MADISON, Wis. (AP) Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes made an important adjustment this March.
The verbose forward once expressed his admiration for stenographers at the NCAA Tournament. This year, it's actress Lea Michele.
That's Hayes - always finding a way to contribute on and off the court, even while in a shooting slump.
''So if she's watching this, if she hears this, hello. I'm available,'' a straight-faced Hayes said jokingly last week during a tournament press conference in St. Louis.
The seventh-seeded Badgers lasted through the weekend, keeping alive their hopes of making a third straight trip to the Final Four.
Wisconsin is headed to Philadelphia on Friday night to play sixth-seeded Notre Dame in an East Region semifinal.
Hayes averages a team-high 15.9 points. But so far, the Badgers have advanced in the tournament despite Hayes' struggles from the field. He's 5 of 27 from the field in two NCAA games, including 0 of 11 from behind the 3-point arc.
The shooting woes carried over from the Big Ten Tournament, when Hayes was 2 of 15 from the field in a 70-58 loss to Nebraska.
Hayes said after the 66-63 victory on Sunday over Xavier that there is always room for improvement. He also noted a bright spot.
Wisconsin needed guard Bronson Koenig's buzzer-beating 3 to defeat the Musketeers in a game in which Hayes scored just six points and shot 2 of 10 from the field.
Koenig's clutch shot ''gave us that extra confidence knowing that we can still play that sub-par - our best player was poop again today - and we're still able to win games,'' said Hayes, referring to himself.
But Hayes has contributed in other ways.
Off the court, he's one of the team leaders and a provider of comic relief. He can be smart and corny at the same time. And Hayes always seems to lighten tension when the lights are bright in a press conference.
On the court, straight-arrow coach Greg Gard points to other parts of Hayes' game.
The 6-foot-8 Hayes had eight rebounds against Xavier, when he was also assigned to help cover Musketeers leading scorer Trevon Bluiett. The 6-6 Bluiett was 3 of 11 from the field for seven points, more than eight below his season average.
Against Pittsburgh, Hayes' assignments included covering 6-7 Jamel Artis or 6-9 Michael Young during a defensive-minded scrum.
Gard said Hayes' athleticism and size allow him to match up with almost anyone on the floor.
''He was not, I don't think, dedicated to the defensive end of the floor months ago,'' Gard said Monday about Hayes. ''He understands now that he can help us in that way. I think he's really understood now how important he is to our defensive scheme as a whole.''
