LAHAINA >> “Jump Around,” indeed.
Right around the time the recognizable House of Pain song blared within the Lahaina Civic Center, rousing hundreds of red-clad fans into rhythmic leaping, the Wisconsin basketball team went about doing something similar against Georgetown.
The No. 16 Badgers established themselves low and went up high, dominating the rebounding battle by a margin of plus-29 in a 73-57 victory over the Hoyas on Tuesday. In the process, they advanced to today’s 4:30 p.m. Maui Jim Maui Invitational championship game against No. 4 North Carolina, which beat Oklahoma State 107-75 in Tuesday’s nightcap.
“I think it’s become the identity of this team,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. “I thought they were pretty relentless tonight.”
Behind a 19-point, 15-board performance by 6-foot-10 sophomore forward Ethan Happ, the Badgers badgered the Hoyas into rushed shots and a single second-chance point.
They’ve embraced their blue-collar reputation and turned their opponents’ faces as red as Wisconsin’s road jerseys.
“When you’re tired you just gotta bust down to the block and get positioned before the shot goes up,” said Happ, who snared eight offensive boards. “That just shows how much we’re willing to work.”
Wisconsin (4-1) is already assured its best Maui finish. The Badgers of the Big Ten were fourth in 2009 and seventh in 1995.
They returned their top nine scorers from their Sweet 16 team in March. Over the past two days — they defeated Tennessee by 12 on Monday — it’s clear they’ve reached another plane of comfort playing with one another.
“They’re probably light years different,” said Georgetown coach John Thompson III, whose Hoyas (2-3) beat Wisconsin by 10 last year.
The final boards tally was a whopping 50-21, including 26-9 in the second half. Wisconsin grabbed nearly as many offensive boards (20) as Georgetown’s overall count.
“We have to get some guys that understand that it’s not just about points and minutes and care about all aspects of the game,” Thompson said with disdain. “The possession ends when you get the ball, not when a shot is taken.”
Star guard Bronson Koenig scored 20 and contributed six boards. His well-known teammate in the frontcourt, senior Nigel Hayes, struggled offensively to six points, but it didn’t even matter.
Not when Wisconsin is beating opponents on the glass by an average margin of 19.2 in five games.
Wing Khalil Iverson glided in for a tomahawk stuff under the two-minute mark, punctuating the victory and sending Wisconsin’s strong fan contingent into more jumps of joy.
“It was a great atmosphere, one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever been a part of here in Maui, the gym and everything else,” Koenig said.
Carolina has the history
The Tar Heels won Maui championships in 1999, 2004 and 2008, including the last two with coach Roy Williams. They came up short in 2012, finishing third.
UNC (6-0) enters today’s title contest against Wisconsin with an all-time Maui record of 17-3, having already broken a tie with nemesis Duke (15-0) for the most wins in the Valley Isle tourney. Carolina is 3-2 in Maui finals.
