#16 Wisconsin at #15 Iowa

Need a win to pass these guys in the BigTen standings. A 3 seed in the NCAA is waiting.

yikes not a real good start.

ok better now, come on Bucky.

Pretty good defensive effort today. Koenig seems to have his shot back. Too many unforced error turnovers gives Iowa the hot start. Take those away and this game ain't even close.

Hayes trying too hard... Needs to sit down and get under control. 2turnovers and a missed layup, and poor defense allowing a dunk and 2offensive boards. Sit him down, Bo...

The zone is really messing with them. They've gone cold from the arch, so it's a good idea. Meanwhile where is the effort/intensity on D????

Major screw job by that ref

Yes! Swept 'em.

Suck it Iowa

 

Badgers getting on a roll now.  It's not out of the realm of possibility they could still win the conference.   Michigan or Michigan State will lose tomorrow and the Hawkeyes still play MSU yet I think

 

 

That was a helluva basketball game. Great that UW won this one, too- they didn't panic, they stayed the course, and got stops in the final minute. Gasser was HUGE. Those 3 3s he hot in tat flurry by Iowa was how they stayed in it, because they were about to crumble. Kinda glad they let Oglesby get checked by Koenig. Good lesson, there. That'll pay off in the future.

They won against MSU, then Minnesota on the road, Michigan on the road, now Iowa on the road. They should right back in the top 10 and a top 3 seed in the NCAA. And lookie lookie... They have another B1G title in sight. Didn't think they could get back in the hunt, by I'll be damned if they're right there again...

Badgers seem to have their mojo back. If they ever get all 8 main guys clicking at once this team will not be stopped. Keoning had his best game today. Frank the Tank has been playing great and Dekker looks to be back to where he was earlier in the season.  Now they need to get Brust and Hayes back on track and keep the rest playing good BB too.

Big Frank is Money. They didn't panic after blowing the lead and made the free throws to close it out. Great Win!!!

I like the sound of this from SI:

 

Put simply, the Badgers have done everything the selection committee looks for out of a high seed. They have four wins over top-20 RPI teams. They’ve won seven games on the road, including five in the Big Ten, and three on neutral courts. Their seven wins over teams that are considered locks to make the NCAA Tournament are the most in the conference. And after a mid-season swoon in which they lost five of six games, they’ve gotten back to playing the brand of efficient offense that once had them ranked No. 3 in the country. They’ve scored at least 75 points in four of the five games on their current winning streak, shooting 46.8 percent from the floor and 39.2 percent from three. Their last four regular season games are against Indiana, Penn State, Purdue and Nebraska. KenPom only gives them a 36 percent chance to win all four games, but they’ll no doubt be favored in each of them. Should they win all four, they’d be 26-5 overall and 13-5 in arguably the best conference in the country, with eight top-50 RPI wins. That sounds like a 2-seed in March.

http://college-basketball.si.c...y-big-ten/?eref=sihp

 

Really good road win again today, not used to seeing a Badger team score 40 at the half. Decker could be in the Big Ten player of the year running, nice bounce back my Kaminski in the second half of the season.

Nice comeback at the end.  Gasser's 3's were huge.

 

I was worried that we were allowing Iowa to get too many second shots....all the while we couldn't make any shots for a stretch there in the 2nd Half.

 

Overall, we didn't panic.  I really think that was/has been the key this year.  We don't seem to panic in crunch time.  Heck, even Hayes made free throws!

 

I just wish we would get a little more "nasty" on defense.

 

I didn't like the non-call for Intentional foul.  Really?  Granted he was going for the ball, but you don't grab the arm and yank it down either.

 

We're still in the hunt!  But egad, that Northwestern loss looks bad now.

 

Iowa radio guys kept calling him "Dewey Dukan."

 

Fits

 

Gasser was nuts today

 

The evolution of Frank Kaminsky has sure been a treat to watch. The kid has tremendous footwork, and now his confidence is sky high. To have this kind of 7 footer with the post moves, footwork, and step out ability is just exciting. And only a Junior. Wow.

Hayes had a tough game today. But after Bo sat him he calmed down. The one thing that still bugs me about this team is they aren't particularly good rebounding. Opponents gets way too many second shots.

But this is the team. They're back on target now. Pretty amazing really...

and they still managed to outrebound Iowa

Hayes is a freshman and he's going to have some inconsistency in his game but I still think it's important for him to get a lot of minutes.   He does force teams to honor him defensively and I think his presence opens things up more for Kaminisky to do his thing.   He's going to be a very good player when it's all said and done because he has that "it" factor.

 

I also like what I'm seeing out of Koenig.   He brings a different element than Brust or Gasser and he's getting more comfortable with taking and making shots.

 

Brust is still in a funk it seems but I think he'll work through it because he's been there before.  He did make a big shot in the second half and it's just a matter of time before he gets his stroke back.

 

Gasser was unreal yesterday.  He made big shot after big shot and just when it seemed like Iowa was going to take control he got out the dagger and the Hawks had no answer for him.

IC and Packerhawk........crickets.   

Pretty much

Bo owns Iowa too

They were talking on ESPN radio how deep the Big Ten is and Iowa was getting a lot of love.   One of the "experts" said they have a shot at a Final Four berth this year. 

Um, Iowa hasn't exactly been a mainstay in the tourney recently and the last time I checked they have two quality wins on their resume.

I think (when healthy) Michigan State is the best team in the big ten.  Iowa and Wisconsin are not far behind.  Iowa needs to learn how to close out games.  Osu and Michigan can win a game on any give night.  The bad teams are better than they have been in the past.  Should be a fun tournament and all the more important to have the first day off. 

Lunardi now has the Badgers as a #2 playing in Milwaukee. That would be pretty sweet.

 

http://espn.go.com/mens-colleg...ketball/bracketology

Yeah, ammo, I saw that yesterday on espn. And that put the Badgers higher than any other Big 10 team (MSU a #3).

 

Kaminsky's play is so huge.

So ammo, after Virginia wooops up on Syracuse later this afternoon, is it likely the BADGERS slide into the #1 seed, that would really be sweet??

Don't think so. Dook or Kansas or maybe even Virginia will be #1s before Wisconsin.  Badgers should clinch the #2 seed in The BigTen tourney with a win tomorrow.

Could be.  But, today...many ranked teams got beat.  Badgers should move up in the polls....IF they beat the Nittany LOINs on Sunday.

 

I still think they end up as a #2 seed playing in Milwaukee.  In the last bracketology on ESPN they get a very favorable draw in that bracket and personally I'd rather they get a #2 seed and play basically at home then secure a #1 seed and go to a different region.

 

I also see UWGB as a #12 seed and assuming they win the Horizon League tournament that is a dangerous team.   They have size you don't usually see in a mid major program and Sykes is an electric playmaking guard.