Game Day Essentials: Game #22 vs #6 Wisconsin

Wisconsin Info

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

Mascot: Bucky Badger

Line: Wisconsin by 1.5
Typical Rotation Depth: 9+

KenPom rank: 11

Nota bene:  

• Wisconsin has returned most of its roster from last season, ranking 9th in KenPom's minute continuity stat
• Wisconsin beat Nebraska 88-72 at the Kohl Center despite one of their best shooting performances of the season as they couldn't stop the Badgers all day. 5 Badgers scored in double digits with Tyler Wahl leading the way with 17 points. Keisei Tominaga also scored 17 in the loss.

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, especially with his 3pt shot falling during conference play.

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. He's the only Badger starter shooting under 36% from 3 in confrence play.

Others to watch

Tyler Wahl has recovered from an ankle injury that really hampered his productivity last season. Max Klesmit has been on fire during conference play. 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. However, most will remember Essegian coming off the bench vs. Nebraska and hitting 4 3s in 12 minutes.  Carter Gilmore, Nolan Winter, and Markus Ilver are depth at the post.

UNL Game Notes

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

Game Time

4   Juwan Gary                   6-6    221 lbs    Junior

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

53   Josiah Allick                 6-8    231 lbs    Senior

51    Rienk Mast                 6-10    248 lbs    Junior

Bench

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

35    Henry Burt                  6-7    216 lbs    RS Freshman

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

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 

Hoiberg/Williams

One of the rare times you'll see Hoiberg to be almost angry during a pre-game presser. Would also note that Hoiberg didn't mention Brice Williams when listing players about toughness despite the fact that Williams was in the room.

The Skinny: 

Wisconsin has gelled as a team and walks into the PBA with the best record in the conference and a top 10 standing. In a conference where road wins have been rare, the Badgers currently are 3-1 on the road in the B1G. Wisky still has a couple of games against 2nd place Purdue, including one on Sunday, that might decide the conference. Are they looking ahead to that?

A lot has been made about the lack of fight Nebraska has shown on the road but hopefully before we get to that they will keep up their play at home. The Badgers aren't going to turn you over nor aggressively hunt offensive rebounds, so Nebraska has a chance to win the possession battle against the best shooting team in the conference.  With Wisconsin as the odds on favorite to shoot more FTs in this one, Nebraska will likely need the extra shot attempts to win. 

Is Juwan Gary back for this one? 

Look for Nebraska to fight in this one where Wisconsin very well might be looking ahead.

Prediction: Nebraska 81 - Wisconsin 77