Through 17 regular season games the Wisconsin Badgers are 11-6 overall and 5-4 in Big Ten play. Their season to date has been very up and down. The Badgers enjoyed a 5-0 start before falling to #4 Virginia 53-46 in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. They bounced back nicely winning five of their next six, including a victory over #14 ranked Iowa in Iowa City. However, the Badgers went on to lose four of their next five games. Two of these losses came at the Kohl Center where UW has been historically successful.
The Season so Far
Part of the Wisconsin’s problems this season stem from not having much of a supporting cast alongside senior forward Ethan Happ. Happ has been consistent for UW thus far averaging 19.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per game while shooting 57% from the floor. When the Badgers absolutely need a bucket, the ball goes to him on the block. The problem is the Badgers have found themselves in dire need of a bucket fairly often this season and Happ can’t hoist up a three foot shot every time down the court.
Another issue with this team is that they have made a habit of falling behind early in games. This is especially true in conference games. Take their most recent loss for example. Wisconsin was down 33-15 to Maryland by halftime. They were able to scratch and claw their way back to make the game close only to lose 64-60. Another bad start came two weeks ago when they lost to Minnesota. They were trailing 29-14 at halftime and were never able to dig themselves out of that hole. Wisconsin has historically played at a slower pace which doesn’t bode well when they need to make spectacular comebacks.
Competing in the Big 10
If they are going to be competitive in the Big Ten and NCAA Tournament, they will need to be ready to go the moment the ball is tossed up into the air. They can’t afford to fall behind early and try to fight their way back into games if they want to make any sort of noise come March. In addition, they’ll need other guys to step up and provide some sort of help to Ethan Happ. Look to D’Mitrik Trice and Nate Reuvers to take a step forward in the second half of the season. Each of these guys have made winning plays and had good individual games this season. If they want to beat good teams down the stretch they’ll have to be more consistent.
My Prediction
As we move into the thick of conference play things won’t get any easier for Wisconsin. In a year where we could see up to 10 Big Ten teams make the Big Dance, the conference is as competitive as it has been in years. The Badgers are currently projected as a 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament. If they continue to lose games in the Big Ten Tournament they could drop out of the field altogether. As part of their remaining schedule, they still have to play #2 Michigan twice, travel to Nebraska (Jan. 29) and Indiana (Feb. 26) and play host to #6 Michigan State before finishing Big Ten play at #16 Ohio State. They’ll look to move up the conference ranks this Saturday when they host #2 Michigan at 11 am.