Badgers Not Doing The Little Things

Whether you are a Wisconsin fan or simply a fan of the game, Tuesday night’s 49-47 Badger loss to Michigan State was about as frustrating as it gets. The game slugged along with neither team hitting the 40% mark from the field and a combined six points being scored over the final 6:56.

By every account, Wisconsin should have come away with a victory. Despite shooting just 29.6% from the field, the Badgers had every opportunity to scratch out a win until missing their final five free throws in the closing minutes. Yes, UW scored just four points in the final 7:37 of the game, three on a miracle three-point shot by none other than forward Ryan Evans, and still had a chance to send the game to overtime with two free throws in the final seconds.

“Its cost us the game before and obviously it cost us the game tonight,” senior forward Mike Bruesewitz said of the free throw shooting. “We’ve got to get in the gym and start knocking them done, plain and simple. It can’t be an excuse anymore.”

Tuesday night was textbook Wisconsin basketball and the Badgers still couldn’t come away with the win.

That is why Tuesday night’s loss to Big Ten-leading Michigan State is even more worrisome than Saturday’s “upset” loss in Iowa City. Iowa has always been a difficult matchup for the Badgers and the Hawkeyes were able to dictate the pace throughout a blistering first half run that gave them an insurmountable 20-point cushion before UW could even blink.

On the other hand, the Spartans are a team Wisconsin can handle. Having successfully neutralized Michigan State’s strong front court duo of Adreian Payne and Derrick Nix (4 points, 8 rebounds combined), UW put the game on the shoulders of the sometimes-inconsistent MSU guards. Though Keith Appling and Branden Dawson each crept close to the 20-point mark, even the 37 points that duo was able to notch only left the Spartans with 49 points on the night.

Wisconsin was 78-2 under Bo Ryan when holding opponents under 50 points, so you had to like the Badgers’ chances given that effort on the defensive end. But Michigan State also had those statistics in front of them and paid no attention, instead choosing to accept they were going to be in for a rough game and to embrace it, something many teams struggle with when playing Bo Ryan’s Badgers.

“I think some teams make a mistake by trying to make Wisconsin turn up the speed of things,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. “They don’t turn it over, I don’t care who they are playing. So we said we need to make sure we play a little like them in that respect.”

Though UW has shorn up its defense to this point in the season, this remains a formula that will get the Badgers beat in conference play. No longer blessed with a talented point guard the likes of Jordan Taylor to create penetration, Wisconsin is going to be largely at the whim of its sometimes inconsistent outside shooting. That is a given and no matter what Ryan and his staff try to do, they will have a tough time scoring when the shots aren’t falling.

But more importantly, Wisconsin has to do the little things well. Michigan State beat them in this respect Tuesday night, something very few teams have been able to do during Bo Ryan’s decade at the helm of the UW program.

The Spartans did turn the ball over ten times, but UW turned it over nine times themselves, with each team capitalizing on those turnovers to the tune of nine points. Wisconsin needs to have an advantage in that regard in order to win. MSU dominated in the paint, outscoring Wisconsin 20-10 despite the poor effort from their vaunted front line.

But above all, Michigan State shot 75% from the line, making 9 of 12 chances at the charity stripe. Wisconsin was just 7-for-18 at the line, including a dismal 5-for-13 effort in the 2^nd half.

These are the little things that used to put UW teams over the top, allowing Wisconsin to compete at the highest level against teams with a distinct talent advantage. Say what you want about the guard play and the loss of leaders like Taylor and injured guard Josh Gasser, these little errors are really what have put the Badgers in such a precarious situation.

But in the absence of Taylor, perhaps Wisconsin needs a change in mentality. The back court resources available to UW do not include anyone with the experience of a player like Taylor but perhaps include one player with even more pure talent and certainly more athleticism.

Redshirt freshman George Marshall has had an up-and-down season after being named the starting point guard in Gasser’s absence. Thanks to some early struggles, not surprising for a freshman, Marshall was replaced in the starting lineup by sophomore Traevon Jackson after just six games.

Since the change was made, Marshall has seen his minutes drop dramatically and his “leash” shortened infinitely, to the point where even a single off-the-mark pass can mean an immediate and often prolonged benching. On the other hand, Jackson has been given the reigns and has been provided with a far more consistent opportunity to play through his mistakes. During the Badgers’ two-game slide, Jackson is just 3-for-19 from the field with four assists and three turnovers (I would add at least two more according to my scoring).

Yet despite his struggles Jackson has continued to stay on the court. Against Iowa he fouled out in 31 minutes of play and against MSU he was pulled with four fouls in 28 minutes. By contrast, Marshall, who scored a game-high 20 points in the 2^nd half against Iowa, has tallied just 32 minutes in the two games combined.

Both Jackson and Marshall are going to have to contribute in order for Wisconsin to make its 15^th straight NCAA Tournament appearance. In the process, both Jackson and Marshall are going to have their ups and downs, a product simply of their inexperience at the college level.

But in the end, Marshall’s athleticism and pure talent as a guard and simply as a basketball player make him the man who will be of the most help for UW long-term. Even now, Marshall has the ability to take over a game, evidenced by his performance in Iowa City, that Jackson simply doesn’t have.

