Thoughts on Wisconsin

[GGGG]

MU certainly wins the battle of getting players who were ranked higher coming out of HS.  Buzz and Bo both have their systems and try to recruit to it.  It would be hard not to admit that Bo has found great fits for his system in his current team, and that he has them playing very well within his system this year with outstanding results.

The highest rated player out of high school will be wearing red and white on Saturday.  (Dekker)  But other than than, yeah...

[hairy worthen]

MU certainly wins the battle of getting players who were ranked higher coming out of HS.  Buzz and Bo both have their systems and try to recruit to it.  It would be hard not to admit that Bo has found great fits for his system in his current team, and that he has them playing very well within his system this year with outstanding results.

The "system" can only take you so far. That's why BOBO fails in the tournament on a regular basis. At the end of the day, you have to have both a good system and better athletes than the other team.

[memorialspartans]

The highest rated player out of high school will be wearing red and white on Saturday.  (Dekker)  But other than than, yeah...

Don't sleep on Koenig although he shouldn't have much of an impact Saturday. But strangely enough each year in this game, a player you don't expect to make a difference makes a huge difference. Who's it gonna be this year???

[Dawson Rental]

The "system" can only take you so far. That's why BOBO fails in the tournament on a regular basis. At the end of the day, you have to have both a good system and better athletes than the other team.

I think that better athletes can be overcome by a team that plays with better discipline or whose players have greater skill.  Otherwise, Memphis would have had much more success in the NCAA tournament than they have under Pastner.  Did Davidson almost beat us in the tournament because they had similar athletes to MU?

[mubb34]

Jake on gasser is a bad idea. I think gasser has a big game is jake covers him.

As mentioned, I don't think that Gasser is that much of an offensive threat. He hits open shots, but I don't think he creates plays for himself...And who else would we throw him on? Jackson or Brust? No way...

[4everwarriors]

Turn around time means nothin'. UW plays each opponent the exact same way. That's Bo's system and he doesn't change regardless of the personnel. Extremely successful at every level he's coached. In fact, I'd say Bo is legendary. Probably take this year's team out back to the woodshed and spank our heines.

[memorialspartans]

Sweet 16, Sweet 16, Elite 8 & Big East champion. Vander gave us a ton, thus far more than Gasser has brought to Madison. And that's not even accounting for the major in-state recruiting shift that occured with his switch from UW to MU. His choice of MU paid off in more ways than just on the court. I'll always love him for that.

Agreed Vander helped us a great deal. I don't agree however on the major in state recruiting shift. My Mad City friends claim he decommitted to UW due to grades. Koenig apparently didn't have a problem with UW and we weren't even in on Looney as they were. Guess we'll see about Stone, Ellenson, etc.

[Dawson Rental]

As mentioned, I don't think that Gasser is that much of an offensive threat. He hits open shots, but I don't think he creates plays for himself...And who else would we throw him on? Jackson or Brust? No way...

If either Gasser or Brust gets hot from the 3 pt line, beating Wisconsin will be almost impossible.  It's nearly impossible to keep up with that scoring against Wisconsin's defense.

Best way to beat Wisconsin is to quicken the pace while maintaining offensive efficiency.  Their starters, particularly on the perimeter play heavy minutes and count on a slow pace.  However, unless a team can get a ton of transition points, quickening the pace against Wisconsin's defense is very difficult without being forced into poor shots which lowers offensive efficiency which plays into Wisconsin's hands because then a team has to dig itself out of a hole against Wisconsin's defense.

[hairy worthen]

I think that better athletes can be overcome by a team that plays with better discipline or whose players have greater skill.  Otherwise, Memphis would have had much more success in the NCAA tournament than they have under Pastner.  Did Davidson almost beat us in the tournament because they had similar athletes to MU?

I think you need both a good system and athletic players. Not sure Memphis had a good system and were disciplined. Using your same argument about Memphis, why hasn't UW won the National Championship?   They may be the best system team in the country.

A team like Wisconsin or Davidson can occasionally hang with more athletic teams and beat them, but over the long haul better athletes will win out. That's why you rarely see the teams like Davidson advance much further after the upset round.   Of course there are always exceptions.

[Hards Alumni]

This game should be a no brainer for us. We have better talent, according to all, and according to many on this board, we have the better coach. So with better talent and coaching, we should win. I am hoping for a thorough ass kicking of UW. They are 8th in the country and moving up. What better opportunity for us to seal our resume this year than kicking rodent ass on their home floor? I am all for seeing crying Ryan going ballistic. Not much scoring in this game. First to 48 wins.

