Is there any doubt that the Badgers will win another Big Ten title this season? Well, after UW shut down Illinois 76-56 last Saturday, whatever doubts that Wisconsin may not pull off the three-peat may have seemed to vanish.
However, it is still early in the Big Ten season. UW has been on the road only once so far this conference season, losing at Purdue 53-50.
As the bench begins to accumulate key injuries, it is going to be the play of the reserves that will determine whether Wisconsin can complete the trifecta and bring home its third straight conference title.
Under Ryan, Wisconsin really has not had to utilize a deep bench. It's normal for only seven or eight Badgers to see any playing time. This season though, with sophomore forward Alando Tucker out with an ankle injury, sophomore forward Jason Chappell still out with a foot injury and senior guard Freddie Owens now week-to-week after injuring his foot, Bo has had to turn to his bench for support.
And so far, the bench has not let him down. Junior guard Clayton Hanson had a stellar performance against Michigan when another guard, junior Devin Harris, was on the bench with foul trouble. Senior center Dave Mader has seen increased playing time and has contributed to the great defensive play UW has seen over recent weeks. Sophomore forward Ray Nixon has come on the court for UW and given the Badgers another outlet for the deep ball and an additional solid defender on the other end of the floor.
It will be the play of the bench, and not the starters, that will determine if UW can win on the road. We've come to expect great play out of Harris and junior forward Mike Wilkinson, who was recently named co-Big Ten player of the week. However, those two do not play all 40 minutes on the court. That's when the bench comes in big and gives UW that same high level of play on the court. Names like Morley, Boo, Andreas and Clayton are starting to have the same effect on the Grateful Red as Mike, Devin, Freddie and Alando.
With the Big Ten race heating up in what has become the bitter cold of late January, I'm putting my stock in the unlikely heroes of the bench to lead Wisconsin to the conference crown. UW will win its third consecutive conference title, not at the friendly confines of the Kohl Center, but on the Hoosiers' home court March 6 when the Badgers finish out the regular season at IU.
If only Harris and Co. could win the Big Ten Tournament and be out-right Big Ten Conference champions, now that would be a sight to see.
Josh Salm is a junior majoring in history. He can be contacted at jdsalm@wisc.edu.
