Post-game analysis from the Wisconsin Badgers win over Iowa
What a huge game! The Wisconsin Badgers massively increased their chances of making the NCAA tournament field with a big victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes. They jumped from 37 to 31 in the Pomeroy rankings, which, short of a melt-down, pretty much guarantees a bid.
Related Story: Wisconsin's Path to a Big ten Title
As Badger fans, though, we think about the Big Ten standings as well, where the Badgers currently stand tied for 4th with Michigan State. Can the Badgers stay there?
Pomeroy considers it unlikely, as he predicts a 12-6 finish and a 5th place finish. Michigan State is highly favored in their remaining games. Iowa is a game ahead, but is favored in all their remaining games, and Indiana is favored in two with a two-game lead on the Badgers.
The most realistic chance is to have Maryland lose two of their final three games, since they have a one-third chance to win each of their games against Purdue and Indiana.
The Badgers will likely be ranked, next week, which is probably a little aggressive, but a good Hoosiers-type story, of a team coalescing under a tough coach goes a long way. I do hope that Wisconsin ends up ranked at the end of the year, because that would mean the team has continued to improve and play well.
How did Wisconsin do it? You know that I’m one for the numbers, but I have a couple subjective observations.
The win was all about defense. I haven’t seen the Badgers fight over the top of screens and get back in front of their man like this for quite some time, and it really hampered the flow for Iowa, especially with respect to Jared Uthoff and his rolls or fades off the pick.
It was sweet to see Uthoff struggle. The only 3-pointers that he made all game were heaves from 23 feet, and he only managed one block, while picking up four fouls. I try not to hold grudges, but the way he handled himself during the transfer process left me with a case of sour grapes and made me happy tonight.
I just wish that I could have giggled over the struggles of notorious eye-gouger, Adam Woodbury, as well, but it’s hard not to be impressed with 18 rebounds (10 offensive). Soft clap for you, Adam.
The Pomeroy MVP for the Badgers was Bronson Koenig, but, if there ever were such a thing, this was a true team win. There were eight Badger players with five or more points, and most of those buckets were assisted, as the Badgers dropped dimes on 68% of their offensive possessions.
My Net Points Added metric agrees – Koenig was the best Badger on the floor, last night.
The guards really carried this team last night as all the big men struggled against Iowa’s length (14th in the country in playing-time-adjusted height).
Charlie Thomas provided a much-needed spark in that regard, hitting an unexpected three and generally battling underneath all night. He may have stolen a little playing time from Alex Illikainen, last night, who seemed to make a mistake every time he entered the game.
When we remove playing time as a factor and look just at player efficiency, rather that overall value, we see how good Thomas was in his limited minutes.
Thomas had a monster game and Illikainen was horrible. It’s a testament to Greg Gard that he limited Illikainen’s minutes and gave Thomas more time on the court. Just imagine the mess Illikainen would have made if he had been on the court, more.
Khalil Iverson is a limited player, but he generally knows it, which means he can still be valuable. He only took a three when there was no one within 10 feet, and he threw down some monster jams. It’ll be exciting to see how he develops under the Badger coaching staff, as he has some incredible potential, even if just on the defensive end and above the rim.
Next: Khalil Iverson Dunks All Over Iowa
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