The first month of the season hasn’t been memorable for Wisconsin – certainly not like the postseason a year ago. Wins have been a little harder to come by, and a team that has been a consistent winner of late has not exactly shined overall. It’s not just their 5-7 overall mark, but the reality that they will soon enter Big Ten play with an NCAA Tournament resume that is less than stellar.
The Badgers are certainly not a bad team, but they do have some real issues right now. Wednesday night’s 81-80 squeaker over Western Kentucky is just the latest evidence that they have a long way to go to extend their streak of 19 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
Wisconsin got some help from their opponents on the evening. The Hilltoppers did not show up defensively in the first half and allowed the Badgers to shoot 73 percent for the half. They allowed the Badgers to make 12 of 20 three-pointers on the night. Rick Stansbury was very quick to say that his team didn’t lose the game because of a late foul on a screen that gave Brad Davison the opportunity for the winning free throw.
The Badgers have not played a soft schedule, and that partially explains their record. They have taken on Yale (Ivy League contender), Xavier, Baylor, UCLA, Virginia (road, Big Ten/ACC Challenge), Temple (road) and Marquette before last night. They did not win any of those games, which means their non-conference resume is lacking. Baylor and UCLA were opportunities in the Hall of Fame Classic. At Virginia, they scored just 37 points.
That means the Badgers will have to get their quality wins in the Big Ten. In early Big Ten play, they squeaked out a 64-63 win at Penn State and were blown out by Ohio State in Madison, so they’re not exactly off to an auspicious start there.
Despite the challenging slate, the Badgers’ RPI is barely in the top 100 as a result. Last night’s win over Western Kentucky is, for now at least, their best win from an RPI standpoint.
Injuries haven’t helped, and they will be a thorn in their side the rest of the way. Promising freshman Kobe King is done for the season with a knee injury, while D’Mitrik Trice is already out until about the middle of next month due to a foot injury. This is a big hit to their backcourt, and the importance of guards in college basketball has long been established.
There is a lot working against Wisconsin as the holidays approach. But let’s not forget that they have had their backs against the wall at times in the recent past as well. In the same way it was never wise to bet against Bo Ryan, it may not be so wise to bet against his long-time assistant and now successor.
Side Dishes
All three ranked teams that were in action on Wednesday night won by at least 20 points, so aside from Wisconsin eking one out it was a relatively ho-hum night on the court in one respect. In close games of note, LSU improved to 6-2 by edging Houston 80-77, surging North Florida edged Florida International 87-85 for their fourth straight win and fifth in six games, while the game of the night was one of the late ones. Boise State got 27 points and 11 rebounds from Chandler Hutchison to survive Grand Canyon 85-80 in double overtime.
Louisville took their action in response to former head coach Rick Pitino’s lawsuit against the school, seeking monetary damages for vacated games and bonuses. The school alleges that his actions have diminished the school and noted that the NCAA ordered the school to return money it received for some basketball tournaments. This is one more legal activity in what is still a very early stage of all things FBI investigation.
Tonight’s Menu
As has been the case for much of the week, there isn’t much of note happening on the hardwood this evening, with more than a half-dozen games involving non-Division I teams.
- The best matchup of the day is probably Valparaiso taking on Northwestern at the Wildcats’ interim home of Allstate Arena in Rosemont (8 p.m.)
- Texas Southern continues its challenging non-conference slate as they travel to Baylor (8:30 p.m.)
- There’s one game out west, with Santa Clara heading south to visit USC (10 p.m.)
