of the game. After grabbing a tough offensive rebound, he was able to pass the ball out to D’Mitrik Trice, then recover back to the three-point arc to create more spacing for the offense. Pritzl then was able to catch the feed from Trice in rhythm and nail a three-pointer.
Try spinning around in a circle for five seconds and making a three-pointer, because that was essentially was he did. What a play.
Rebound ✅
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) November 17, 2019
Pass while falling to the floor ✅
3-pointer ✅@LilB_Pritz1 did it all for @BadgerMBB here. pic.twitter.com/RAWQFdtRVP
No. 8: Trevor Anderson & Aleem Ford team up (2/18/20)
In the first half against Purdue, Trevor Anderson delivered a beauty of a bounce pass off the shot fake. The recipient, Aleem Ford, sealed the deal by throwing down a huge two-handed dunk to energize the crowd.
This play was characteristic of this years Wisconsin team, as the ball movement and unselfishness was much improved over the final month of the season.
Aleem the Dream. @BadgerMBB extends a first-half lead: pic.twitter.com/Q3rBHzH71E
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 19, 2020
No. 7: D’Mitrik Trice no look + Potter dunk (2/27/20)
This may have been the best pass of the season, and D’Mitrik Trice had some seriously amazing passes.
Coming off of the ball screen, Trice was able to sling the one-handed pass to Potter for the flush. Not only was the pass right off the bounce, but it was with his off hand through traffic. Micah Potter cleaned up from there, but the pass was what made this play.
Wisconsin would go on to take down Michigan on the road, a team that was ranked No. 19 at the time, and came in riding a winning streak.
Trice throwing touchdown passes to his TE Potter tonight.@BadgerMBB pic.twitter.com/v9Nty5cP7H
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) February 28, 2020
No. 7: Bounce-pass + slam over Rutgers (2/23/20)
This play was not nearly as important in the grant scheme of things as the plays that will come, but it sure was impressive.
In transition, D’Mitrik Trice drops the soft dime to Micah Potter who is able to elevate and do the rest, laying down a huge one-handed slam to punctuate the Wisconsin win.
Ever wonder why his Twitter handle is @BigJam_23?
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) February 23, 2020
Here's why: pic.twitter.com/TZ6FzZ5fvR
No. 6: Hustle play triple against Minnesota (3/1/20)
This play was definitely more wild than No. 4, but it falls a spot behind because it wasn’t the biggest play in it’s own game.
In a chaotic series of events, Brad Davison tips a loose ball to D’Mitrik Trice, who is able to find a wide open Brevin Pritzl for gigantic corner three-pointer to give the Badgers the lead.
Wisconsin had hit some serious roadblocks in the game against Minnesota, but this hustle play was indicative of how hard the Badgers fought and clawed their way to victory. Pritzl’s three-point was absolutely huge in the moment, as the Badgers got huge home win over the Gophers.
You almost knew it was going in.
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) March 2, 2020
Brevin Pritzl hits the big 3 to put @BadgerMBB back in the lead. pic.twitter.com/6j0aOrZyIg
No. 5: Brad Davison triple to beat the buzzer (2/15/20)
In the first half against Nebraska, the Badgers struggled. Trailing for most of the half, Brad Davison took matters into his own hands. Davison was able to hit a last second three as time expired in the first half to take momentum into the locker room.
That slight lead that Davison created was the catalyst for a 17 point victory on the road against the Cornhuskers, in what proved to be big win.
Brad Davison got range range.
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) February 15, 2020
It's a @BadgerMBB deep bucket and a lead to close the half: pic.twitter.com/FcXi1QNgw4
No. 4: Brevin Pritzl three off the inbounds vs OSU (1/3/20)
This play was far from flashy, but the timing was impeccable.
On a set inbounding play with only a minute to play, on the road, against the No. 5 team in the country at the time, Brevin Pritzl delivered. The lone senior in the rotation drained a vital three-pointer with the shot clock down to eight seconds to take a two point advantage, and the rest is history.
Wisconsin would go on to knock off Ohio State in one of their biggest wins of the season, in what was only their second road win of the year at the time.
Brevin Pritzl 3 points here helps @BadgerMBB get the upset and their first signature win of the season. pic.twitter.com/EbV3t1o2Lh
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) January 4, 2020
No. 3: Nate Reuvers blocks Daniel Oturu for the win (3/1/20)
On a night where Daniel Oturu was able to do almost anything he wanted offensively, the Gophers turned to him in the final seconds down one point. Nate Reuvers wasn’t having any of it though. The junior forward held his ground, and blocked the all-conference performer. Brevin Pritzl was then able to snag the rebound, and the rest is history.
In rivalry game against his hometown team, Reuvers had the best defensive play of his life, and it was a big reason for the Badgers narrow win over Minnesota.
The block that helped @BadgerMBB hold off rival Minnesota. pic.twitter.com/iOJulgtFNs
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) March 2, 2020
No. 2: Micah Potter stellar effort late against Indiana (3/7/20)
In a must win game for a share of the Big Ten conference crown, Micah Potter shouldered some serious load in the final five minutes. Playing with four fouls, Potter had a critical and-one, then came back on the next offensive possession to grab a huge second chance rebound that was passed out for a dagger three-pointer by Brad Davison.
Micah Potter had such an impact on the game against Indiana in this stretch, that the rules for plays just went out the window. He gets to combined two that happened back-to-back.
This one was massive.@BigJam_23 | @BadgerMBB pic.twitter.com/xRF5uexczm
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) March 7, 2020
Brad Davison has had some big @BadgerMBB baskets this year.
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 7, 2020
Here's the latest: pic.twitter.com/7kPyVI7MqC
No. 1: Brad Davison takes down Maryland (1/14/20)
Ok, so technically this is two plays, but they came consecutively, and were both by Brad Davison. The junior guard had the wherewithal to throw the ball off the inbounder on a defensive steal, and then proceeded to nail the game winning triple. This crazy string of events was undoubtedly the top play of the season, and absolutely brought down the house at the Kohl Center.
Not only did this play secure a huge home win over Maryland, but this ultimately was key to Wisconsin earning the No. 1 overall seed in the conference tournament. For that, a tip of the cap Brad.
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
Poll
What was the top play of the season?
This poll is closed
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69%
Brad Davison final 15 seconds against Maryland
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4%
Micah Potter against Indiana
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2%
Nate Reuvers block against Minnesota
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0%
Brevin Pritzl clutch three against OSU
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0%
Brad Davison buzzer beater at Nebraska
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3%
Crazy Pritzl three against Minnesota
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3%
Micah Potter throwdown vs Rutgers
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1%
Trice no look pass for the dunk at Michigan
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11%
Aleem Ford two-handed slam versus Purdue
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0%
Pritzl hustle and three against Marquette
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0%
Wahl to Reuvers alley-oop
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0%
Wahl reverse layup