Recap: Shoddy defense and sloppy play cost Wisconsin Badgers in 74-63 loss to TCU

The University of Wisconsin overcame poor defense to steal momentum going into halftime, a chance to regroup and push toward a holiday tournament title.

Instead, the Badgers started the second half like it started the first, unable to accurately defend a team that looked hungrier than they were.

The inability to make shooters uncomfortable caused things to snowball on the Badgers, who looked punchless for long portions of its 74-63 loss to TCU in the finals of the Rady Children's Invitational at the Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego.

John Blackwell tried to shoulder the burden like Nick Boyd's 36-point effort did in the semifinals, scoring 30 points to lead all scorers. Blackwell didn't get much help. Boyd had 15 but had six of UW's season-high 17 turnovers, leading to 21 TCU points. UW also got only five points from starting frontcourt Austin Rapp and Nolan Winter (1-for-9) and six points off the bench.

More frustrating for the players, the Badgers (5-2) started and ended its three-game West Coast swing seeing bad defense cost them games.

TCU (5-2) shot 68 percent over the first 11-plus minutes of the first half and were over 71 percent in the first 10 minutes of the second half. With 10:54 remaining, four Horned Frogs starters were in double figures

Head coach Greg Gard used the word "terrible" to describe his team's defense at the game's onset. Unlike the day before where players were diving on the floor for loose balls and stopping the ball in transition, the Badgers allowed TCU's shooters to find a rhythm through dribble penetration and uncontested jump shots.

Trailing by as many as 14 in the first half, Wisconsin closed the half on a 9-0 run with Blackwell doing a little bit of everything with drives to the rim, jump stop jumpers, three-pointers, and steals.

Instead of clawing closer to even at the beginning of the second half, the Horned Frogs delivered eight straight points in the paint, taking advantage of Wisconsin being out of rotation to convert easy shots at the rim.

Forward David Punch scored 17 with tournament MVP Brock Harding adding 16 points for the Horned Frogs, which led by as many as 19 points in the second half.

What it means: Wisconsin was denied its third straight November tournament title because the Badgers were poor or inefficient in most categories. In addition to the turnovers and defense, UW finished with a season low in scoring and averaged only .863 points per possession in an all-around ugly effort.

Star of the game: Blackwell was the one UW player who constantly probed and attacked when he saw opportunities, especially in the first half when he brought the Badgers back to within four.

Stat of the game: The Horned Frogs were shooting 31.6 percent from the perimeter through the first six games but managed to go 8-for-14 from three, making one more three-pointer than the Badgers did (7-for-28).

Reason to be Concerned: Wisconsin was blown out by two Big 12 opponents in one week because of bad defensive principles. Is this a sign of things to come

Don’t overlook: Wisconsin was within 10 points with 3:24 remaining when Andrew Rohde got whistled for a technical foul following a jump ball, appearing to direct something at official Marques Pettigrew. TCU made both free throws to stymie momentum.

What’s next: Wisconsin begins Big Ten play when it hosts Northwestern on Wednesday night. The Wildcats (5-2) have alternated wins and losses over their past four games against power-conference opponents, winning neutral site games against DePaul and South Carolina and losing to Virginia and Oklahoma State. Nick Martinelli (20.6 ppg) and Arriten Page (15.0 ppg) have been an effective 1-2 punch.

Wisconsin has won six of its last seven Big Ten openers and 10 of the last 12 against the Wildcats. The tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. and will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

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