Badgers and Buckeyes Back At It

Wisconsin and Ohio State might not have the history, but right about now there may not be a better two-sport rivalry in college sports. Saturday’s matchup between the 3^rd-ranked Buckeyes (7-2 Big Ten, 19-3 Overall) and the 19^th-ranked Badgers (7-3 Big Ten, 18-5 Overall) is made that much special with first place in the Big Ten being on the line.

“Obviously it’s a big game. We know the magnitude of it,” UW senior guard Jordan Taylor said. “But you don’t prepare for it any differently.”

Clearly the key for UW is stopping Ohio State sophomore center Jared Sullinger. A future NBA lottery pick, Sullinger leads the Buckeyes with 17.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Though OSU does have shooters on the perimeter, their offensive approach is based upon their ability to get Sullinger the ball in the post.

At the same time, UW junior forward Jared Berggren is slowly gaining a reputation for being one of the best in the business when it comes to neutralizing the nation’s top big men. Berggren has already faced two of the best in brothers Tyler (North Carolina) and Cody (Indiana) Zeller, holding both well below their season scoring averages.

But Sullinger takes the challenge to a whole new level. Possessing the length and size of the Zellers and Illinois big man Myers Leonard, Sullinger adds another dimension in terms of athleticism, fully capable of playing away from the basket as well as he can underneath.

“He is a big kid. He’s wide, uses his feet extremely well underneath the basket,” UW junior forward Mike Bruesewitz said of Sullinger. “Defending a guy like that, you just have to make him work.”

While Berggren has done his best to slow down some big time players down low, the Badgers have done a great job as a team of preventing solid post touches from happening, keeping the scoring opportunities of these big men to a minimum. On Saturday, shutting down post passing lanes will be as important as ever.

“That’s always a part of our defense,” Taylor noted. “We just have to try to make it difficult for everyone on their team.”

In fact, both the Buckeyes and the Badgers have dominated on the defensive end this season. Wisconsin heads into Saturday with the best defense in the country, but Ohio State has crept into the 2^nd spot. In true Big Ten fashion, this seems to point toward yet another grind-it-out type contest: Ugly to the eyes, but basketball at its best.

“Both of us have good down low games and we will be banging a bit,” Gasser said. “We’ve just got to play our game and do what we can control ourselves.”

“Ohio State has definitely embraced {defense} too,” junior forward Mike Bruesewitz said. “They feel that if they play defense they will blow teams out, which they have done.”

During their current six-game win streak, the Badgers have done all the little things necessary to win. They have gotten the big rebounds, found a way to the important loose balls, and made shots when they needed them most. If UW is going add a seventh game to that streak, those little things will have to continue to go Wisconsin’s way.

“We’ve got to get every loose ball, every rebound,” Bruesewitz added. “It might be that the team with the bloodiest jersey ends up with the win.”

Less than four weeks ago Wisconsin was 1-3 in conference and on the verge of missing the NCAA Tournament. With a win Saturday, they will be atop the Big Ten at 8-3 and not only in the NCAA Tournament field, but primed for a potential top two seed. 

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