Why are you constantly an insufferable whiner?

[tower912]

Stay home on the shooters as much as you can.   Dare Gasser and Brust to beat you off of the dribble.   Let Jackson shoot.    Attack offensively.   

[hairy worthen]

Stay home on the shooters as much as you can.   Dare Gasser and Brust to beat you off of the dribble.   Let Jackson shoot.    Attack offensively.   

All that, plus score more points than they do.

[GGGG]

Agreed Vander helped us a great deal. I don't agree however on the major in state recruiting shift. My Mad City friends claim he decommitted to UW due to grades. Koenig apparently didn't have a problem with UW and we weren't even in on Looney as they were. Guess we'll see about Stone, Ellenson, etc.

Your "Mad City friends" believe what they want to believe...they in no way shape or form have a complete picture.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Agreed Vander helped us a great deal. I don't agree however on the major in state recruiting shift. My Mad City friends claim he decommitted to UW due to grades. Koenig apparently didn't have a problem with UW and we weren't even in on Looney as they were. Guess we'll see about Stone, Ellenson, etc.

I've got a bridge to sell you my friend.

Looney doesn't count, he went to UCLA.

They have Dekker & Koenig, with no one else in the pipeline

vs.

DWilson, Burton, Cohen, Noskowiak, and Flory

Trust me, the in-state tide has turned in our favor. Stone going to MU will cement it for years to come. Stone going to UW will bring things back to an equilibrium.

[hairy worthen]

Agreed Vander helped us a great deal. I don't agree however on the major in state recruiting shift. My Mad City friends claim he decommitted to UW due to grades. Koenig apparently didn't have a problem with UW and we weren't even in on Looney as they were. Guess we'll see about Stone, Ellenson, etc.

No!  Bo cooled on him. Remember? 

Based on my own empirical evidence MU is becoming more and more popular with kids in high school. Based on actual evidence, see Jajuannaman's post above.

[Henry Sugar]

My three keys to the UW game

1. Limit their looks from behind the arc (or hope UW misses). Wisconsin is #30 from behind the arc and #163 from inside. Conversely, MU is #19 defending inside and #173 defending the three. Their strength matches our weakness.

2. Offensive Rebounds. MU is #28 at getting offensive rebounds. UW is #28 at preventing offensive rebounds. If they do not win the turnover battle, Marquette has to win the OR% battle to win this game. On the plus side, MU will be the best offensive rebounding team UW has faced by far.

3. Protect the ball. UW is one of the worst teams in the nation at forcing turnovers. They cannot be given free possessions. Marquette has shown the ability to protect the ball well at times, but has been far too careless in several games. It's almost a given that MU will lose this matchup, but can they keep it close?

I think MU needs to win the eFG% and OR% matchups, or more likely, keep eFG% close and have a strong advantage on OR%.

[Stretchdeltsig]

We have great talent on this team.  To win we need to make baskets and free throws.  Sounds simple.  But, we lose when we can't shoot from the field or line.  We need senior leadership.  Jamil are you listening?

[Silkk the Shaka]

My three keys to the UW game

1. Limit their looks from behind the arc (or hope UW misses). Wisconsin is #30 from behind the arc and #163 from inside. Conversely, MU is #19 defending inside and #173 defending the three. Their strength matches our weakness.

2. Offensive Rebounds. MU is #28 at getting offensive rebounds. UW is #28 at preventing offensive rebounds. If they do not win the turnover battle, Marquette has to win the OR% battle to win this game. On the plus side, MU will be the best offensive rebounding team UW has faced by far.

3. Protect the ball. UW is one of the worst teams in the nation at forcing turnovers. They cannot be given free possessions. Marquette has shown the ability to protect the ball well at times, but has been far too careless in several games. It's almost a given that MU will lose this matchup, but can they keep it close?

I think MU needs to win the eFG% and OR% matchups, or more likely, keep eFG% close and have a strong advantage on OR%.

Yep. Chase them off the line, funnel them to the bigs, clean up the boards on both ends.

Oh, and also, "be more athletic than them. F*ck with them."

[MUfan12]

"Be more athletic than they are. F--k with them." -Buzz Williams

[Eldon]

One thing that gives me a glimmer of hope for Saturday is the fact that our coaching staff has basically had a week of prep, whereas, Bo had to prep for UVA before us.  Plus, we now have 9 games of film to analyze, whereas we had how many on ASU?  tOSU?

