BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
ST. LOUIS — After a hard day at the office, Bronson Koenig had ice on both knees.
"I knew it would be like that," the junior point guard was saying after Friday's alley fight in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. "But not quite like THIS."
THIS was a throwback to the 40's.
Wisconsin 47, Pittsburgh 43.
"I mean, geez, it was easily the most physical game that we've played this year," Koenig said. "I got bumped a few times and earlier in the season that might have been called a foul.
"But in this game, they (the officials) let us play and it's a little more fun. I liked it."
Koenig definitely liked the result since the Badgers have survived and advanced.
On Sunday night, they will answer the bell for Round 2 against Xavier.
"This team has come so far," Koenig said, nodding his head in approval of its growth since mid-December when Greg Gard took over the program from Bo Ryan.
"Our confidence never wavered when shots weren't going in. We just knew that we had to clamp down defensively and make plays in the last couple of minutes which we did.
"Earlier in the season, we might not have been mature enough and resilient enough to do this."
This was a throwback to the '40s.
The 1940s.
In 1941, Wisconsin held off Pittsburgh, 36-30, in the NCAA East Regional title game even though its two best players, All-American's John Kotz and Gene Englund, were a combined 5-of-29.
Fast-forward to Friday when Koenig and Nigel Hayes were 4-of-25.
"If we're not going to make a shot," Hayes said, "we don't want them to make a shot, either."
Jordan Hill was seated across from him in the locker room and seconded that notion.
"You have to always hang your hat on defense," Hill said.
"If they never score, you never lose," Hayes added with a grin. "It's kind of our motto."
Wisconsin shot 32.1 percent and Pittsburgh shot 37.5 percent.
It was hard scoring in part because of all the contact that was allowed in contesting shooters.
The intensity reminded Hayes of physical battles with Michigan State and Purdue.
"I would say I'm a pretty built guy, I wouldn't call me soft," he said. "But there were a lot of times I'm driving to the rim and there were some calls that maybe I should have gotten.
"It just shows the physicality of the game. If the refs are consistent, that's all we care about. If they let us play both ways, that's fine. If they call it ticky-tacky both ways, that's fine.
"As long as they're consistent — which they were — then that's something we have to adjust to."
Pitt landed the first punch with a 13-3 run to open the game and extended its lead to 12 points (20-8) — the largest of the night — with a little over seven minutes remaining in the first half.
That's when the Badgers showed their first sign of life thanks to freshman Charlie Thomas who came off the bench and converted an Ethan Happ feed into only his second basket in the last five games.
"We were kind of sluggish," said Thomas who also pulled down a rebound and drew a foul, "and my main goal was to crash the boards, go hard and just bring energy.
"Ethan got doubled and found me wide open in the paint and it set me up for an easy basket and it set up a little run that we went on."
The Badgers finished the half on an 8-2 run.
"Charlie gave us that little spark," Koenig said. "It just shows how much guys have matured."
"It's the little steps," Thomas suggested, "that get you to the top."
"And that run," Koenig went on, "was a big confidence boost when shots weren't going in."
The Badgers carried the momentum into the second half and took their first lead (25-24) on a Happ dunk off a spin move to the rim. It was a rarity, too, Happ dunking.
"I think it was his first one," Koenig jested. "I thought his knees were too sore to dunk."
The Panthers picked up some fouls early in the half and had trouble containing Happ.
"He took advantage of them not doubling him in the post," Koenig said. "He made them pay."
With 11:37 to play, though, Gard was forced to call a timeout after Pitt regained control of the low possession game with an 8-2 run that pushed the Panthers into a 34-29 lead.
With 6-6 Chris Jones draped all over him, Koenig responded with his first and only basket and that helped trigger the comeback for the Badgers.
"It was the end of the shot clock, so I tried to create some space and let it fly," Koenig said. "They were denying me the ball really hard. Off ball screens, they doubled to get it out of my hands."
Koenig contributed in other ways despite scoring just two points. He had one assist and zero turnovers in 36 minutes. He also had a couple of steals and a career-high seven rebounds.
None was bigger than when he ran down his own miss to extend a possession that ended with a Vitto Brown triple that put the Badgers back in front, 42-40, a lead that they never relinquished.
Brown was clutch again going 3-of-5 from beyond the 3-point arc. He has three triples in each of the last three games, a stretch during which he has made 9 of his last 13 shots from distance.
Brown was equally proud of his defense. At the start of the second half, he locked up Pitt's Jamel Artis and forced a shot clock violation.
On the previous possession, Hill had forced James Robinson into a difficult shot. These defensive stops were characteristic of the effort that Gard got all night, especially on Robinson and Young.
Robinson made 3 of his first 5 field goal attempts and scored six of Pitt's first 10 points. He finished the game by missing his last 10 shots while Young was held to six points, 10 under his average.
The Badgers outrebounded the Panthers, 21-16, in the second half. That was also huge, particularly in the closing minutes when they made more plays in the clutch than Pitt.
"It has helped us to play some close games in the past," Koenig reasoned.
Which will allow them to play again here Sunday.
"One game at a time," Hayes concluded with a faint smile. "That's all you're guaranteed."
It's kind of their motto.