For Wisconsin to get back to the top of the Big Ten ranks, Marshall is going to have to be leading the charge. Doing the little things will only get the Badgers so far, likely back to the NCAA Tournament. But if this program is to take the next step, it has to prove it can utilize talents like Marshall. He is going to make mistakes in the process but if he can make two plays for every one of those mistakes, a ratio he is more than capable of sustaining, Wisconsin will be better off both in the short-term and even more so going forward into next season and beyond.

Indiana Visits The Kohl Center With Badgers Heading Home Hot

It didn’t appear likely a few weeks ago, but Wisconsin men’s basketball returns home for its first post-break game on a four-game winning streak and just a half game out of the Big Ten lead. While it was certainly a welcome sight Sunday when the Badgers (5-3 Big Ten, 16-5 Overall) beat Illinois for their first road win over a ranked opponent since 2008, Thursday’s return to the Kohl Center is no pushover as No. 16/17 Indiana (4-4 Big Ten, 16-4 Overall) looks to hand UW its 4^th home loss for the first time since the 1995-1996 season.

Although the Hoosiers came into the season unranked, their return to national prominence after a three-year drought didn’t come as much of a surprise those who had seen them both on the court and in the recruiting world.

“They had a lot of talent returning…” sophomore guard Josh Gasser said of Indiana. “{Indiana freshman forward Cody} Zeller is a guy that came in and really boosted them over the top.”

While Zeller has come in and immediately made an impact, averaging a team-high 15.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, it has been the three-point shooting of the Hoosiers that has led them to victories over No.1 Kentucky and No. 2 Ohio State.  Indiana comes into Thursday shooting a Big Ten-best 44.9% from three-point range, bested on the national level only by Creighton’s 45.1% pace. But with the Badgers holding their opponents to a NCAA-best 35.9% from the field, something has to give.

“They have multiple guys who can shoot it, from their bigs to their guards…” Gasser said. “We just have to play to out strengths and keep them out of a rhythm.”

Although seemingly unable to find the bottom of the basket at times, Wisconsin has more than held its own from beyond the arc as well. In 21 games this season, UW has shot 37.5% from three-point range, 3^rd in the Big Ten.

Perhaps more importantly, the Badgers are a perfect 14-0 this season when shooting a better percentage from the field than their opponent, something they will no doubt look to do against Indiana. For UW head coach Bo Ryan, accomplishing that goal is just as much about defensive execution as it is about knocking down shots.

“If you are doing the best you can on {the defensive} end and you are trying to fight through slumps {offensively},” Ryan said. “Then you have a chance.”

One thing that is undeniable is the importance of knocking down free throws. Just one year after nearing setting an NCAA record last season by shooting free throws at an 81.8% clip, the Badgers have struggled mightily by their high standards. Yet, even after shooting just 60.9% over the first seven games of the season and starting Sunday’s win by missing seven of its first nine attempts, UW has managed remain over the 70% mark from the charity stripe. More importantly, Wisconsin has made free throws consistently down the stretch, icing close games at the line in Champaign as well as in West Lafayette. In fact, during the final five minutes of Big Ten games, the Badgers are shooting 78% at the line.

“We have to get back on the free throw line and be confident,” junior forward Mike Bruesewitz said. “We still shoot the ball pretty well there but its not as good as it was last year.”

Despite some bad history for IU basketball at the Kohl Center, there is no doubt that the Hoosiers have made it back to the top.

“Its good for college basketball…” Bruesewitz said. “They’ve knocked off the number one and number two teams in the country and that’s just good for the game in general.” 

But while they are much improved this season, Indiana has yet to put up a marquee road victory, something they are no doubt hoping to change on Thursday night. But in order to leave Madison with a win, the Hoosiers will have to reverse a lot of bad history on their side when it comes to playing at the Kohl Center. Since the Badgers moved to the corner of Dayton and Frances, IU has won just one game on UW turf and hasn’t left victorious with Bo Ryan at the helm for Wisconsin. The Hoosiers have struggled in general against UW of late, losing eight straight to the Badgers with the last IU victory coming in Bloomington back in 2007. That eight-game winning streak for Wisconsin over Indiana is the longest streak by a single team against the Hoosiers since Purdue capped off a nine-game run in 1935.

Finally hitting their stride as a team, it doesn’t seem that this Badger team is ready to bring that streak to an end just yet. Tipoff is at 8pm at the Kohl Center.

Badgers' Lack Of Depth Hurting Them In Conference Play

Wisconsin has never been known to have a team of superstars. The Badger men's basketball program has been resurrected out of the ashes of the 1940's powerhouse program by a philosophy first developed by Dick Bennett and then perfected by current head coach Bo Ryan; a philosophy that teams of quality, hard-working players that buy into the system can win regardless of talent level.

