How Wisconsin Basketball can beat Rutgers
By Joey Lovell
In addition to the litany of other issues I already possess, I’m also fairly superstitious. Since Wisconsin basketball won their “must-win” game against Michigan with a similarly titled preview, expect replicas to be produced until they lose.
Rutgers comes into their matchup against Wisconsin sports an overall record of 16-10, with an 8-7 mark in conference. They’re currently in 8th place in the Big Ten conference, two spots ahead of the Badgers.
A Wisconsin win on Saturday would tie them in the conference but technically put Wisconsin ahead on the tiebreaker of head-to-head matchups. This becomes crucial in jockeying for the seeding position in the Big Ten Tourney.
Take advantage of their misfortune
Rutgers comes into the contest in the midst of a three-game losing streak that just saw them lose, at home, to the same Nebraska team that rallied for an incredible come-from-behind win last weekend at Wisconsin. Maybe our loss to them wasn’t that bad (yeah it was).
During this losing streak, Rutgers’s defensive efforts have been lacking. During this stretch, Rutgers’s opponents have shot a combined 50.9% from the field. While offensive efficiency is not Wisconsin’s long suit, the following area is.
In Rutger’s most recent defeat to Nebraska, the Cornhuskers went 12 of 28 from 3-point land. This plays very nicely into Wisconsin basketball’s lethal long-range perimeter game.
Chucky Hepburn’s and Connor Essegian’s highest combined total of three-point attempts was 22 in their loss against Nebraska. Do not be surprised if Saturday’s game comes close to that mark.