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Game Day: Wisconsin Set to Battle North Carolina

One of the many great things about college basketball is it gives you a reason to drink during the middle of the week. After beating up weaker competition we'll get a better read on how good this year's UW basketball team is tonight when Bucky takes on North Carolina.

What to Expect

Jim Polzin writes that Bo and the Badgers are excited to play UNC and shares some things to look for tonight – like UNC's propensity to get to the FT line.

FoxSports WI takes at look at the contrasting styles of play between the Badgers and Tarheels. While UNC has a lot of NBA talent it doesn't sound like the UW players are intimidated by them.

Swingtown Basketball shares their thoughts on the game along with links to the UNC message boards and an in-depth statistical breakdown of the two teams. The preview reminds us that UW is 1-1 against UNC for Wisconsin high school recruits with J.P. Tokoto committing to the Tarheels last spring and Bronson Koenig deciding to stay home and play for the Badgers.

Jeff Potrykus covers some of the popular storylines – contrasting styles of play, match-up of two outstanding point guards, etc. – in his pre-game write-up.

UW in the AP Poll

Dave Heller has a basketball version of his AP poll breakdown. It's interesting that Scott Wolf always ranks the UW football team lower than other voters but has the UW basketball 4^th in the country.

No Explanation for More Cupcakes

The Cap Times contacted the UW Athletic Department to understand why UW's non-conference schedule has gotten weaker over the years – most likely because of money. It's been 9 days and the UW still hasn't gotten back to them.

FOOTBALL

Montee Ball's Late Heisman Push

It's surprising that Montee Ball hasn't received much Heisman love until recently. Hopefully it's not too late. Aaron at Badger of Honor rounds up what some pundits are saying about Ball and notes that ESPN is doing a feature on Ball that will air during GameDay this Saturday.

While it's not the Heisman, Ball has Brian Bennett and Adam Rittenberg's endorsement for Big Ten offensive player of the year. Ball's primary competition is Russell Wilson.

Championship Game Previews

I'm sure there won't be a shortage of Big Ten championship game previews this week. Two Minute Warning has a solid write up and it's even better because it predicts a UW victory; although, by a smaller margin than I'm expecting.

In its keys to the game, CBS Sports' Eye on College Football blog predicts the Badgers will win if Ball can handle a heavy workload and MSU will win if UW's defense plays like it did in the first game. The X-factor is Peter Konz, who practiced yesterday but is still probably a long-shot to play.

Inside the Numbers: 2.5

...the average national ranking of Wisconsin's scoring defense in basketball (#1) and football (#4).

In basketball, its no surprise that Bo Ryan has his team leading the country through 6 games in scoring defense at just 39.2 pts/game and FG % defense at just 30.5%.   (This week's opponents, UNC and Marquette, are tied for 5th in the country in scoring offense at 88.0 pts/game)  The Badger offense has been equally as impressive especially  from the 3 pt line.  The Badgers rank 3rd in 3PT FG's per game with 11.3 and rank 2nd in 3PT FG % at 47.2%.  Josh Gasser leads the country at 71.4%.  Wisconsin has also assumed its familiar role as the nation's top team in assist-to-turnover ratio  at 1.94.  

In football,  after an impressive showing against a defense ranked among the top 10 in the country, the statistics show that no team has been better on both sides of the ball than the Badgers who rank #4 in scoring defense at 15.2 pts/game and #4 in scoring offense at 44.8 pts/game.  The Badgers' composite ranking  in total offense+scoring offense+total defense+scoring defense (6.75) blows away the next closest teams who just happen to be playing in the BCS title game: Alabama (12.3) and  LSU (19.75).   

 

17 Badgers Named All-Big Ten

FOOTBALL

17 Badgers Earn All-Conference Honors

UW is well represented on the All Conference team with 17 different players honored by the coaches and media. Five Badgers – Russell Wilson, Montee Ball, Kevin Zeitler, Josh Ogelsby, and Chris Borland -- were named 1^st team by both the media and the coaches. You can see the full UW list here and read Adam Rittenberg's takes on each team on the ESPN Big Ten blog.