But chief among the tenets of that winning philosophy is the notion that depth is the best weapon against superior talent. Wisconsin has made its name as the thorn in the side of Big Ten powerhouses Ohio State, Michigan State, and Purdue by ensuring that each and every game there is someone on the Badger roster ready to step up. If the "marquee" player has an off night, someone will certainly be ready to pick up the slack and get the Badgers another ho-hum victory at home over a highly-ranked opponent. We've seen the Badgers struggle at times in this light away from home, but at the Kohl Center this mantra of depth trumping talent seems to hold true nearly every night.

Until this week. Until the Badgers followed up a shocking defeat at home to unranked and unheralded Iowa (although the Hawkeyes did validate their win by knocking off Minnesota on the road last night) by once again struggling to find consistency on the offensive end as they fell in heartbreaking fashion to #11 Michigan State.

Yes, the loss to the Spartans will be remembered by the disallowed three-point shot by Ryan Evans that would have sent the game into double overtime, but the reason that Wisconsin now heads on a two-game road trip facing the prospect of a 1-4 start in Big Ten play has nothing to do with the discrepancy in the clocks at the Kohl Center.

In fact, the reason Wisconsin has quickly gone from title contender to bubble team is fairly simple: depth, or lack thereof. The Badgers have no depth whatsoever, something that flies directly in the face of all that is Badger basketball.

They continue to bring guys in that fit the system, guys willing to work hard and listen to coaching and hopefully form the nucleus of a title-contending team their junior/senior years. But this year, Ryan and his staff have failed their players by failing to hold onto the traditions of the very system they themselves have so diligently used in order to take Wisconsin to 13 straight NCAA Tournaments.

They have failed to build depth not because they dont have depth, but because they didnt take the time to build it when they had the chance. In essence, Wisconsin didnt lose their first two Big Ten home contests this week, they lost them in blowout wins over Colgate, over Wofford, over Savannah State. They lost them by having three starters on the court with less than four minutes left and the Badgers clinging to forty-plus point leads.

Wisconsin has players that could have been ready to step up in the face of an off night by Ben Brust, foul trouble for Ryan Evans, etc. The problem now is that the UW coaching staff didnt allow them to see the floor in games that were decided well before their conclusion. By letting starters stay on the floor during blowout wins in non-conference play, Wisconsin's staff not only wore down those players just a bit more prior to Big Ten play, but more importantly failed to give that second tier of players the on-court experience they need to be ready when duty comes calling.

Right now, the Badgers need a spark plug. Before his recent cold spell, many would think that spark plug could be sophomore guard Ben Brust, but right now it doesnt seem Brust is in a position to take the lead, dealing with a sophomore slump that was bound to come at some point. Wisconsin needs Brust to start making shots again and that will happen eventually. But more importantly, Wisconsin needs more bodies to make an impact.

The Badgers cannot expect to compete in the Big Ten going just seven deep. Late in the losses to Michigan State and Iowa, it was apparent that even lock down defenders like Jordan Taylor and Jared Berggren were beginning to show signs of clear fatigue. Iowa senior guard Bryce Cartwright made a mockery out of Taylor in the second half last Saturday (Taylor finished the game having played all 40 minutes) and on Tuesday, Spartan sophomore Keith Appling did much of the same (Taylor played 44 minutes against Michigan State). While Taylor's offensive firepower finally reared its head and kept Wisconsin in the game literally until the final second, the impact that fatigue is having on what was the nation's top defense is clear as day.

Though many will point to the three-point shooting and say that the Badgers are going to have to both live and die by the three, the reality is that they are a team defined by defense. They are certainly going to need to shoot the three well enough to win, but they will live and die not by the deep ball, but by their defense. Against Iowa, they managed to put up 65 points, good enough to win all but one of their games thus far this season. The 72 points allowed on Wisconsin's home floor more than outweighed the 3-for-28 performance from beyond the arc in terms of leading to UW's demise.

With defense being the calling card of the 2011-2012 Wisconsin men's basketball season, it is fairly obvious that they have to limit the minutes being played by their starters. Including the many blowout victories UW had during non-conference play, two players are averaging over 30 minutes per game, with three more clocking in at 27 or more per contest. Starting forward Mike Bruesewitz is actually sixth on the team in minutes with just over 24 per game and beyond him, only senior guard Rob Wilson has notched a double-digit average, coming in at just 10.0 minutes per game.

So their is an argument to be made that Wisconsin only goes six deep but with Wilson playing a part in the past two losses, I will give it seven for the sake of the argument.

Now compare this to Michigan State. The Spartans have a star in Draymond Green. He is playing just over 32 minutes a game. Beyond Green, MSU has a full 8 players coming in a 18 minutes or more per game. And the Spartans havent had the cushy schedule of Wisconsin, with only 4 games thus far finishing with a margin of greater than 20 points.

At this point in the season, there is probably little that Ryan and company can do to alleviate the depth issue. They are going to face stiff competition from here on in during Big Ten play and cannot afford to throw unexperienced players into the fire. They had that chance and they likely missed it.

But if there is a staff capable of turning things around, the Badgers have them. Bo Ryan has yet to miss an NCAA Tournament while in Madison and has faced mid-season adversity on more than a few occasions during that run. But he is going to have to figure out how his thin roster can compete in the Big Ten and the answer to that problem will not be easy to find.

