Game Day Essentials: Game #15 at #21 Wisconsin

Wisconsin Info

Head Coach: Greg Gard
Location: Madison, WI
Conference: B1G
Nickname: Badgers

Mascot: Bucky Badger

Line: Wisconsin by 7
Typical Rotation Depth: 9+

KenPom rank: 13

Nota bene:  

• Nebraska has won their last two contests vs Wisconsin including a rare road win at the end of the 2021-22 season.
• Nebraska is 2-7 all-time vs teams ranked #21 in the AP poll
• Wisconsin has returned most of its roster from last season, ranking 9th in KenPom's minute continuity stat
• Bryce Williams is 6 points away from 1,000 career points

KenPom most used lineups

Player to watch: AJ Storr

Wisconsin brought back 9 of their top 10 scorers from last year. AJ Storr is the one transfer they've added and he's turned out to be the leading scorer though he's currently struggling from 3 after shooting 40%+ as a freshman. 

Player to watch: Steven Crowl

Crowl is a problem as he's not only highly accurate inside but is also able to find teammates when double teams occur. In addition to being a great rebounder on both ends, he's hit a ridiculous 11 of his 16 3s this season. About the only thing Crowl doesn't do is block shots.

Player to watch: Chucky Hepburn

The Omaha native is always someone Nebraska fans watch in this matchup.  Hepburn struggled last year having to shoulder a higher scoring load. With Storr in the picture, Hepburn is able to focus on being a distributor on offense and a disrubtor on defense. Like Storr he's also struggling from 3.

Others to watch

Tyler Wahl has recovered from an ankle injury that really hampered his productivity last season. Max Klesmit is also underperforming from 3. Freshman guard John Blackwell has played into the rotation in part because of his 3pt shooting and in part because of Connor Essegian's struggles. Carter Gilmore, Nolan Winter, and Markus Ilver are depth at the post.

UNL Game Notes

Roster/infirmary report

Will update if needed when the B1G releases their injury 

Out indefinitely 

5   Ahron Ulis     6-3    190 lbs    Junior - Likely out for the season
15  Blaise Keita     6-11    257 lbs    Junior - Ongoing ankle injury recovery

Have been showing up on the injury report

35    Henry Burt                  6-7    216 lbs    RS Freshman

2    Ramel Lloyd Jr.             6-6    210 lbs    RS Freshman

Possible starters for Nebraska

10    Jamarques Lawrence  6-3    183 lbs    Sophomore

30   Keisei Tominaga           6-2    179 lbs    Senior
3     Brice Williams               6-7    213 lbs    Junior

4   Juwan Gary                   6-6    221 lbs    Junior

51    Rienk Mast                 6-10    248 lbs    Junior

Bench

53   Josiah Allick                 6-8    231 lbs    Senior

0    C.J. Wilcher                  6-5    214 lbs    Junior

9    Jarron Coleman            6-5    213 lbs    Senior
1    Sam Hoiberg                 6-0    183 lbs    Sophomore
11    Eli Rice                         6-8    213 lbs    Freshman
21    Matar Diop                 6-10    213 lbs    Freshman
31    Cale Jacobsen            6-4    200 lbs    RS Freshman

24    Jeffrey Grace III         6-3    197 lbs    Sophomore 

The Skinny: 

Wisconsin has earned their rating this season playing one of the toughest non-con schedules in D-1, scoring impressive wins over Marquette, Virginia, and SMU.  Nebraska took another path, using a low end schedule to figure out the roster. Nebraska looks to see if they've found a winning formula against the team undefeated in conference play this afternoon.

While there aren't NBA players on the squad, this team looks a lot like a better team version of what Indiana rolls out. The Badgers will put you on the FT line and will give you 3pt looks...something this Nebraska team has thrived on.  For whatever reason their 3pt offense has cratered given they aren't taking nor making many 3s.  While not quite as 2pt heavy as Indiana, their finishers aren't as elite. 

This is yet another good stylistic matchup for the Huskers and potentially a stealable road game against a NCAA tourney team. Can Nebraska put together the 40 minutes it will likely need to win this one?

Prediction: Wisconsin 80 - Nebraska 73