Orange Crushed

Alando Tucker, Rock Taylor, and J-Cheezy Chappel have won at least one game in every BT venue over the course of their UW careers with the 71-64 win at Illinois yestersday. The win is a credit to Bo Ryan's program and a testament to senior leadership that refuses to fade in tight ballgames on the road. Although it wasn't pretty, the Badgers are 5-0 and off to their best start since 1916 (19-1).

A few numbers from Champaign are particularly telling:

Bucky was 18-21 from the FT line, a notable improvement from Wednesday and a key to winning on the road.

Wisconsin committed only 7 turnovers. This allows teams to weather cold spells because at least they're taking shots at the basket and not contributing to transition points at the other end. The Illini only had 9 TO's.

38 rebounds, 4 more than Illinois.

Two lingering concerns from yesterday also mandate attention:

1. Shawn Pruitt scored 19 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. With Chappell in foul trouble UW didn't have the quickness in the post to match up with him and didn't collapse down on him sufficiently with helpside defense. This should be a point of emphasis in practice this week.

2. Closing out three-point shooters wherever they linger on the arc. Brian Randle hurt Bucky here as did OSU and at times Purdue. These shots must be contested even when hoisted from NBA range. (a nod to Sherby)

A final point. UW excels when Tucker and Taylor do their usual and one other player steps up on offense. Against OSU that was Landry, Purdue had Chappel, and Illinois Greg Stiemsma. Who will answer the call on Wednesday against Michigan and in the two big road games at Iowa and Indiana?

As for BT rankings this week, I think the standings speak for themselves with a couple of caveats. I still think MSU is better than Michigan and will be a bubble team come tournament time. Moreover, Tom Izzo can coach the pants off Amaker. Nice win by IU at UConn. The Hoosiers are clearly the third best team in the league and will present a formidable challege for Bucky on 1/31. Penn State is a bit of a disappointment. Their failure to defend their home court will sentence the Nittany Lions to another lower division finish.