Wisconsin fighting through hard times
By MARK STEWART
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
MADISON, Wis. — When Bo Ryan looks at the strength of his team, he ignores the statistics sheet and looks into his players’ hearts and minds.
“They’ve handled taking some knocks where they keep coming back, trying to get better,” the coach of Wisconsin’s men’s basketball team said. “It doesn’t seem like they’re discouraged. And you know what? After nine, 10, 11 games by some teams, there are some teams that are very discouraged.”
In other words, Wisconsin is stubborn but in the right way.
It’s a fitting description for the 25th-ranked Badgers, who overcame losses to Duke and Marquette to take a 10-2 record into Big Ten play. As they continue to develop their identity, their best chance of survival in the league is to play smart, believe in the system and fight through the hard times.
That kind of collective effort is what lifted Wisconsin to victory over then-No. 9 Texas last weekend despite the loss of point guard Trevon Hughes, their leading scorer, because of an ankle injury. That effort is also going to be necessary in a conference race where Michigan State and Indiana have better collections of talent.
Wisconsin, which plays at 4-8 Michigan at 6 tonight, is among a cluster of second-tier teams expected to fight for third place, although more has come to be expected of the Badgers during the Ryan era. The average finish of his teams has been second.
“I know last season was a good season with (Alando) Tucker and (Jason) Chappell and (Kammron) Taylor,” senior Michael Flowers said. “They left an impression and I think this senior core wants to leave an impression on Wisconsin and be a part of history, also.”
The Badgers have a few things working in their favor in that regard. It doesn’t travel to Michigan State, plays four of its first six league games at home and doesn’t face either of the favorites until the end of the month, when Indiana comes to the Kohl Center.
Nothing should seem out of reach considering what has already happened in the Big Ten this year.
Michigan State and Ohio State lost exhibition games to lower Division I teams. The Big Ten lost the ACC/Big Ten Challenge … again. Illinois lost at home to a 4-7 Tennessee State team last weekend and Purdue lost to Wofford at home less than a week after beating then-No. 22 Louisiville.
On the other hand, Minnesota (10-2) is off to its best start since 2000-’01, Penn State has won five straight games, the longest winning streak of coach Ed DeChellis’ tenure, Michigan State has defeated three ranked teams and Indiana freshman Eric Gordon is treating opponents as he did the preps in Indianapolis, averaging a league-high 23.4 points per game.
In fact, the 11th-ranked Hoosiers might have the two best players in the league. Junior forward D.J. White is averaging 16.4 points and a league-high 9.7 rebounds per game and has posted double-doubles in seven of his last eight games.
Sixth-ranked Michigan State might have something to say about that. The Spartans have an experienced backcourt in Drew Neitzel, the conference preseason player of the year, and Travis Walton. They are also crashing the boards in a manner that would make proud their Final Four teams of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Time will tell if the Badgers can compete with that, but they have made strides in a number of areas.
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