Badgers Stunned By Another Buzzer Defeat

Time ran out on the Badgers as their last-ditch effort at an overtime comeback against Michigan State fell short when Ryan Evans' banked-in three-point shot was ruled no good as the backboard clock showed all zeros and the Spartans (3-0 Big Ten, 14-2 overall) were handed a 63-60 victory over a reeling Wisconsin squad.

MSU head coach Tom Izzo's first victory in Madison over UW head coach Bo Ryan was a memorable one. The Badgers (1-2 Big Ten, 12-4 overall) shot the ball at an anemic pace the entire game, finishing at a 33% clip softened tremendously by late heroics from senior guard Jordan Taylor, who finished with a game-high 28 points.

But beyond the heartbreaking finish and the poor shooting, Wisconsin failed to do the little things necessary to win. Taylor himself was uncharacteristically shaky with the ball, turning the ball over four times while notching just a single assist. The Badgers were out-rebounded 41-33 and missed 8 free throws (including two that were the front end of potential "one and one" chances), one of those free throws coming when Taylor had a chance to give UW a lead with just over 30 seconds remaining in regulation.

As the Badgers head into two tough road games against Michigan and Purdue, they must do something about their utter lack of depth. In Tuesday's defeat, three players finished with over 40 minutes of court time (out of a possible 45). Only seven players saw action for UW while Michigan State got a full 10 players involved in the act. The Badgers lack of depth hurt them tremendously in losses to Iowa and Michigan State, as UW starters were clearly fatigued during a few disorganized possession late in the game.

Facing the prospect of having to recover from consecutive home losses for the first time in three years, UW is squarely in danger zone and potentially on the verge of playing themselves out of a 14th straight NCAA tournament appearance.

Badgers Sleepwalk Their Way To Home Defeat

After getting the conference season off to a promising start with a decisive road victory over Nebraska, 11th-ranked Wisconsin men's basketball (1-1 Big Ten, 12-3 overall) laid an egg on Saturday, losing their Big Ten home opener to Iowa (1-1 Big Ten, 9-6 overall) by a final score of 72-65.

While many will point to Wisconsin's 3-of-28 performance from beyond the three-point line, the Badgers' first losing conference home opener in 12 years was the result of poor transition defense. After making defense a hallmark of their game throughout the non-conference schedule, UW allowed Iowa to score 14 points on fast break opportunities, with the Badgers only managing to notch two of their own.

UW's lack of depth was on clear display as they struggled from the get-go and couldnt turn to a viable alternative on the bench. Sophomore guard Ben Brust, Wisconsin's leading bench scorer at just over ten points a game coming into Saturday, struggled mightily against the Hawkeyes, the school he originally signed with prior to then-coach Todd Lickliter's dismissal. While the Hawkthorn Woods, Ill. native did finish with 11 points, he was 4-of-13 from the field and just 1-of-9 from beyond the arc, those misses leading to several fast break opportunities for the opportunistic Hawkeyes.

As much as Wisconsin's bench play was non-existent, Iowa's was the key to their victory. Freshman guard Aaron White led three Hawkeyes in double digits with 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting, the lone misfire being followed up by an offensive rebound and putback that gave Iowa the lead for good. Senior guard Bryce Cartwright also came up big off the bench, finishing the game with 17 points of his own on 7-of-12 from the field.

But the bottom line was that Wisconsin's inability to build depth in the non-conference portion of the season came back to bite them on Saturday. With junior forward Ryan Evans in foul trouble and limited to just 15 minutes of floor time, the Badgers were forced to have five players play over 30 minutes, with senior guard Jordan Taylor staying on the floor for the entire 40 minutes. Ultimately, fatigue set in, as Taylor and others were caught a step slow on the defensive end throughout the second half, something Badger fans have not been accustomed to seeing from what was the nation's top scoring defense.

Wisconsin now has just two days to prepare for a much stiffer test at home as Michigan State rolls into town on Tuesday night. With a road date against another top-20 team in Michigan just beyond that and another at Purdue to follow, Wisconsin is now staring a 1-4 start in Big Ten play square in the face.

One bad performance and the conversation has immediately gone from final four to bubble hopes. Oh how quickly things can change.

Badgers Roll Into Finals With Big Win

After surviving a tough road test Tuesday night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin men's basketball returned home to the Kohl Center and stormed past an overwhelmed Savannah State (1-1 MEAC, 4-8 overall) team in their 66-33 win Thursday night. The Badgers (10-2) were quick out of the gates, hitting 8 of their first 9 shots while jumping out to a 16-4 lead just over 5 minutes into the game.

Once again, junior forward Jared Berggren led the scoring for UW. The Princeton, Minn native followed up his 17 point performance against Milwaukee with 13 points Thursday night, 11 coming in the first half. Berggren took advantage of the smaller Savannah State front court and imposed his will on the interior.

All five Wisconsin starters finished the game with at least 8 points, with 4 of the 5 finishing the night in double figures scoring. Sophomore guard Josh Gasser had a resurgence of sorts, finishing the night 4-of-7 from the field en route to a 10 point, 5 rebound night.

