Wisconsin has Iowa next up on the schedule, with one team coming off a disappointing loss (UW) and the other coming off a mountain top win (Iowa). Hawkeyes head coach Ben McCollum spoke to the media ahead of the upcoming game about how problematic Wisconsin can be, especially on offense.
He has high respect for what Wisconsin can do and is capable of doing. His first question from the reporters about Wisconsin, he called the team a top-10 offense and said their wins over Michigan and Michigan State were utterly impressive. He went on to say, "They pose a lot of problems, their whole offense does. They are just really good offensively; they can just beat you in so many ways."
Ben McCollum hopes his defense is enough to take down the Badgers
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This is high praise from McCollum, and he knows that Wisconsin can bring it to teams, and he emphasized that the way to beat them (for Iowa) is to play "our defense and hope that that's good enough."
Both teams last played on Tuesday. Wisconsin decided not to show up against Ohio State and was run out of the gym with a final score of 86-69. It was a disappointing and flat performance all the way through, coming off two top-10 wins. Iowa, on the other hand, found its signature win on the season by knocking off its own top-10 team in No. 9 Nebraska at home.
Now, the two teams that have been compared a lot this season to each other in terms of resumes will face off with a ton of Big Ten standings implications. Wisconsin is sitting at 10-5 in league play while Iowa is at 9-6 (currently one game behind the Badgers). A win by Iowa would flip the script as the Hawkeyes would hold the tiebreaker. A win for Wisconsin would keep the double-bye in reach.
The game is Sunday at 3pm CT in the Kohl Center or you can watch it on FS1.