UW Could Lose Chryst

The Badgers have been fortunate to hang onto Chryst as long as they have but that fortune could be coming to an end. Jeff Potrykus reports that Illinois is interested Chryst as Ron Zook's replacement.

Players-Only Meeting Refocused Badgers

Tom Mulhern writes that Russell Wilson and Aaron Henry showed strong leadership following the MSU and OSU losses, calling a players-only meeting and making sure their teammates put in more work to save their season.

Chris Fowler Impressed by UW's Win Over Penn State

Fowler jumped UW from 17^th to 9^th on his AP ballot this week after UW beat PSU. You can see where the rest of the AP voters had UW on their ballots on Dave Heller's blog post.

Across Enemy Lines

Internet messages boards tend to bring out a cast of characters, often wearing rose colored glasses. Michigan State fans seem to think UW is a media darling while MSU gets trashed by the media.

HOOPS

UW Moves Into the Top Ten

The Badgers moved into the top 10 in both the coaches and AP polls released Monday. Jack at Badger of Honor examines why UW is ranked 2^nd in the country in the Pomeroy rankings.

The Jordan Taylor and Kendall Marshall Relationship

Jim Polzin writes that while UNC point guard Kendall Marshall and Jordan Taylor have different styles of play and play in very different offenses they have become friends and have a lot of good things to say about each other.

A Great Week for Badger Sports

Badger fans have a lot to be thankful for after a fantastic sports weekend. The football team routed Penn State to setup a rematch with Michigan State in the first Big Ten championship game, the men's basketball team won the "Chicago" Invitational, and the hockey team showed Mercyhurst no mercy in a weekend sweep.

The big story is obviously UW getting a second chance at Michigan State. Let's see how things play out on a neutral field and with MSU likely not having the benefit of a blocked punt, FG, and a hail mary pass. Add in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game against UNC and a rivalry game vs. Marquette and it's a pretty good Badger sports week.

The Montee Ball Show Rolls On

After his 4 TDs Saturday Montee Ball only needs 5 more TDs to tie Barry Sanders' NCAA single season record of 39. You can read more about Ball's assault on the UW and NCAA record books in Dave Heller's post-game notes.

Badgers win Chicago Invitational

UW beat Bradley and BYU Friday and Saturday night to win the Chicago Invitational, which actually didn't have any games played in Chicago. Ben Brust went 7-10 from beyond the arc against BYU. You can read more about that game in Phil's post-game story on B5Q.

UW's schedule gets more challenging this week with a trip to UNC on Wednesday and a home game against Marquette Saturday.

Konz Unlikely to Play vs. MSU

Jeff Potrykus notes that the UW coaching staff doesn't expect injured center Peter Konz to play Saturday vs. the Spartans despite Konz's hints that he plans to play.

It Was Short, But Sweet Russell

Tom Oates reflects on Wilson's single season as a Badger, writing that Russell Wilson coming to Madison is one of the best things that have ever happened to the UW program. I think a lot of Badger fans would agree. Things didn't go as hoped for UW but it's been a joy to watch Wilson lead the Badgers, even if it was only for a season.

What ESPN Has to Say

Adam Rittenberg posted videos of his post-game interviews with Russell Wilson and Montee Ball and writes that Michigan State is the hottest team in the Big Ten right now. Russell is well-spoken guy and I'm sure he'll be successful at whatever he does in life.

Etc

The JS Badgers blog posted a video of Jeff Potrykus discussing the Penn State game and looking ahead to the rematch with Michigan State.

Mike Lucas shares his thoughts on senior day at UWBadgers.com

Jack at Badger of Honor takes a look at the numbers behind UW's win over Penn State.

If you avoided reading about how things unfolded on the Hail Mary earlier this season, here's your second chance.