The Badgers now take a week off for finals before finishing off the non-conference season on December 23rd against Mississippi Valley State. The Big Ten opener at Nebraska is now just 12 days away.

Big Day From Brust Gives Badgers Much-Needed Win

It was far from pretty, but the Badgers finally picked up the non-conference win they needed as they defeated UNLV 62-51 on Saturday. While Wisconsin (8-2, 0-0) shot just 37% from the field as a team, sophomore guard Ben Brust saved them from a far worse number, finishing the afternoon with a career-high 25 points on 8-of-9 shooting, including a 7-for-7 mark from behind the three-point line. “Ben {today} makes close to half of our field goals. Without that we don’t win…” senior guard Jordan Taylor said. “Defensively it was a good effort and Ben took it over on the offensive end. We won. Doesn’t matter how you get it done.” “The past three games, a lot of them felt good, they just weren’t going in,” Brust said after tying his own school record from 3-point range. “You just have to have shooters amnesia and just keep firing to shoot out of it.” Beyond the record-setting shooting day by Brust, the Badger defense stifled a high-powered Rebel offense that had already scored 90 points in a win over North Carolina earlier in the year. UNLV sophomore forward Mike Moser, who came into Saturday averaging 15.8 points and 12.5 rebounds per game, only managed 4 points, picking up 9 of his 11 rebounds on the defensive glass. Despite struggling on the boards in recent games, UW dominated on Saturday, picking up 10 offensive rebounds against UNLV (9-2, 0-0) and putting up 8 more shots than the Runnin’ Rebels. “The fact that {UNLV} did not have an offensive rebound in the first half, I thought our guys did a good job of putting bodies on them,” UW head coach Bo Ryan said. “We battled them on the glass, I can take that.” That work on the defensive end ultimately allowed Wisconsin to overcome a poor shooting performance in addition to a tough day for Taylor. The Badgers’ preseason All-American point guard was shadowed on the offensive end the entire contest, finishing 0-for-10 from the field with just 4 points. Taylor also finished with an uncharacteristic 3 turnovers despite managing 6 assists. Ultimately, UNLV could only manage one player in double digits scoring, as senior forward Chase Stanback led the way with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Still, that was a far cry from the 25 points he threw down on the Badgers in UNLV’s 68-65 win last season in Las Vegas. “They are a very talented team, they score close to 80 or 90 points a game…” junior forward Mike Bruesewitz said. “Something I think we need to continue to do is to hang our hat on our defense and keep holding those high scoring teams within our threshold and make sure we can take care of business that way.” Though Brust was certainly the headline, the re-emergence of Bruesewitz and sophomore guard Josh Gasser was perhaps the most encouraging sign as the Badgers move on to the latter part of the non-conference slate. Bruesewitz rebounded from recent struggles to have a solid afternoon, showing much more energy on both ends of the floor than he had shown over the last few games. His 6 points and team-high 10 rebounds were crucial for a Badger team that has not done the little things quite as well of late. And having struggled offensively while being hampered by a sore right wrist, Gasser made his presence known from the get-go, finishing with 6 points and 8 rebounds at the second guard spot. “I felt like I was able to put the ball on the floor a little bit against their bigger guys,” Bruesewitz said. “That takes some pressuring off Jordan, trying to get in the lane. I was able to create some stuff for myself and for my teammates.” Next up for the Badgers is a midweek road game against UW-Milwaukee. The Panthers (8-2, 2-0 Horizon) are coming off a 67-51 loss to Northern Iowa and are coached by former UW assistant coach Rob Jeter. Tip time is 7:00pm on Tuesday. “It’s only a third into the season and its moving fast…” Taylor said. “If we put it all together we’ve got a team that can do a lot of things this year.”

Ted Porath- All Attention on UNLV

This weekend's matchup will be the Badgers' (7-2 overall) final game of a three-game home stand and will be the second game of a home-and-home series the Badgers currently have with UNLV (9-1). Wisconsin will look to take out some revenge on the Rebels, as UNLV beat the Badgers in Las Vegas last year 68-65. After breaking a two-game slide in a romp of UW-Green Bay, the Badgers now turn their attention to unranked UNLV. While this might seem like a game Wisconsin should win easily, that is definitely not the case. UNLV, despite losing its place in the AP Top-25 due to a 19-point loss to a capable Wichita State squad, holds a 9-1 record and was the team that took down then-No. 1 North Carolina from the ranks of the unbeaten. If UNLV can take down North Carolina-a team that beat Wisconsin earlier this year-it can certainly give the Badgers all they can handle. Leading the way for the Runnin' Rebels this year has been sophomore forward Mike Moser, who leads UNLV in both points per game (15.8) and rebounds per game (12.5). While Moser can dominate on the inside like he did against an NBA-like North Carolina front line, against which he racked up 18 rebounds, he can also stretch the floor by making three-point baskets. Moser's ability to play both inside and out will definitely pose a big concern for the Badgers Saturday. Another big concern for the Badgers will be UNLV's man-to-man pressure defense, made famous by former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian. The defense has forced an average of 16 turnovers per game this season. With this pressure defense and its ability to push the ball on offense, UNLV will try to get the Badgers out of their slow-paced possession-by-possession style and force them to play at a much faster pace, which UNLV hopes will get the Badgers uncomfortable and cause the them to commit a high amount of turnovers. This should be a concern for the Badgers because in their game against Marquette-a team that features a similar pressure-style defense-the Badgers looked frustrated all afternoon and committed 12 turnovers, including five by normally sure-handed senior point guard Jordan Taylor. With UNLV putting pressure on the ball, somebody else for the Badgers will have to step up and play big to take pressure off of Taylor. A player who can do that is sophomore guard Josh Gasser. Gasser, who got out to a hot start in the first part of the season, has not scored more than seven points in any of his last four games. If Gasser can regain his early season form, with his ability to penetrate and making outside shots, he can exploit an overaggressive UNLV defense. Look for Gasser to get back in the swing of things and be an x-factor for the Badgers Saturday. Read more: http://host.madison.com/daily-cardinal/sports/men-s-basketball-all-attention-on-unlv/article_0a2381ba-2214-11e1-a630-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1g9mionHK

