Last but not least, lets take a quick look at the Wisconsin basketball team. The Badgers currently sit at 12-4, 1-2 in the B1G. The amazing thing with the losing record though is that Wisconsin has lost both home conference games against MSU and Iowa. Bo Ryan has a 59-2 home record now against B1G non-ranked teams. They handled Nebraska on the road the opening night, but since have lost 2 heart breakers. Michigan is next up for the not-so honey Badgers. It is a tough opening stretch for Wisconsin, especially since they have already fallen to Iowa. They have 2 tough road games in a row, where going 1-1 will be a good accomplishment. The preseason team that most people expected to challenge Ohio St will likely be sitting at 2-3 or even 1-4 to start conference play.
Offensively has been where the Badgers have struggled in their 4 losses so far this year. They have a tendency to rely on the outside jump shot, and when it is not falling they are in an offensive stalemate. Wisconsin was 3-28 from 3 pointers during the Iowa loss. They shot more threes than Michigan has in any game this season, and we are the team known for living or dying by the 3. Jordan Taylor was a preseason All-American and player of the year candidate, but so far his performances have been uninspiring. Even though Wisconsin lost a large chunk of their scoring from last year’s team, Taylor is hesistant to take over games like he did last year. He is taking less shots/ game so far, and has been relying on the 3 pointer more than an average shooter should. He is stronger and quicker than a lot of guards he will face this season, but for some reason the Badgers have not been looking to work him in the post. He busted out against Michigan St, scoring 28 doing everything to keep the game within reach, but the problem is they only scored 60 and he was the only one in double digits. One time McDonalds All-American Ryan Evans has been steadily improving since an inconsistent 2010-2011 season. He is an extremely athletic power forward who can run the floor like a 2 guard. The problem is that Wisconsin has yet to figure out how to use his athleticism. They are used to having a power forward who can spread the defense by shooting long range shots (exactly like Smot can do for us). This player is usually not extremely quick, but is very smart and plays within himself and will knock down the open shot. This year when Taylor does decide to take someone off the dribble, Evans is forced to move to the perimeter, a place where he is not comfortable. While Wisconsin still has the gumpy white kids that can hit threes, Taylor has lost his favorite target after driving into the lane. Defenses are able to pack the paint a little more this year than in previous. While Bruesewitz, Berggren and Gasser (backboard game winner against us last year) can still hit the 3, the overall team percentage has decreased because the Badgers are still learning how to utilize their new parts.
Wisconsin thrives on the defensive end, like most B1G teams do. When they are a top 10 team, their defense will be in the top 5 of the nation. They make up for the lack of athleticism by playing at one of the slowest tempos in college, playing very physical, and also rebounding at one of the highest efficiencies in the conference. No matter how athletic the team is that they are playing, Wisconsin will force them to play at a slow tempo. Reducing the amount of possessions is the key for Wisconsin to keep games close and only need to score in the 60s to win. Wisconsin will always struggle when they play a team that shoots lights out from the field, since scoring 70 for the Badgers is a rarity. Iowa seemed to not miss a shot in the second half to pull off the upset. Also, this year’s team is not rebounding as well as they normally do. It could be a very disappointing B1G season for Wisconsin if the rebounding efficiency does not improve. Wisconsin plays a man to man defense, that has some zone tendencies. They normally do not have a shot blocker on the floor to funnel drive to, so instead the guards use great body positioning to funnel the dribbler to the corners of the floor. They rotate extremely well, and very seldom give up the baseline drive. Wisconsin will not be beaten by dribble drives, you will need to perfect the passing game. Since they are not the most athletic team we will face, they usually do not over-play passes, making the back cut likely ineffective.
Michigan matches up well with Wisconsin, even before the 1-2 start I thought Michigan had a good chance of beating the Badgers on our home floor. We have a much more athletic team. Trey Burke will really struggle in guarding a bigger stronger point guard, and Taylor will likely have over 20 points unless we switch Novak on him once in a while to give him a different look. If Wisconsin gets into a shooting rhythm with their big guys it could be a tough game to win. Smot will have a very tough matchup with Evans. If they attack him, he could see the bench early and often with foul trouble. If this happens, look for Wisconsin to have the upper hand. Wisconsin usually plays well against Michigan, and Bo Ryan seems to have Beileins number (only B1G team that Beilein hasn’t beaten yet). Again, Wisconsin has nobody that can cover Hardaway one on one, so he needs to step up and be aggressive early on to put some pressure on Wisconsin to switch into a zone. If this happens, we need to pass the ball effectively side to side to set up open looks. When we get these open looks, we need to knock them down. I think Morgan can have a big game, especially on the rebounding side of things. Burke will need to force Taylor to play defense, to hopefully tire him a little. The Badgers have a very weak bench that goes only 2-3 deep. If we can get out in transition at all, it will be fun to test their conditioning. I think we have an advantage this weekend playing at home, and this year we do not have to travel to the Kohl’s Center.
Wisconsin’s conference schedule is very favorable this year, so this team should be able to get to 10 conference wins. Although starting 1-4 could make that a challenge. The Badgers should make the NCAA tourney easily again, but I don’t see them as being a deep or athletic enough team to win the B1G tourney or make series noise in the NCAA tourney... but it is a long ways away.
No comments:
Post a Comment