Walking the Line - Penn State

This segment will "air" every Friday throughout the season. I will breakdown the upcoming game and give a prediction as it relates to the betting line. Sure, this is aimed at our degenerate gambler fans but I think it will be informative for the non-betting folks as well. Feel free to post a comment regarding your thoughts. This segment is meant to be unbiased as the only color that matters here is green - as in US currency.

Agree to disagree? Leave your predictions for this week's game in the comments for this blog.

2011 Season Record; Overall Record since 2010 (ATS):

14-16 ; 31-24

Last Week Recap:

I just can't seem to right the ship, posting another 1-2 week again last week.  As time is running out on this season, the pressure is mounting to put together consecutive winning weekends and get out of this season in the black.  Let's get it started.

Offense:

The Badgers are coming off their worst offensive output of the season.  Against an above average Illini defense, the Badgers only tallied 285 total yards with Montee Ball accounting for 224 on the ground.  The offense seemed out of sync at times against Illinois as the Badgers are trying to solidify their makeshift offensive line.  To date, the Badgers are in the top 10 in the country in rushing yards/game (245) and points scored (44.8).  Penn State is a team that hasn't been productive on this side of the ball.  PSU is only averaging 20 points per game.  RB Silas Redd is the one man show.  Redd has run for 1122 yards (5.1 per rush) and scored 7 TDs.  The Nittny Lions' offense starts and ends with Mr Redd.

Defense:

This week's defensive match-up is one that looks  good on paper.  Badger fans should feel confident with Mike Taylor and Chris Borland going helmet to helmet against a run first PSU offense.  UW's defense has struggled with "gimmick" offenses in the past and PSU has recently implemented the wildcat so the Badgers will have to be ready for these looks to keep the Nittny Lions off the scoreboard.  PSU is another very stout B1G defense.  PSU is 3rd in the country in points against (13 points/game) with 6 opponents scoring 10 poinst or less against them this season.  Penn State's talent starts with their big and physical D line.  With the Badger O-line under repair, this DL/OL position battle could be where this game is won or lost.

Intangibles:

This is game 3 of the post-Paterno era, who was relieved of his duties as fall out from the reach around that Sandusky gave to PSU.  PSU is 1-1 since the scandal with the win coming on the road at Ohio State and the loss, somewhat not surprisingly, coming at un-Happy Valley.  Being on the road for the Nittny Lions may be their preference, all things considered.  Wisconsin is remarkable at Camp Randall.

Walking the Line:

UW -14.5 and Over/Under 49

Wisconsin doesn't seem to be threatened by offenses that don't score often.  I feel that the Badgers take an extra conservative approach in these games, counting on the big Badger O-line to wear down their opponent in the 2nd half.  Last week's game vs Illinois was a prime example of this.  This philosophy allows Badger opponents to "hang around"

I like the Penn State +14.5.  The Badgers are going to take a "don't beat yourself" approach to this game.  UW feels like they are the better team and will unfortunately keep this game closer than the experts think.

D DOGG Daily Double:

Below are 2 picks that I really like this week:

Auburn +21: Rivalry games where the favorite has trouble scoring at times is a good recipe for a large point spread.  I'm taking the points here and I will sit back and enjoy the lack of Alabama's kicking game.

Michigan/Ohio State OVER 44.5 : While OSU has a great defense, Robinson is one of the most electric players that will get his.  Robinson will also cost him team some points with turnovers.

 

Playoffs Start Saturday for Bucky

It didn't go quite as planned Saturday, or this season for that matter, but UW is playing for a spot in the Big Ten championship game this Saturday. I'm sure Madison is going to be buzzing with the game against Penn State essentially being a playoff game (at least there's a playoff somewhere). Win Saturday and play for the Big Ten championship. Win that and play in the Rose Bowl.

I'll skip the game recaps this week and get to some of the news and notes.

FOOTBALL

Montee Ball, Best RB in the Country

Ben Worgull writes that Ball's UW teammates believe Ball is the best running back in the country. Ball deserves some serious Heisman consideration. Ball is 2^nd in the country in rushing yards (by 2) and only three guys have ever scored more TDs in a season than Montee. One interesting nugget from the link, Barry Sanders' record 39 TDs don't include the FIVE he scored in a bowl game that season. Sick.

