The last time the Wisconsin men's basketball team (7-4 Big Ten, 16-6 overall) faced Michigan (3-8, 12-13), the game itself was a blip on the radar. Two games against No. 1 Illinois lurked ahead and all the hype pushed the Michigan game to the background. Since then, Wisconsin fell twice to the top team in the nation and the Fighting Illini are poised to capture another Big Ten championship.
Nonetheless, the Badgers are nowhere near conceding the season despite difficulty down the stretch and on the road, not to mention injuries that have sprung up at the most inopportune times.
After sophomore guard Alando Tucker returned to the team following a foot injury, mono sidelined freshman forward Brian Butch, removing an additional inside threat. This injury bug has given the Badgers little time to feel sorry for the similarly stricken Wolverines.
\We don't feel bad for them because stuff has happened to us and we just have to fight through it,"" sophomore guard Kammron Taylor said.
Since the 72-61 victory over the Wolverines, the Badgers have gone 3-3 in the Big Ten with two losses against Illinois and one against Minnesota. While the team struggles to find consistent play from its guards, Wisconsin's go-to-guys, senior forward Mike Wilkinson and Tucker are forced to carry a heavier load for now.
Saturday against the Illini, Wilkinson was held to only four shots leaving Tucker to bare the brunt of the load of the Badgers' scoring. Tucker, who had four points in 23 minutes against Michigan at the Crisler Arena, feels this game will be a vast improvement over the last time he played against the Wolverines.
An added bonus for Tucker will be his return to 100 percent health.
""Compared to last time I wasn't practicing a lot with the team,"" Tucker said. ""I just jumped back in and tried to play a game before even stepping on the practice court, that was the main part that was hard. I am just getting back into the flow of offense so it's helping me a lot to be out on the practice court just doing what I can to help the team.""
Coming off the loss to Illinois, the Badgers look to return to the basics, including limiting turnovers, completing free-throws and, most importantly, closing out games. In its last three games, UW has had more turnovers than assists while both losses to Illinois saw late collapses by the Badgers.
""We have to finish out and close out games strong and that's one thing we did against Iowa. And that's one thing we have to stay consistent on,"" Tucker said of his team's need to execute.
Wilkinson, who had 28 points and was 9-of-11 from the field against Michigan the last time he and the Badgers faced the Wolverines, knows that the fans want to see him with the ball a little more often but said he will not force anything to happen.
""I'm not going to take shots that aren't going to help the team,"" Wilkinson said of his outlook for the game. ""Personally, myself, there are times where I need to demand the ball more and try and get the ball more in the post-just get the ball where I can do something with it or sometimes make something happen... things I can do to help this team.""
UW is set to tip off against the Wolverines Wednesday at 8 p.m. in the Kohl Center.
