For the second time this season, the Wisconsin men's basketball team (7-1 overall) will take on a foe from the Colonial Athletic Association as the Badger's welcome UNC-Wilmington to the Kohl Center tonight. Having already dispatched of conference favorite and highly regarded Old Dominion in the championship game of the Paradise Jam tournament, the well-rested Seahawks (7-1 overall) will no doubt provide a challenge for a Badger team that could be playing with tired legs after having only one day of rest to recover from a hard fought 77-63 victory over Marquette.
Playing a style of basketball similar to the one emphasized by head coach Bo Ryan, relying on half court offense and tough defense, the Seahawks should provide a good test for the Badgers and continue to prep them for the rigors of a tough Big Ten schedule that looms closer every day.
Though none of the players, coaches, or fans will likely be as excited to take on a mid-major program such as UNC-Wilmington, as opposed to the frenzied atmosphere versus instate rival Marquette, the Seahawks are not a team to be taken lightly. UNC-Wilmington's recent hot play has started to garner national attention, with the Seahawks recently climbing to No. 26 in ratings guru Jeff Sagarin's USA Today men's college basketball rankings. The Hawks have also recently begun to receive votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and moved up to No. 12 in the Mid Major Top 25 poll after scoring a resounding 60-40 victory over rival Virginia Commonwealth.
UNC-Wilmington is off to their best start since 1992-93, largely on the heels of a balanced offensive attack and their characteristically stingy defense, which is currently giving up only 56 points per game on 37.9 percent shooting.
The Seahawks have not only been knocking off lowly Mid-Major opponents, as shown by their 56-48 over Northwestern in the championship game of the Black Coaches Association tournament, but also in another test against a foe from a powerhouse conference, the Seahawks fell to Colorado by a margin of 73-54 back on November 12.
Led by senior point guard John Goldsberry and sophomore forward Todd Hendly, who are averaging 12.4 and 11.3 points per game, respectively, the Seahawks will be taking their first trip to Madison since a 68-35 defeat at the Field House on Nov. 30, 1996. Goldsberry is one to watch in particular, as he is averaging 5.25 assists per game as well as shooting a sizzling .475 from behind the arc. After fairing well in their attempts to limit Marquette's standout freshman point guard Dominic James, Goldsberry should provide another test for the point guard tandem of junior Kammron Taylor and sophomore Michael Flowers.
The defensive effort against Marquette was impressive, as they forced the Golden Eagles into 16 turnovers and turned them into 20 points on the offensive end of the court.
Senior forward Ray Nixon will look to follow up his breakout performance against Marquette in which he set career highs in scoring with (15 points), minutes played (32), field goals (six) and field-goal attempts (10) and steals (three).