You can read more on Ball's assault on the record books in Dave Heller's post-game notes.

Special Teams Steps Up for a Change

After some major struggles this season – and arguably costing UW a national championship – UW's special teams were a big reason for the win over the Illini. Tom Mulhern writes that punter Brad Nortman single handedly changed field position twice on Saturday.

Frederick and Groy Switching Spots

After a couple of ugly snaps by Ryan Groy Saturday the UW coaching staff flipped flopped Groy and Travis Frederick. Jeff Potrykus notes that the change will hold for this week's game against Penn State.

Rankings & Projections

UW moved up to 16^th in the BCS rankings, 15^th in the AP, and 12^th in the Coaches poll this week. Michigan is 15^th and could sneak into a BCS bowl game despite not playing in the conference championship game.

The ESPN Big Ten blog sticks to its season-long trend of projecting the Badgers to play in the Rose Bowl. Sorry, Sparty.

HOOPS

Badgers Spank Wofford

UW crushed Wofford Saturday night at the Kohl Center 69-33. The Badgers seem to have more scoring options this season with Gasser, Evans, and Brust all noticeably better than last year. You can read more about the game at B5Q and Badger of Honor.

In his game story, Jim Polzin writes that one thing we've learned so far this season is UW knows how to smother inferior opponents defensively. UW held Wofford to 13 field goals and 26.5 percent shooting.

Gasser On Fire

Jesse Temple at Fox Sports WI notes that Gasser has greatly improved his 3-point game this season. Gasser is 9 of 10 beyond the after making a small change to his shot and putting in a lot of hard work during the offseason.

Evans Staring to Live Up to Potential

One pleasant surprise so far this season is the play of Ryan Evans, who had 13 points, 6 boards, 5 assists, and 3 blocks Saturday night. The Wofford coach was impressed by how much Evans has improved since his freshman season when UW played Wofford in the NCAAs.

Uthoff to Redshirt

Forward Jarrod Uthoff announced prior to the Wofford game that he's going to redshirt this season. Uthoff will join fellow freshman George Marshall and Air Force transfer Zach Bohannon at the end of the UW bench this season. All three are redshirting.

ETC

Potrykus shares his thoughts on the Illinois and Penn State games in a video interview on the JS Badgers blog. You can watch it here. (hint: he thinks UW will win Saturday)

Walking the Line - @ Illinois

This segment will "air" every Friday throughout the season. I will breakdown the upcoming game and give a prediction as it relates to the betting line. Sure, this is aimed at our degenerate gambler fans but I think it will be informative for the non-betting folks as well. Feel free to post a comment regarding your thoughts. This segment is meant to be unbiased as the only color that matters here is green - as in US currency.

Agree to disagree? Leave your predictions for this week's game in the comments for this blog.

2011 Season Record; Overall Record since 2010 (ATS):

13-14 ; 30-22

Last Week Recap:

Sorry about the missed WtL last week.  No excuses are good excuses so I will save mine.  I hope last weekend was fruitful for all and we all have a little extra scratch to throw at this week's picks.  Now is the point in the season where football games are prime for the picking.  Most teams, at this point, are who you think they are.

Offense:

Records, records, records.  If you didn't know any better, you would think the Badger's offense was made out of vinyl.   Montee Ball has accounted for 27 TDs, 23 of which have been the rushing variety, which is a B1G Conference record.  Russell Wilson is on pace to break numerous NCAA passing records including pass efficiency (201.6), yards per attempt (11.1) and completion percentage (73.4%) to name a few.  This offence has been nearly impossible to stop as the Badgers are averaging 46.5 points/game which is 4th best in the nation.  Thus far, their lowest point output was 29 points at Ohio State.  Illinois doesn't win games on this side of the ball.  The Illini are averaging a mere 25 points/game and 383 yards of offense per game.  This is a run first offense led by RB Jason Ford and QB Nathan Scheelhaase, each with a bit over 500 yards on the year.  Scheelhaase's passing numbers are decent (147-236, 1857, 12) so there is a threat to keep the defense honest.

