With March Madness right around the corner, the Wisconsin Badgers, one of the better teams in the country at one point, now find themselves looking for answers during a recent rough patch heading into post season play.
March Madness is right around the corner, and for one team that recently went through a hot stretch, now has to figure out how to get back on track after a losing skid. The Wisconsin Badgers have not played well in recent weeks and need to get back on track as both the Big Ten and NCAA Tournament rapidly approach.
Busting Brackets
The Badgers were alone atop the Big Ten standings not that long ago and everything was looking bright for Greg Gard’s squad. But oh what a difference a couple of weeks can make.
Trouble seemed to start in an overtime victory at Nebraska. Road games in the Big Ten are tough, I get it. But this was Nebraska. And Wisconsin was riding a seven game winning streak that seemed to be in jeopardy in Lincoln. The Badgers shot just 36.5 percent that night and threw up 22 three-point attempts, making only eight. And one category in which Wisconsin excels is rebounding, but they were outmatched by Nebraska 50-37 giving up 20 offensive rebounds to the Cornhuskers. Wisconsin came away with the victory but it was not pretty whatsoever.
It didn’t get any better the following two games.
Wisconsin would fall at home to a good Northwestern team allowing the Wildcats to secure a big upset to add to their resume for their first NCAA Tournament and leaving the Badgers with a hopeful wake up call. That call didn’t come against Michigan, where Wisconsin would lose on the road 64-58 and shoot a woeful 18.8 percent from three-point land. The Badgers were without Bronson Koenig and missed his leadership dearly.
Things seemed to be better in a win against Maryland, keeping pace at the top spot in the Big Ten. Three point shooting was still dreadful (16.7%), but they committed just eight turnovers and out rebounded the Terrapins 44-27. Koenig provided a solid 31 minutes off the bench while Hayes and Ethan Happ provided a devastating one-two punch to one of the leaders in the Big Ten.
But then Wisconsin regressed this past Thursday on the road again at Ohio State. The Badgers kept turnovers low, but could not slow down a hot Buckeyes team. Ohio State shot lights out from the three-point line (62.5%) and held a 38-25 rebound advantage over the Badgers, including 10 on the offensive side of the floor. Wisconsin finally got their shooting woes figured out, but the defense could not find an answer for a Ohio State team that saw four players score in double-figures.
The loss dropped Wisconsin one game back of Purdue in the Big Ten regular season standings with just three games left for the Badgers. Those final games once seemed like an easy road down the stretch of the season are now must-win games.
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With the recent woes of the Badgers and the up-and-down play of late you have to wonder if they will be able to get this figured out in time for March Madness. A healthy Koenig will certainly help, but they need a complete game from not just him but everyone on the floor. On offense and defense, everything needs to come together right now in time to make an NCAA Tournament run. If not, their run could be very short for a team that has plenty of talent to go deep in the tournament.