The Badgers will look to extend their winning streak to a season high of three straight when they face Milwaukee on Wednesday at 8 PM in the Kohl Center. The game will be televised on BTN.
Bo Ryan has posted a perfect record against his old team since he left the Panthers to coach the Badgers at the beginning of the 2001-2002 season, with last year’s score being 93-54. This is the first of two in-state games for the Badgers this week.
Projected Starters
Projected Wisconsin Starters:
G: Bronson Koenig (15.8 PPG, 2.7 APG)
G: Zak Showalter (8.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG)
F: Nigel Hayes (15.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 4.9 APG)
F: Vitto Brown (10.0 PPG, 6.0 APG)
F: Ethan Happ (10.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG)
Projected Milwaukee Starters:
G: Jordan Johnson (10.1 PPG, 8.3 APG)
G: Akeem Springs (12.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG)
F: Austin Arians (13.6 PPG, 4.0 RPG)
F: Matt Tiby (14.6 PPG, 8.4 RPG)
F: J.J. Panoske (10.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG)
Outlook
Milwaukee comes into the game 6-3 against the rolling Wisconsin Badgers. The Panthers are led by senior Matt Tiby, who leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, and junior Austin Arians, who can really shoot the ball at 37% from three and 94% from the free throw line. The Badgers will need to defend Tiby in the post and Arians on the perimeter to keep the Panthers honest and searching for answers. Jordan Johnson runs the offense and does it well, averaging 8.3 assists per game, including notching a season high 13 assists against Duquesne. Milwaukee as a team shares the ball really well averaging 18 assists per game which ranks 20th out of the 351 NCAA Men’s Basketball teams.
The Badgers received great production from Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig in their win against Temple on Saturday, and will hope to see that trend continue on Wednesday. Another trend Badger fans would also like to see continue is the improved three-point shooting with the Badgers going 6-11 (54.5%) against Temple.
The Badgers will need to stop Milwaukee’s Johnson from getting into the paint and dishing to teammates for easy buckets and put the bigger Hayes on him so he cannot shoot easily over Wisconsin. A steady diet of Hayes and Koenig on the offensive end should be enough to beat Milwaukee as long as they are productive, with a little help from some friends.
Old Friends
Bo Ryan being the former coach of Milwaukee isn’t the only connection the two schools have. Current Panthers coach Rob Jeter played under Bo at UW-Platteville and was the captain of the 1991 Division III Championship squad and an assistant for two other ones. He made stops at both Milwaukee and Wisconsin under Bo as well.
Bottom Line
For the second straight game, this game is about how the Badgers play and not the opponent. Simply put, as long as the Badgers continue to fire on all cylinders, Milwaukee shouldn’t be a tough task on Wednesday night.
Photo from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.