Defense:

The Badger D needs to have another solid outing this week to ensure a match-up with Penn State to go to the inaugural B1G Championship Game.  Games on the road always present a challenge and this Illini team will give everything that they have to throw off UW's D.  Mike Taylor has been the center of this unit's universe and his play has made offenses account for him.  UW is allowing 15.6 points/game and should they keep Illinois under 20, it should give the offense enough room to get the win.  Illinois has their team strength on D.  The Illini are giving up a stout 18.6 points/game.  This is where the game will be won or lost for Illinois.  How well can this defense UW's potent offense and for how long?

Intangibles:

Wisconsin's special teams is a disaster and nothing spoils a good party like giving back good old Uncle Mo.  I'm sure it feels like Christmas morning every Saturday that UW's opposing special team's coach wakes up and sees the Badgers on the schedule.  UW needs to keep IL in check and control the emotions of the game.  IL has lost their last 4 games and lug nuts may be loose.  If UWcan get ahead early, we may see the Illini wave the white flag, at which point the Badgers will be able to tell them where on the field they can and cannot play (too close to Thanksgiving for that one?).

Walking the Line:

UW -14 and Over/Under 50

This is game 1 for the Badgers in the driver's seat to the Conference Championship Game.  Having been there already this year and losing it, I have to think UW will come with an "all business" approach.  Having been humbled, I expect the Badgers to handle this game in an all out fashion.

I like the Badgers -14.  This is going to be a pedal to the metal game for the Badgers, proving to themselves that they deserve a shot at a consecutive Rose Bowl.  This is going to get tee-pee in a tornado ugly.

D DOGG Daily Double:

Below are 2 picks that I really like this week:

Stanford -18: The Cardinal will rebound from their big loss last week to Oregon and make short work of their "biggest" rival.  Yes this game will bring the best out of Cal and it may feel more like a home game for Cal but Stanford still has many reasons to not pack up their things and go home.

Michigan/Nebraska Over 51 : Both these defenses struggle at times and both offenses can score from anywhere on the field.  There will be some miles eaten up by the QBs.  Due to the nature of the offenses, weather is not a factor.  Shoot out!

Basketball Takes on Colgate, Wilson and Ball Chasing Records

The Badgers basketball team hosts Colgate tonight so we'll start off with some hoops news today.

Uthoff Struggling with Redshirt Decision

Jarrod Uthoff is having a hard time deciding whether or not to redshirt this season. The decision was nearly made Saturday when Uthoff almost checked into the game in the 1^st half. Having watched him play against UW-SP a couple weeks ago my expert recommendation would be to take the redshirt and put on some weight.

Remember Rob Wilson?

Jesse Temple at FSWisconsin writes that senior Rob Wilson is fighting for playing time. Minutes might be limited with Jordan Taylor, Josh Gasser, and Ben Brust likely get most of the time in UW's backcourt. I still love Wilson trying to dunk as a freshman on that huge center on UConn not once, but twice, in a tournament.

Questions About Gasser and Berggren

Badger of Honor takes a closer look at the production UW could get from Josh Gasser and Jarred Berggren. By the way, I really hate that UW has two guys named Jared and they both spell it differently.

Who is UW's Best Heisman Candidate?

It's not often that a two legitimate Heisman finalists play on the same team but that's the case this year with Wilson and Ball. Adam Rittenberg writes that one, or both, could be finalists although they'll probably steal votes from each other. Tom Mulhern writes that the vote stealing could be an issue for other awards, like Big Ten player of the year.

Ball's TD Record Chase

Rittenberg also looks at Ball's pursuit of Barry Sanders' NCAA record 39 TDs. Ball, who scored 41 TDs as a high school senior, has scored more TDs than 29 D1 teams, including Minnesota and Penn State.

