BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
ST. LOUIS — Prior to The Shot — Bronson Koenig's cold-blooded step-back triple from the corner pocket — there was The Run and The Charge.
They all factored into Wisconsin's dramatic comeback victory over No. 2-seeded Xavier here Sunday night and propelled the Badgers into the Sweet 16 for a fifth time in the last six years.
"I told them before the tip," said Nigel Hayes, sharing the message that he delivered to his teammates, "'Believe that we're going to win this game and go out and play like it.'
"Throughout the whole game, I could see in everyone's eyes that there was no doubt that we were going to win."
But a number of things had to fall into place for it to happen:
The Run
With 6:19 left to play, and Xavier leading by nine points, 58-49, its biggest lead of the night, Hayes picked up his fourth personal foul and took a seat on the bench.
Compounding the situation, Vitto Brown also had four fouls and Ethan Happ had three. Both had been instrumental in keeping the Badgers close to the Musketeers, a heavy favorite.
"It was only a three-possession game," rationalized UW coach Greg Gard. "I thought if we could chip four off that and get to where it was within five that, within the last minute and a half or so, we would have a chance. We had to make plays."
Happ attacked the rim, drew a foul and sank a couple of free throws. Koenig did likewise. Happ then poked the ball loose for a steal and Zak Showalter converted on a run-out.
Xavier 59, Wisconsin 55.
"We're never out of it," Showalter said of the team's mindset while rallying. "We've been in games where the situation looked even worse for us and we pulled it out. We had to get something quick. It's a credit to Ethan. He initiated that. I saw an alley and took it."
After the Musketeers' talented guard Edmond Sumner scored on a layup, Jordan Hill countered by slashing off the right wing on the dribble and finishing at the rim. Hill, Khalil Iverson, Charlie Thomas and Alex Illikainen each contributed a little something off the bench.
"The bench was really solid tonight, not necessarily by scoring a lot," said UW assistant coach Howard Moore, "but by just giving us solid minutes and making solid plays."
With 2:09 remaining, Happ scored on a put-back. Hayes cut into the deficit some more by making one of two free throws before Sumner got loose for another layup with 31 seconds left.
Xavier 63, Wisconsin 60.
"At the beginning of the year," Showalter said, "we were in a lot of close games that we didn't pull out. Now we're comfortable in these situations and we just find a way."
In Friday night's slugfest against Pitt, Koenig had been blanked (0-for-2) from beyond the 3-point arc snapping a 43-game streak in which he had made at least one triple, a school record.
Koenig, in fact, had made only 3 of his last 19 shots from beyond the arc, including two early misses, before splashing back-to-back triples against the Musketeers' 1-3-1 zone in the first half.
"Even though he didn't shoot well against Pitt (1-of-8 overall), he had that swagger at our shootaround," Moore pointed out. "It was like he said, 'To heck with it. I'm just going to shoot my shots and I'm going to shoot them with confidence. I'm just going to play.'"
With 14 seconds left, Koenig drained a deep 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Xavier 63, Wisconsin 63.
That punctuated The Run, a 14-5 spurt for Wisconsin.
"I was pretty disappointed in myself, just the way I've been playing, not only the way I was shooting," Koenig said, "but I haven't been the floor general, the facilitator that I can be."
Yet he never lost faith in his shot.
The Charge
Just about everybody knew that Xavier would keep the ball in the hands of Sumner, who has blow-by explosiveness to the rim. Hill attempted to simulate him on the scout team.
"That dude is so fast," Hill said. "It's hard to believe that he's that quick."
But Showalter had guarded him from the start of the game, tagging off with Hill when he needed a breather. So he had a good feel for his speed and athleticism.
A handful of possessions earlier, Showalter had drawn Xavier's leading scorer, Trevon Bluiett, on a switch and Bluiett had beaten him off the bounce but missed a layup.
"When we had a timeout," said Paris, who compiled the scouting report on the Musketeers, "I told Showy, "You were playing him (Bluiett) on the wrong side. He drove and missed but we've got to play those guys on their right hand."
