With superior athleticism, the Badgers are finding it easier to get to the hoop this year, while also getting hot outside shooting from Brian Butch and Kammron Taylor. This has resulted in a 87.8 point average in their first five games, including an 88 point performance in their loss to Wake Forest. Pepperdine is a lot like Wisconsin in that they are a young team, but they are also a very scrappy defensive group. The Waves held UConn to only 75 points, forcing 19 turnovers to go along with 13 steals. So far Wisconsin has put up the expected 12.6 turnovers per game and will have to limit that number against the Waves. The offense has proven they can score however, and an 80 point effort should be attainable.
While UW is only giving up 73.2 points per game, the Badgers defense allowed Wake Forest to put up 91 points, which raises a lot of questions. Fortunately for Wisconsin, Pepperdine does not have any true stars like Justin Gray, who scored 37 of those 91 points for the Demon Deacons. In fact, the Waves are only averaging 67 points a game. Wisconsin has the height advantage and if Kammron Taylor can hold freshman point guard Michael Garrity under 20 points, the Badgers should be able to hold the Waves under 75 points.
Waves head coach Paul Westphal may have taken the Phoenix Suns to the NBA Finals in 1993, but he has only taken Pepperdine to the NCCA Tournament once, which resulted in a first round loss. Granted, he does have Charles Barkley anymore, but the only team Pepperdine should be finishing second to in the West Coast Conference is Gonzaga, and the Waves finished fifth a season ago. There is no need to list Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan's accomplishments again. His two Big Ten titles speak for themselves. While both coaches deal with the same task of developing a young team into conference title contenders, there is no one better than Ryan when it comes to taking mediocre teams deep into March.
Last year, in their loss at Pepperdine, Firestone Fieldhouse surprised the Badgers and the atmosphere contributed to the abundance of missed shots and turnovers. Now it will be the Waves that will have to deal with a huge home-court advantage. There have been no signs of the Kohl Center relinquishing any of its power this season, even with the relatively new squad. Expect the home crowd to help give the Badgers an early lead, or give them the edge down the stretch if Wisconsin finds points hard to come by.
