Wisconsin will head into East Lansing, Mich., this Thursday with one thing in mind: stopping Michigan State's big three of Maurice Ager, Shannon Brown and Paul Davis.
Junior point guard Kammron Taylor emphasized the importance of Thursday's matchup after practice Monday.
'I know that they have revenge on their minds, we got them here back in January and I know they are going to try to get up and down the court at home,' Taylor said. 'Teams look to get up and down the floor more and play more aggressively at home.'
With only two Big Ten games left this season and both of them on the road, the Badgers will need to finish strong in order to get a high seed going into the Big Ten tournament. However, MSU is looking to salvage a season in which they are currently 7-7 in the Big Ten Conference. With that said, tomorrow's game is significant for both teams.
The major concern for the Badgers this Thursday will be Davis, Ager and Brown. In their first meeting this year, which Wisconsin won 82-63, the Badgers were able to contain two of MSU's big three by holding Davis to just two points and Ager to 11. Wisconsin could not contain Brown however, allowing him to go off for 31 points. The Badgers know that it is hard to contain all three, something that assistant coach Howard Moore pointed out.
'It's kind of like picking your poison. We wish we could say that we are going to knock these two guys out and let the third one do his deal,' Moore said. 'It's going to have to be a team defensive effort.'
The Badgers will need strong team defense in order to keep Paul Davis under control. Davis has always been a thorn in the Badgers' side, and the Badgers can expect tomorrow's contest to be no different. Jason Chappell asserted that denying Davis the ball is the only way to stop the big man.
'The biggest way to stop him is to not let him catch the ball, but once he does you just need to make him shoot a tough shot over you rather than getting a good basket,' Chappell said.
Ager and Brown are also big threats that the Badgers will have to deal with. With Ager averaging 19.2 points per game and Brown only one point behind at 18.2, the Badgers will need to slow down MSU's fast paced transition game.
'The biggest thing is transition defense, those guys want to get up and run. Any of those guys can score in transition,' Moore said. 'We need to make sure that we keep all those guys under control.'
The Badger-Spartan rivalry has grown bigger throughout the years, especially within the last three seasons. Since 2000, the Badgers are 6-4 versus MSU. In 2003, the Badgers snapped the Spartans' 54-game home winning streak. Ever since that win, there has only been bitterness and anger between Wisconsin and Michigan State.
