The Wisconsin Badgers visit the Tennessee Volunteers this Saturday. On so many levels, these teams will look at the other side and see their own journey reflected in the first several weeks of the season. Wisconsin and Tennessee can strongly identify with their respective struggles this season, because they are very similar.
Wisconsin fans know what the Badger basketball team has endured over the past month and a half. Let’s look at what Tennessee has gone through.
Whereas the Badgers had to replace Ethan Happ this season, the Volunteers had to replace Grant Williams plus Admiral Schofield. The adjustment has been hard, and a toll has been taken on the Vols. Tennessee — like Wisconsin — has struggled to score for portions of this season. The Vols scored 57 in a ragged loss to Florida State. They scored 58 in a choppy win over Chattanooga. They scored just 47 at home in a bitter defeat at the hands of Memphis. The realigned Tennessee offense, trying to function without two meal-ticket scorers who carried the team last season, has stumbled in the dark and groped for solutions it hasn’t yet found.
Yet, also like Wisconsin, Tennessee’s struggles haven’t been completely confined to the offensive end of the floor. The defense has been a problem at times, especially in a 78-66 loss to Cincinnati. Tennessee has beaten Washington and VCU, so the Vols aren’t bereft of valuable wins which look good on a nitty-gritty report. However, Tennessee has taken far too many hits and not won enough of the high-value games on its schedule to feel comfortable about its NCAA Tournament position… much like Wisconsin. The Badgers need this game more than the Vols do… but the Vols do need it a lot.
Tennessee has lost at home, unlike Wisconsin. The Vols aren’t really a Jekyll-and-Hyde team based on where they play their games. That is one noticeable difference with the Badgers in a head-to-head comparison. Yet, there are a lot of ways in which Tennessee basketball can relate to Wisconsin hoops… and vice-versa. These teams have been pushed around and have pinballed through their season with no reassuring sense that they have found a solid and reliable identity.
That is only one reason this Saturday’s game is so interesting… and important… and utterly mysterious… for both teams, not just one.