Sweet Sixteen Preview: Wisconsin vs. Butler

Wisconsin heads to New Orleans Thursday night to make their 5th Sweet Sixteen appearance in the last 11 seasons, facing the 8th seeded Butler Bulldogs.

The 4th seeded Badgers are coming off two big wins to start the tournament. Last Thursday the Badgers were a favorite to be upset by the Belmont Bruins. Belmont stuck around for a short time, but the Badgers were too much and pulled away, eventually winning 72-48.

The story was much different last Saturday against Kansas State. The 5th seeded Wildcats came in with one of the best scorers in the league, point guard Jacob Pullen. Wisconsin struggled to guard him the entire game, but thanks to little production from the rest of the Wildcats and a few defensive stops at the end of the game, Wisconsin scraped out a 70-65 game and held Pullen to "only" 38 points.

Butler, who made it to the finals last year against eventual tournament-winner Duke, started out this year's tournament by beating 9th seed Old Dominion on a buzzer-beating layup and narrowly upsetting the #1 seed Pitt Panthers.

The Sweet Sixteen will be a matchup of two similar teams. Both Wisconsin and Butler like to play a slow game, take care of the ball, and shoot tons of 3's.

Some key matchups to watch:

Shelvin Mack vs. Jordan Taylor

Both Mack and Taylor have the ability to produce on the offensive end. We saw Taylor explode for 39 against Indiana, and Mack put 30 up against #1 Pitt. Taylor has the edge as a distributor, and has double Mack's assist-to-turnover ratio on the season.









Matt Howard vs. Jon Leuer

The inside game will be vital for both teams. Leuer was able to score at will against Belmont in the second half, and put up 18 against Kansas State. Howard was the hero against Old Dominion, getting a rebound to score a buzzer-beating layup, and was able to score 16 against Pitt. Leuer will have to exploit his height advantage when he is matched up against Howard.





Keaton Nankivil vs. Butler's help defense

Butler's center, Andrew Smith, is not nearly as mobile as Nankivil. The Badgers will look to pop Nankivil outside the arc for an easy three. If Nankivil is able to hit a few shots it will open up the court and put Butler in a tough defensive situation.

Butler's bench vs. Wisconsin's bench

The Badgers' backups came up big in the win over Kansas State. Mike Bruesewitz scored 11 points, including a key three near the end of the game, and picked up 6 rebounds. Ryan Evans provided a much-needed spark midway through the second half. Butler regularly plays 4 backups. Should any of the big hitters get into foul trouble, both teams' benches will need to step up.






Bo Ryan vs. Brad Stevens

Ryan has never missed the NCAA Tournament while coaching Wisconsin, and has seen moderate tournament success in his tenure. Butler coach Brad Stevens might look like a teenager, but has made the NCAA Tournament in all four years at Butler, making it to the final round last year.

Roster Moves: Packers Cut A.J. Hawk, Hope to Re-Sign

The Green Bay Packers cut linebacker A.J. Hawk yesterday, with hopes to re-sign him at a reduced salary. Hawk was scheduled to make over $10 million in the upcoming season.

According to Hawk's agent, Mike McCartney, the two sides are "putting the finishing touches" on a deal to bring Hawk back to the Super Bowl champs just one day after his release.

UPDATE: A.J. Hawk and the Packers have agreed upon a 5-year contract, the details of the contract have yet to be released.

Green Bay Packers 2010 in Review: A Look to the Off-Season (Part 4 of 4)

The 2011 off-season has been troubling to date. With the NFL's collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expiring on Thursday, the potential for a 2011 lockout looms bigger than ever. It does not appear that the conflict between the NFL team owners and the Player's Union will be resolved and a new CBA will be put into place before the current agreement expires.

If no agreement is reached, the players will be locked out - players won't be able to work out at team facilities, teams can't conduct organized team activities, such as mini-camps, and the free agency period will not begin.

The lockout potential affects all teams as the 2011 season (hopefully) approaches.

The Green Bay Packers

In 2010 the Packers were one of the youngest teams in the NFL. They also experienced a heavy dose of injuries throughout the season. That makes 2011 exciting for Green Bay.

The Packers will experience a talent influx as injured players return to the team. 2010 starters like Jermichael Finley, Nick Barnett and Morgan Burnett will be thrown back into the mix as the team looks to return to the Super Bowl.

One of the problems the Packers will face in the off-season is making room for the injured players to return to the roster. This is most notable at the middle linebacker position.

Nick Barnett and Brandon Chillar, both inside linebackers, had season-ending injuries last year. A.J. Hawk and Desmond Bishop stepped up to handle most of the middle-linebacking duties. Bishop was rewarded for his play with a 4-year contract extension.

Deciding whether to keep A.J Hawk or Nick Barnett is a different story. Hawk's contract calls for a base salary of $10 million next year. Barnett has suffered season-ending injuries two out of the past three years. It appears that there is not room for both of these players on the Packer roster, one issue Green Bay will have to deal with.

As much as I love Nick Barnett, I feel the Packers need to attempt to re-negotiate a contract that will keep A.J. Hawk in a Packer jersey for years to come. Hawk struggled with the 3-4 defense early in its inception, but has developed into a vital part of Dom Capers' scheme. He led the Packers in tackles in 2010.

Another issue the Packers will need to address is their free agents. The Packers have several players with expiring contracts. Most notable is Cullen Jenkins. It is highly likely Jenkins will not be re-signed by the Packers and will be playing football elsewhere next fall. I would expect Mike Neal to move into the starting defensive end role.

Several other players, including John Kuhn, Atari Bigby, Jason Spitz, Mason Crosby, James Jones, Charlie Peprah and Brandon Jackson are also facing free agency. Expect the Packers to re-sign many of these players to contract extensions.

The Packers have several areas to address in the 2011 NFL Draft. First, another offensive lineman is a necessity. Bryan Bulaga took over for Mark Tauscher last season, but the aging Chad Clifton will soon need to be replaced. T.J. Lang has seen playing time at tackle, but he has been streaky at best.

The Packers also need to address their defensive line. The 3-4 defense Dom Capers runs rotates defensive lineman in and out constantly. If the Pack lose Jenkins to free agency, more depth will be necessary on the defensive line.

Expect the Packers to draft a defensive back, a corner most likely, as well. Charles Woodson is aging, and Jarrett Bush is of more use as a special teamer than a dime-back. Several other positions could be impacted depending on what free agents the Packers are able to re-sign.

After a Championship 2010 season, the Packers rewarded Mike McCarthy with a 3-year contract extension that pays him around $5 million per year, putting him among the top ten highest paid coaches in the NFL. Green Bay's general manager Ted Thompson also received a contract extension (note: of the 53 Green Bay players active for the Super Bowl, 49 were acquired by Thompson, 26 through the draft).

The threat of a lockout has tarnished the end of the 2010 NFL season. If the 2011 season starts as planned, the Green Bay Packers will certainly be a favorite to make a playoff run once again.

Packers 2010:
Part 1: The Regular Season
Part 2: The Playoffs
Part 3: The Super Bowl