Within 11 seconds of game time, Wisconsin forward Ethan Happ effectively ended his influence on proceedings as he headed to the bench having picked up his third and fourth fouls on consecutive possessions.
For Maryland men’s basketball, holding a 49-33 lead with under 11 minutes remaining on Jan. 14, it was a welcome sight to see the redshirt senior withdraw. Halfway through the season, Happ is averaging 18.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists. He has an outside chance at the Wooden Award, and is at the heart of what the Badgers do offensively.
But Happ had been a non-factor for much of that contest, stuck in foul trouble and dealing with double teams. He finished with 10 points, matching his season-low at the time. Without Happ, Wisconsin employed a small lineup. And the Terps struggled to adjust to it as the Badgers nearly stole a victory at Xfinity Center with lights-out shooting in the second half.
So while Happ is a formidable foe to gameplan against, the myriad of long-range shooters who nearly willed Wisconsin to a comeback last month present an interesting conundrum to Maryland: Let Happ work on forwards Bruno Fernando or Jalen Smith alone or risk leaving outside threats open with help-side defense on Happ?
“You’ve got to pick your poison,” coach Mark Turgeon said. “Are you going to let Ethan get 25 tough points or are you going to double him and let shooters shoot threes? It’s a little different in their building. We’re equipped to try a lot of things.”
[Read more: Jalen Smith’s extra strength work paid off in Maryland basketball’s win over Northwestern]
On Wisconsin’s possession prior to his third foul, Happ set a screen on the left wing and darted toward the basket. Smith had stepped up to defend guard D’Mitrik Trice, which left Happ with an open lane to the hoop. He dunked in emphatic style as forward Ricky Lindo and guard Aaron Wiggins failed to converge in time on the 6-foot-10 big man.
It was one of the few sequences where Happ exhibited his usual dominance. He and Fernando got in early foul trouble, which limited their floor time — Fernando featured for just 22 minutes, his lowest in Big Ten play this year.
“The main thing for me, more than Ethan, is keeping Bruno out of foul trouble,” Turgeon said. “So if I have to double to keep Bruno out of foul trouble or switch matchups, that’s really more important than what they’re doing. Because I think we’re a much better team when Bruno’s on the floor.”
Fernando played a major role in the Terps’ win over Northwestern on Tuesday, finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds to complete his fourth straight double-double.
[Read more: No. 21 Maryland men’s basketball bounces back in comfortable win over Northwestern, 70-52]
Against the Wildcats on Jan. 26, Happ also put together an all-around performance, good for his second triple-double this season. In addition to his 13 points, he grabbed 12 rebounds and doled out 11 assists.
“[Happ is] pretty much a guard as a big,” Smith said. “We’re just pretty much going to focus on everything that we did last game, try to hold him down and make sure that we can maintain him as best as we can.”
When Happ exited on Jan. 14 against Maryland, Wisconsin’s smaller five jumped out on a 27-13 run to close the game. The Badgers ended four points shy, 64-60, despite hitting 11 second-half threes.
About a minute after Happ’s fourth foul, forward Nate Reuvers went on a personal 8-0 run, including two of his four three-pointers among his 18 points. And Reuvers had two chances with under a minute remaining from beyond the arc — one for the lead, and one for the tie — on pick-and-pop plays. Both rimmed out, ending Wisconsin’s 21-point comeback attempt just shy.
So this time, No. 21 Maryland understands the versatility that No. 24 Wisconsin possesses — capable of scoring inside or out, with or without Happ.
“We can’t let them go on big runs,” guard Anthony Cowan said. “They have really good shooters. They have really good guards. They’re a really well-rounded team. Happ is obviously a big part, but he’s not the only part.”