Wilson Closing in on Records

Ball's record-setting TD stats are ridiculous but Wilson is closing in on some records of his own. Wilson owns the school record for TD passes (25), will break the NCAA record for consecutive games with a TD pass (36) with TDs against Illinois and Penn State, and could shatter the NCAA passing efficiency mark. Tom Muhlern writes that the passing efficiency is the most impressive. Wilson would have a 142 rating using the NFL system. Aaron Rodgers' rating is 131.

Illanoy Scouting Report

Jeff Potrykus has his weekly opponent scouting report.

Etc

If missing a weekly football press conference is worse than having your DVR not record last week's episode of The League, you can read the full transcripts from Bielema's and Wilson's pressers here and here.

Barry thinks Penn State made the right move firing JoePa.

All is Right Again in Badger Nation

It was a pretty good weekend to be a Badger fan. The Axe is staying home, UW is in the drivers seat for whatever their division is called, the basketball team won, and the hockey team beat #1 Minnesota Friday night. Enjoy watching Montee Ball because he might not be in Madison too much longer.

Rewriting the History Books

Some points to highlight from Dave Heller's post-game notes: Montee Ball holds the UW and Big Ten record for TDs, Russell Wilson broke John Stocco's school record for passing TDs, and Nick Toon is now 3rd in career receiving yards.

Konz Out 2-4 Weeks

Jeff Potrykus reports that center Peter Konz is expected to be out 2-4 weeks after dislocating his ankle against the Gophers. That seems pretty good considering the injury. Potrykus also writes that Jared Abbrederis is expected to practice this week after suffering a shoulder injury.

Don't Forget About Russell for the Heisman

UW's Brian Lucas makes a case for why Russell Wilson should still be considered for the Heisman and other national awards. While the losses to MSU and OSU hurt his chances Wilson has some pretty damn good stats.

UW Moves Up to 17th

The Badgers moved up to 15th in the AP, 13th in the Coaches, and 17th in the latest BCS Rankings. You can see the full rankings here.

Badgers Drill Kennesaw State

The men's basketball team quietly started its season Saturday with 85-31 drilling of Kennesaw State (who?). The Badgers tied a school record with 15 3-pointers. Josh Gasser and Ben Brust lead the Badgers with 14 points. You can read more about the ass kicking at the JS, Fox Sports WI, and Badger of Honor.

Meet the UW Freshmen

Phil at B5Q writes about the challenges each member of this year's freshman class faces in getting playing time this season. It's worth noting that George Marshall and Jarrod Uthoff didn't play Saturday.

Wisconsin 2 of Katz's Can't Miss Games

The Marquette and Ohio State games in Madison are two of Andy Katz's 25 can't miss games this season. December 3rd could be a big day for Badger fans.

It's Never Too Late for a Season Preview

Swingtown Basketball takes an in-depth look at each Big Ten team and predicts UW will finish 2nd to OSU while Pocket Doppler addresses some of the holes UW will need to fill this season.

Other

The ESPN Big Ten blog writes that one of the things we learned this weekend is UW and Michigan State are on a collision course for a rematch in Indy. It also projects UW to play in the Rose Bowl so read between the lines there.

Get that AXE!

Sorry for the lack of post this week, it's been busy over here at Badgerfans.com.  This is going to be quick too but there are a couple quick hits that if you haven't seen are well worth it....

Frist up, Mike Lucas sat down with Bo Ryan to discuss the season, the team kicks off the season tomorrow at noon at the Kohl Center vs Kennesaw St.  Here is the full interview from UWBadgers.com:

 

Second Bo got a big raise this week and is now the #4 highest paid basketball coach in the Big Ten.  Bo is making a cool $2.0MM in 2011.  NICE!

A couple other Badger coaches got paid this week as well.  Joe Rudolph and Ben Herbert are no making over $200k and hopefully this raise will help keep outside schools at bay.  

And of course, the Badger Football team heads to Minneapolis this weekend to take on the Golden Losers at 2:30pm on BTN.  This has to be my favorite Gopher-Badger highlight of all time: