Tag: Nebraska Basketball

Before the Wisconsin Badgers faced the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Tuesday night, we wrote about the reality that this game was likely to be the easiest one left on the 2020 schedule. We explored the idea that even though achievements against weaker opponents might not seem substantial, the mere fact that a team might play better in certain ways can unlock an awareness in players that they can improve to an extent not previously imagined. The awakening itself matters more than the caliber of opposition.

Hopefully, then, Wisconsin gained the realization that it can have a balanced and deep offense.

The best feature of Tuesday’s 82-68 win over Nebraska is that seven Wisconsin players scored eight or more points. Brad Davison had 14, Brevin Pritzl 12, D’Mitrik Trice and Nate Reuvers 11 apiece, Micah Potter and Kobe King with 9 apiece, and Aleem Ford 8. Every starter scored at least eight points. The recent trend of one starter scoring zero points in a game was halted.

Obviously, Nebraska has a much weaker defense than any other non-Northwestern Big Ten team, so it will be challenging for Wisconsin to carry this balanced offense into future games. However, the hope is that the Badgers — by displaying a balanced offense for one of the few times this season against a Power Five conference opponent — gained some realizations about how they can replicate this outcome. This is exactly what we meant when we said that Nebraska provided a unique team-building opportunity for the Badgers.

Yes, we shouldn’t expect the Badgers to hit 18 of 34 threes against tougher Big Ten opponents. That won’t be a regular feature of Wisconsin games against quality opposition. No one needs to pretend that is a realistic possibility. However, the instructive point here is that Wisconsin has been so bad in 3-point shooting in most of its Big Ten games (6 of 23, 7 of 22, 6 of 21, etc.) that if the Badgers can merely lift their percentage to the high 30s on a more regular basis, they will wind up shooting a lot better than their worst nights.

No one should expect 18 of 34 on a regular basis, but what if this game enables Wisconsin to become a team which makes 9 of 24 threes in a game, or 10 of 26? If UW can reach that level of 3-point shooting and stay there, the Badgers are going to win MORE games, not fewer, as we move along.

We will get to find out Friday at Purdue if this opportunity turned into a genuine source of evolution and development for Wisconsin basketball this year.

If you look at Wisconsin’s remaining 2020 Big Ten basketball schedule, this Tuesday’s home date with Nebraska is the easiest remaining game on the whole slate. The only other games which are comparably easy are road trips to Nebraska and Northwestern later in the season. The one home game against one of the two bad teams in the Big Ten should be, on paper, the simplest task remaining for the Badgers this season.

In many ways, this might seem like the least important game on the slate. It will certainly attract less national attention, and it will also draw relatively little regional attention among those who follow college basketball throughout the Midwest. Yet, this is precisely the kind of game in which a coach — who just saw his team get ripped apart by the conference favorite (Michigan State) — needs to find solutions which can benefit his team in the long run.

Here is my explanation of that point, relative to Wisconsin coach Greg Gard.

One of the more subtle yet powerful truths of sports is that awakenings — realizations that an athlete can perform at a much higher level than previously thought — can occur in a full range of circumstances. Yes, it is obviously ideal if an awakening in a young or unproven athlete comes against elite opposition. When that happens, the athlete instantly knows he or she can grow and develop into something special on the playing field (or court, or rink).

Yet, these awakenings don’t have to happen against elite opponents. Sometimes, it is in the games which don’t involve huge pressure, and don’t attract considerable media scrutiny, that an athlete busts out and discovers a much higher ceiling of potential than anyone had imagined. The fact that the opponent was mediocre matters less, in these instances, than the fact that an athlete played well and showed progress. The reality of self-improvement becomes its own catalyst, regardless of how good the opponent was.

I invite you to consider, then, what this game could mean for Gard and Wisconsin if Tyler Wahl or Brevin Pritzl have big games against Nebraska. (Hey, maybe both could go off!) What if this is a game in which all five Wisconsin starters score 10 points? What if this is a game in which the Badgers earn 30 free throw attempts and learn that they can move the ball in ways which make their offense less inclined to seek 3-point shots, and post a depressingly familiar 7-of-22-ish shooting number from long distance?

This is precisely the kind of game in which a coach has a chance to tinker with some lineup combinations and explore new ways of getting the best out of every player in the main rotation, which generally runs nine deep?

This isn’t a sexy game. It doesn’t carry the emotional weight of the bigger battles which lie ahead… which is exactly why it is a time to explore ways for this team to grow. We will see how the Badgers look when this game is over. Hopefully, UW will look different… in the best possible ways.

The good news for the Wisconsin Badgers: They should easily be able to handle the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Tuesday night in the Kohl Center. The bad news: Well, there shouldn’t be any bad news, but if the Badgers somehow lose, they will take a big hit on their resume, wiping away the discernible progress they have made in recent weeks with wins against Penn State and Maryland.

This is not the least pleasant game a team can play when it tries to solidify its NCAA Tournament status (the Badgers are clearly in the tournament right now, but a loss to Nebraska, should it happen, would move them toward genuine bubble territory). The least pleasant game a team can play when chasing an NCAA bid is to play a team like Nebraska on the road. Tuesday’s game is at home. (Wisconsin will have to go to Lincoln later in the season.) So, this isn’t the most uncomfortable situation Wisconsin can face. Nevertheless, it is close to that. This is a time to take care of business and move on to the more challenging games on the schedule, which will be tougher to win, but which won’t carry nearly as much of a penalty.

Nebraska has been good enough to beat Purdue and Iowa at home this season, but away from Lincoln, the Husker hoopsters have not been able to win in Big Ten play. They nearly beat Indiana in December but fell just short. They had a chance to win at Northwestern — one of the two road Big Ten games every good Big Ten team needs to win this season — but failed to get the job done. This is not a good team. It is going nowhere this season. Fred Hoiberg knows he is in the middle of a major — not minor — rebuilding project.

If the Michigan State game this past Friday was set up for a Badger disaster, everything about this Nebraska game on Tuesday sets up Wisconsin for success, and maybe a drama-free night as well. This should be a routine victory. That’s the good news.

The bad news? We shouldn’t have any bad news to discuss on Tuesday night — not if the Badgers do what they ought to.