Badger Basketball

Looks like the Badgers did it again... They beat another top 5 team at the Kohl Center. The win over Michigan State may have been the most impressive of all the wins though because it came without their top two scorers. Playing short-handed with Jon Leuer still sidelined with a wrist injury and losing Trevon Hughes in the first half with his two quick fouls.

The Badgers jumped on the lead early and never looked back. Dominating the entire game on both ends of the floor, the 18 point margin made few people doubt the Badgers legitimacy. Being 2 games back with a favorable schedule and an injured Lucas the Badgers look on the edge of taking over the Big Ten.

There were two main things I took away from this game. First is that this Badger team is young and deeper than some may believe. While we do not go ten deep on the bench, when given the chance young players are stepping up and playing great. With Hughes out, you quickly forgot about the senior guard because Jordan Taylor completely took over. He gives Badger' fans a bright look into what the future will be like. Rob Wilson throughout the season has been an instant scorer when he enters the game. Many times it seems many Badger player do not want the ball in their hands on offense, except Wilson. Wilson drives hard to the basketball, shoots when open, and is not afraid to challenge a bigger player. While this may sound very fundamental, for this Badger team it is rare and it shows the confidence in the sophomore guard. It is clear that he should be the starting at the 4 for Tim Jarmusz. With the emergence of Wilson, Taylor, and redshirt freshman Ryan Evans it seems as though the future is bright for the Wisconsin basketball team.

Secondly, after watching the first half and beginning of second half I believe that our team will run better without Trevon Hughes. I think Hughes has incredible talent and he posses skills that can match any guard in the Big Ten, but I do not think he fits in the Wisconsin system. When Taylor is in the game, he drives creates for others, constantly on the attack. When Hughes gets the ball or is in the game, he holds the ball at the top of the key until the shot clock gets to 5 seconds and settles for a bad shot. He fails to run Bo Ryan's offense and even though he may average more points then anyone else on the floor I think he hurts the offense. I think our team will be better next year with Taylor running the point. Taylor has shown flashes this year that he could not just be good, but a great Wisconsin point guard. Taylor currently leads the entire country in his assist to turnover ratio at nearly 4:1 a/t ratio. Hughes' a/t ratio is a dismal 1.2:1 which is not Bo Ryan basketball.

I see big things for this team though, once Leuer gets back I think Badgers could make a run deep into the tournament.

BUT THAT'S JUST MY TWO CENTS FROM THE NOSE BLEEDS