Ted Porath- Badgers Down In-State Rival

After two straight losses, the No. 16 Wisconsin men’s basketball team got back on track against in-state foe UW-Green Bay. The Badgers (7-2 overall) looked like a team on a mission and soundly defeated the Phoenix (4-5 overall, 2-0 Horizon), 70-42. “We felt we wanted to come in here and definitely get a win. I think we were a little bit more focused,” junior forward Ryan Evans said. After a rough afternoon against Marquette on Saturday, in which he had an uncharacteristic five turnovers, senior point guard Jordan Taylor returned to his preseason All-American form against the Phoenix, scoring a game-high fifteen points while dropping in ten assists for his first double-double of the year. In classic Taylor fashion, this was all accomplished without committing a single turnover. “Ten assists, zero turnovers, there’s not too many guys in the country that have that,” head coach Bo Ryan said. “He saw the floor well. He would get an angle and guys would help to him and he’d find the open guy, and that’s being a good point guard.” Also contributing to the Wisconsin victory were Evans and junior center Jared Berggren, who scored 14 and 13 points respectively, providing a much needed presence in the paint. The Badgers bench was also a big contributor, with a total of ten different players combining for 21 total points. “It’s always good to see when you have guys come off the bench. We know we have plenty of guys who can step in and give us some good minutes, and we were able to show it tonight,” Berggren said. After Green Bay cut the Badgers’ lead to one at 12-11, Wisconsin was able to distance themselves from the Phoenix, going on a 14-1 run to take a 26-12 lead despite rotating subs off the bench early and often. Wisconsin was able to keep the lead at double digits and went into halftime up 33-21. Wisconsin continued the shooting woes that plagued them in their first two losses, shooting only 36 percent from the field and making only two out of 11 from behind the arc in the first half. Fortunately for the Badgers, they continued to play great defense, forcing the Phoenix to shoot under 30 percent and causing nine turnovers in the first half. Wisconsin wasted no time taking control of the game in the second half, scoring eight straight points coming out of the break to boost their lead to 20 points. The Badgers continued to tack on from there and cruised to the victory. The biggest reason for the Badgers’ success in the second half was their ability to finally start making consistent shots; the Badgers shot 58 percent from the field in the second half. This was not the case for the Badgers’ three-point shooting, however, as they shot three out of 17 from behind the arc, continuing their recent long-distance shooting struggles. This lack of shooting could be seen as a silver lining, as the Badgers won a game while not shooting well from three. Wisconsin will now look forward to their final game of the three-game home stand against UNLV.

