This Wednesday, the Badgers play host to the 2-4 UW-Green Bay Phoenix. The Badgers (5-1) have had a mildly successful year so far, winning the Paradise Jam tournament to start the year and winning their first two home games. Their only loss came in a close game at Wake Forest during the Big Ten-ACC Challenge. The Badgers' most recent win came over Pepperdine, 71-55, last Saturday.
UW-Green Bay has not been as successful this year, with their only wins this early in the season against North Dakota State and UNC-Greensboro. More recently, they suffered a loss against Illinois State, 59-51. Their lack of success may be due to the youth of their starting lineup, which includes three freshmen. Between all three of the young players, none of them averages more than 11 points per game.
There are several keys for each team during this game. One will be the performance of Wisconsin's big men. Since the beginning of the season, many people have said that their lack of an inside presence was holding Wisconsin back. 'A lot of pre-season magazines said we didn't have a low-post threat,' said forward Jason Chappell. 'We kind of took that a little personally, and we want to show them we could do good stuff when we get the ball down low.' In the last few games, Chappell has been proving the analysts wrong by raising his career bests in his last two games. However, he said that he has a lot to work on.
'I would like to improve on my rebounding a little bit and defensively, both as an individual and as a team.' Chappell said. 'I'm not looking to score more points, but if it happens, it happens.'
Fans can look forward to the Wisconsin big men giving the Phoenix a handful on Wednesday. The Badgers have a large size advantage against the Phoenix, starting Brian Butch at 6'11\ against forward Mike Schachtner, who is only 6'9"". Butch has also shown the ability to step back and shoot as well.
Their perimeter shooting is one threat that the Phoenix will give the Badgers. UW-Green Bay is shooting 42 percent from the arc, higher than their field goal percentage of 37 percent. Their go-to guy from behind the arc is former Wisconsin prospect Ryan Tillema, who has connected on 16 of 32 three-pointers. Coach Bo Ryan said of Tillema, 'Ryan would fit into that category: good player, good person. I admire anybody that can, from the time they're young, work at something, whether it's in music, in academics, in combination athletics, academics and get a scholarship. More power to them, and Ryan is one of those guys.'
The Badgers' three-point category is led by junior guard Kammron Taylor, who is leading the Big Ten with 18 of 34 three point shots this season.
Another key to victory for both sides is free throws. Alando Tucker, who is leading in free throw attempts, only shoots 57 percent from the line. As Wisconsin's top scorer, this may cause some concern. 'Free throw shooting just seems to be so streaky at times for some people,' Ryan said. 'And, you know, he went through a stretch last year where he hit just about everything and other times maybe not. So it's something that's a little streaky. Hopefully he'll have his, he'll be very consistent here in the future. That's all you can hope for.'
Overall, this match-up is heavily favored against Green Bay. The Badgers are bigger and have more experience. However, if Green Bay does get hot from outside the arc, they will give the Badgers a run for their money. The key for Green Bay is not to get into foul trouble and not to try to make it a physical game.
The Badgers need to continue to establish a presence down-low to create more shots on the outside for the rest of the team. If Chappell and Butch can continue to score and dominate their opponents in the rebounding category, then this game should not only be a victory, but give them momentum for the Dec. 10 match-up against rival Marquette.