That's what Showalter would do against Sumner on Xavier's final offensive possession.
"He was going right all game," Showalter said. "I anticipated it. I knew he was going to try and attack with his right hand so I just tried to take that away the best I could it and luckily it paid off."
Sumner and Showalter collided and Sumner was called for the charge.
"Showy timed it right and got hit right in the chest, that was a charge," emphasized Hill, who has been victimized by Showalter in practice that same way. "It's really annoying actually."
He was kidding.
"That's why the kid is on the floor and why he is in the program," Gard said of Showalter, who now has taken 16 charges on the season. "It's the toughness he brings and the glue that he is…."
Added Hayes, "Most teams probably end up fouling that guy (Sumner) or he ends up getting a shot off. We have Showy and he takes a charge and gives us the ball back again."
The Shot
Gard was contemplating calling a timeout immediately following the foul on Sumner.
"But Nigel came running over to me and said, 'Hey, let's advance it and then take it,'" Gard related. "I said, 'All right, we'll do that.'"
How many head coaches would be too stubborn to listen to a player in that situation?
"We obviously have a better chance of shooting the ball on our side of the court than theirs," Hayes said. "So I sprinted over to him (Gard) and said, 'Don't call it, don't call it.'"
Gard listened. It's one of his strengths. Happ inbounded to Koenig, who dribbled into the front court and called the timeout with 2 seconds on the clock.
"When we were drawing up the play (in the huddle)," Hayes said, "we were all like, 'This shot is going in. One of us is going to make this basket; whether it's Bronson or myself, the ball is going in.'"
Just before play resumed, Hayes and Koenig crossed paths on the floor. Both smiled.
"We kind of looked at each other — that confident look," Hayes said, "because we knew this was the moment that we've been waiting for."
Before each game, Hayes and Koenig will go one-on-one during warmups.
"And I've seen him hit that shot 3,000 times when we're warming up," Hayes said, "so I had all the confidence in the world in him."
The Badgers had a couple of options on the final possession. Hayes was one of them.
"I was going to try and catch the ball in the 15-foot area," Hayes explained, "and try to either turnaround or quick drive to draw a foul and get to the free throw line."
But Xavier doubled Hayes with Bluiett and Myles Davis.
Koenig went up to Happ, the inbounder, and told him that he wanted the ball.
"Pass to me if I'm open," he said.
Hayes had also approached Happ with the same wish.
"That's something special," Happ said, "to have two leaders that want the ball when it's crunch time."
Happ had a passing lane along the boundary and fed the ball to Koenig, who darted into the right corner and launched a shot over Remy Abell, a former Indiana Hoosier and Xavier's best defender.
"I kind of pre-set what I was going to do in my head," Koenig said. "Just a step-back corner 3. That's something I practice quite a bit. It felt great coming off my hands and I knew it was going in."
So did Showalter.
"I had the perfect angle, I was right under the basket," he said. "I knew it was going in the whole time. I've seen him make a lot of big shots, none bigger than that one. That kid has a flair for the dramatic and he definitely showed it tonight."
Koenig wasn't sure how to respond when asked about his "flair for the dramatic." So he hesitated before admitting, "I like to have the ball in my hands in those kind of situations because I believe in myself and I know my coaches and teammates believe in me."
That belief is what Hayes was talking about and encouraging before tipoff.
"Guys really believe now that we're going to win," he said. "There's no, 'I hope we can win, I hope that shot goes in.' We're all thinking, 'We're going to play to win and we believe we can win.'
"For us to be on the way to Philly for the Sweet 16, I'm just really proud of the guys and the way they've grown and matured and gained confidence in themselves."
The Badgers will play Notre Dame on Friday night in Philadelphia.
"The adversity made us grow up," Hill said of the early-season struggles. "We got past the losses, we shook them off and we learned from them most importantly.
"That helped us to where we never count ourselves out, never doubt, even when we were down and the tide seemed to be against us. We can do anything that we put our minds to."