Badgers Begin To Begin New Streak Against In-State Rival

After seeing their 23-game home win streak brought to an end Saturday with a 61-54 defeat at the hands of #11 Marquette, #14 Wisconsin (6-2, 0-0) will quickly have the opportunity to begin a new streak as Green Bay visits the Kohl Center Wednesday night. The Phoenix (4-4, 2-0) have never won in 14 games played against the Badgers in Madison and are 0-4 on the road thus far this season. However, head coach Brian Wardle’s team is riding high after winning back-to-back games this past weekend to start Horizon League play. With many of the Phoenix players having grown up in the shadow of Wisconsin basketball, the annual matchup with the Badgers is something that Green Bay always has circled on the calendar. “Having been on both ends of it, its pretty exciting…” UW head coach Bo Ryan said of the intra-state rivalry. “Having coached at UW-Milwaukee, I knew what it was like getting ready for this. You know what the players are thinking. Its just natural.” While this is certainly one of the bigger games of the year for Green Bay, it remains an important test for Wisconsin as well. UW heads into Wednesday night having lost its past two games and clearly in need of a quick turnaround. With another ranked opponent in UNLV scheduled to come to Madison this weekend, the Badgers must shake off the cobwebs and do more than just squeak away with a victory. “Obviously first of all we want to get the win anyway possible,” sophomore guard Josh Gasser said Monday. “But at the same time we just want to get into the flow of our offense together. I guess we need to get our mojo, our swagger back that we had at the beginning of the year when we were just so confident and in a flow.” At least on paper, it seems that goal number one for the Badgers has to be to shoot at a higher percentage. After shooting nearly 50% from the field in the first six games, Wisconsin has struggled mightily in two losses over the past week, shooting just 36% from the field against North Carolina and just 32% in the loss to Marquette. But for UW to really turn the offense around, there is plenty they can do in order to get the shots falling once again. “We just need to do a better job of moving the ball as a team…” senior guard Jordan Taylor said. “We’ve gotten stagnant at times, a lot of the time. So its just a matter of getting back to our stuff and keeping the ball moving.” One thing that Wisconsin must improve upon is the scoring spread. After having six different players post games with double-digit scoring over the six-game winning streak at the start of the year, only three players have hit the mark since. Against Marquette, only Taylor managed to cross the ten-point threshold, finishing with 13 points on 4 of 10 shooting. But first and foremost, the Badgers have to take care of the ball. During their three-point loss in Chapel Hill, Wisconsin only turned the ball over four times, the lowest any team has been forced into against North Carolina since Duke only had three in a neutral site game back in 2002. But while that performance left many people impressed with the Badgers even in defeat, a 12-turnover game at home against the Golden Eagles gave plenty of cause for concern. “On Saturday we kind of laid an egg,” junior forward Jared Berggren said. “I felt like we didn’t put our best foot forward and for whatever reason Marquette just got the best of us.” Just five games remain before Wisconsin opens up Big Ten play at Nebraska on December 27th and having suffering tough losses in their two toughest non-conference matchups, the Badgers know that they need to right the ship and head into conference play on a good note. “Anytime you lose its critical to come back and win the next time…” Taylor said. “Its just a matter of getting back on track. Making shots, playing basketball.”

Short Sighted Coaching Opens Door For Badger Slide

Wisconsin got off to a 6-0 start with ease. Winning by an average of nearly 40 points and finishing no game with less than a 17-point margin of victory. Their confidence was through the roof and many were finally starting to talk about the Badgers as one of the nation’s elite. But amidst the early season success, Wisconsin missed out on an opportunity to help themselves come time for the inevitable spell of adversity to rear its ugly head. Through Wednesday night’s 60-57 defeat on the road against #5 North Carolina, the Badgers had only 7 players averaging double digit minutes. This for a team that had only played one tight game so there was plenty of “garbage time”. Against UNC, the lack of depth wasn’t overtly apparent, but it did play a role. With junior forward Jared Berggren heading into foul trouble, freshman Frank Kaminsky was forced to see significant time against Tar Heel senior forward Tyler Zeller, a 7-footer who has dominated more than his fair share of big men over his tenure in Chapel Hill. Kaminsky wasn’t awful, but Zeller definitely found his comfort zone when the freshman had to fill in with Berggren on the bench. In Saturday’s 61-54 loss to Marquette, the lack of depth was as clear as the light of day. Marquette got off to a fast start and while UW was able to cut two separate double-digit deficits to just a single possession, each time they failed to sustain the momentum. Fatigue was going to be an issue after the tough game against Carolina, but with Wisconsin unable to go more than 8 deep, it was arguably a deciding factor. But depth should not be an issue for this year’s Badger team. Wisconsin has plenty of ability sitting on the bench that can play the fill-in role more than admirably. The problem is that those potential role players were never given an opportunity to see the floor early in the season and as a result, they are totally unprepared to contribute in the clutch. Beyond the risk of injury, there is simply no reason for starters to be playing during the last three minutes of a 40-point game. You build the lead, earn yourself the privilege of spreading out the minutes, and essentially squander the opportunity. Compare that to Marquette head coach Buzz Williams. Williams’ team started off the season in a similar fashion to Wisconsin, blowing out mediocre opponents in preparation for a big matchup in Madison. But instead of sticking with starters in meaningless “garbage time”, Williams made sure that the role players were ready when duty came calling. In fact, every player on Marquette’s roster with the exception of one (who hasn’t been eligible until recently) has averaged double digit minutes thus far this season. So not surprisingly, Williams was able to get the win in Madison with a 10 man rotation, finishing the Badgers off simply by wearing them down on their home floor. Sometimes as a coaching staff you need to be thinking beyond the present. The “one game at a time” mentality is great for answering questions at the weekly press conference, but the reality is that when you have a 77-44 lead with 4 minutes left, you shouldn’t be thinking just about winning the game at hand. This is where the Badgers went wrong. In focusing on the present and the present only while running over mediocre opponents from Kennesaw State to Wofford, UW lost itself a 23-game winning streak. They lost the Marquette game by only thinking of the here and now while running over the sacrificial lambs paid to come in and start off the season at the Kohl Center. Getting everyone into the game and into the act isn’t about compassion for the guys on the end of the bench, its about making sure that those guys can be counted in when the time comes for them to contribute. Saturday afternoon was one of those times when they were needed and because the UW coaching staff made no attempt to get them involved when the opportunity was there, they weren’t ready when they simply had to be. Jordan Taylor was in foul trouble. Ben Brust and Josh Gasser couldn’t buy a jump shot. Mike Bruesewitz was having a tough time shaking defenders. And both Ryan Evans and Jared Berggren couldn’t get themselves open on the low post. But there was no backup plan, there was no second option. Buzz Williams had that backup plan. Guard Junior Cadougan was out after violating team rules and forward Jae Crowder struggled with foul trouble. However, unlike Ryan, Williams was able to turn to a bench that eventually responded with 32 points to Wisconsin’s 11. And 9 of those 11 for UW came from guard Ben Brust, whose normally reliable 3-point shot was strikingly off throughout the entire contest. Badger fans wonder how Wisconsin seemingly always falls prey to the five, six, seven minute scoring drive at a crucial moment. It was those droughts, midway through the 2nd half against UNC and late in the 1st against Marquette, that have put UW in a two-game tailspin. The reason for them is simple: no bench. When the starting five (and 6th man Brust) get cold, there is no one able to pick up the slack. This has to change and it has to change quick. Wisconsin has to stop practicing with former players (and thus reducing the time that bench players get in 5-on-5 situations during practice), they have to stop leaving starters in the game during “garbage time”, and they have to commit themselves to finding a bench capable of making plays in big spots. The talent is there. There are guys on that bench plenty capable of hitting a big three, of keeping the opposition in check, of getting the starters some much needed rest. But thus far, the coaching staff doesn’t seem interested. Saturday, the Badgers had all five starters cross the 30 minute mark in playing time, with Brust rounding things off with 28 minutes of his own. Rob Wilson and Frank Kaminsky were the only other Badgers to see the floor, only getting five minutes a piece. That is simply not a winning formula. The season is young and after losing a tough game in Chapel Hill by just three points to a team that is clearly among the top 5 in the nation, the Badgers still have a chance to make some noise on the national stage. But if they want to do so, it will have to be with a bigger rotation than what they have now. As physical as Big Ten play is, there is simply no way that Wisconsin can contend with what amounts to a 6 or 7 man rotation. Excluding UNLV on Saturday, the rest of the Badgers’ non-conference schedule is filled with cupcakes. A road matchup in Milwaukee might be a bit of a challenge but I think it is safe to say that games against UW-Green Bay, and Mississippi Valley State are likely to finish in blowout fashion. Those are the most important games of the season right now. If Wisconsin can use those three games to find a bit of depth, then they still remain capable of competing for a Big Ten title. If they enter conference play with the same rotation they have now, it is going to be a long winter.