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

My three keys to the UW game

1. Limit their looks from behind the arc (or hope UW misses). Wisconsin is #30 from behind the arc and #163 from inside. Conversely, MU is #19 defending inside and #173 defending the three. Their strength matches our weakness.

2. Offensive Rebounds. MU is #28 at getting offensive rebounds. UW is #28 at preventing offensive rebounds. If they do not win the turnover battle, Marquette has to win the OR% battle to win this game. On the plus side, MU will be the best offensive rebounding team UW has faced by far.

3. Protect the ball. UW is one of the worst teams in the nation at forcing turnovers. They cannot be given free possessions. Marquette has shown the ability to protect the ball well at times, but has been far too careless in several games. It's almost a given that MU will lose this matchup, but can they keep it close?

I think MU needs to win the eFG% and OR% matchups, or more likely, keep eFG% close and have a strong advantage on OR%.

Any specific thoughts on fouls/free throws?

In previous years, that's been a huge factor for UW, especially at home.

I haven't see much of UW this year, so I don't know if the new rules has changed how they defend and/or score (especially at the Kohl Center).

My gut tell me that MU will have to defend well, AND draw fouls on UW players to win. It's a tall task... but I don't think MU shoots it well enough from the field right now. They are going to have to get a bunch at the line, and hopefully get some Badger players out of the game.

[Wade for President]

You'd be hard pressed to name a team with as many quality wins as Wisco has had thus far (St. John's, Florida, @ Green Bay, Saint Louis, West Virginia, @ Virginia).  Very impressive and a tip of the hat to the Grinch and his coaching efforts.

An MU win will go a long way in turning the season (and collective attitudes/perspective of Team Scoop) around.

If we only mustered 35 points against OSU at home, is it fair to expect us to finish in the 26-29 point range for Saturday?  No teal?

[mu03eng]

If either Gasser or Brust gets hot from the 3 pt line, beating Wisconsin will be almost impossible.  It's nearly impossible to keep up with that scoring against Wisconsin's defense.

I don't think Wisconsin's defense is as suffocating this year as it has been in past years.  I think they can be broken down off the dribble and Kaminsky isn't a great rim protector on the back side.  Our strength is the dribble drive(other than Jake) and I think JJJ and Burton both have a chance to make an impact in that regard.

[mu03eng]

You'd be hard pressed to name a team with as many quality wins as Wisco has had thus far (St. John's, Florida, @ Green Bay, Saint Louis, West Virginia, @ Virginia).  Very impressive and a tip of the hat to the Grinch and his coaching efforts.

An MU win will go a long way in turning the season (and collective attitudes/perspective of Team Scoop) around.

If we only mustered 35 points against OSU at home, is it fair to expect us to finish in the 26-29 point range for Saturday?  No teal?

tOSU is a better defensive team than Becky.

[MUSF]

My three keys to the UW game

1. Limit their looks from behind the arc (or hope UW misses). Wisconsin is #30 from behind the arc and #163 from inside. Conversely, MU is #19 defending inside and #173 defending the three. Their strength matches our weakness.

2. Offensive Rebounds. MU is #28 at getting offensive rebounds. UW is #28 at preventing offensive rebounds. If they do not win the turnover battle, Marquette has to win the OR% battle to win this game. On the plus side, MU will be the best offensive rebounding team UW has faced by far.

3. Protect the ball. UW is one of the worst teams in the nation at forcing turnovers. They cannot be given free possessions. Marquette has shown the ability to protect the ball well at times, but has been far too careless in several games. It's almost a given that MU will lose this matchup, but can they keep it close?

I think MU needs to win the eFG% and OR% matchups, or more likely, keep eFG% close and have a strong advantage on OR%.

1. I think Buzz typically takes the "hope they miss" approach to defending 3 point shooters. Even good teams will typically miss more than they make. The key to that approach is rebounding, especially against UW. They will use up the shot clock and make some three point shots. We can't give them second chances when they miss.

2. Agree with your assessment here. Statistically, MU is the better rebounding team. We need that to continue on Saturday to win.

3. Agree again. This is going to drive people nuts here, but Derrick Wilson is a big key to this game IMO. He is our best option for running the offense effectively and protecting the ball. If he is turning it over or putting us in bad offensive positions, we will be in trouble. I also don't think we can afford to put the ball in Jamil, Dawson, or Todd's hands at PG for long stretches if we want to protect the ball and maximize possessions.