Ted Porath: Marquette Up Next

The Wisconsin men's basketball team (6-1 overall) suffered their first blemish on the season Wednesday night in the finale of the Big Ten-ACC Challenge, losing to the No. 5 North Carolina Tar Heels 60-57. They now turn their attention to Saturday's matchup with in-state rival Golden Eagles as they welcome No 16. Marquette (6-0) to the Kohl Center. Despite the loss, the Badgers proved that they could hang with and challenge one of the best teams in the country and cemented the fact that they will be a major challenger to current No. 2 Ohio State for the Big Ten title once they hit conference play. A main reason for Wisconsin to feel good about the future prospects of the season was junior center Jared Berggren's play against one of the best front lines in the country on Wednesday night, featuring NBA lottery picks in Tyler Zeller and John Henson. Berggren was a force as the five man, scoring 14 points, hauling in five rebounds and even coming up with three steals. He challenged Zeller and Henson at both ends of the court, playing tough post defense and forcing the two Carolina big men to guard him in the post and on the perimeter. If Berggren is able to continue to build off of the way he played against UNC, he may be able to give Ohio State's Jared Sullinger a run for his money as the best big man in the Big Ten. The main reason for the loss was that the Badgers' reliance on the three-point shot finally came back to bite them. Wisconsin was eight for 28 from behind the arc (28.6 percent), which pales in comparison to the 47 percent shooting from three-point range the Badgers had going into the game. A direct result of the Badgers' reliance on the outside shot was the fact that Wisconsin was only able to get to the foul line six times (making only three), while Carolina was able to get the Badgers into foul trouble in each half, allowing them to shoot 24 free throws (making 19 of them). To become a more complete team on offense, the Badgers must find a way to get more penetration into the lane, which will not only get them more foul shots, but get them wide open three-point shots as well. The main concern for the Badgers against Marquette this weekend, however, will be containing Marquette's stellar offense which comes into this game leading the nation in scoring offense (88 points per game) and field goal percentage (53 percent). The Golden Eagles are led by senior guard Darius Johnson-Odom and senior forward Jae Crowder, who are each averaging over 19 points a game this season. Crowder and Johnson-Odom were instrumental in Marquette's latest win over the Jacksonville State Dolphins, as Crowder scored a career-high 27 points and Johnson-Odom added in 19. This Saturday's matchup will be the 118th between the two teams. Wisconsin currently holds a 64-53 edge in the all-time series and has beaten Marquette in the last two meetings. Read more: http://host.madison.com/daily-cardinal/sports/article_31ea0042-1cac-11e1-87bd-0019bb2963f4.html?sourcetrack=moreArticle#ixzz1fOCQfMCn