The No. 9 Wisconsin Badgers ended their preseason last night with an 81-61 victory over Division III opponent Carroll College. Along with the 82-33 victory over UW-Stout last Friday, Wisconsin is confident going into their regular season opener against Mercer Sunday at the Kohl Center.
In both exhibition games, the Badgers were finally able to display the depth that makes them a popular choice to go to the Final Four this season. After everyone played and contributed in the victory over UW-Stout, the Badgers again showed they have capable bodies all along their bench against Carroll.
Still, head coach Bo Ryan downplayed the media's attention to his team' depth and emphasized that this is only a sample set, and not a real reflection of what Badger fans might see down the road.
""I don't know how deep our depth is right now,"" Ryan said. ""You still have to play and prove it.""
But what did impress Ryan was the play of his freshmen, in particular guards Jason Bohannon and Trevon Hughes. Bohannon totaled 20 points in the two games and Hughes showed flashes of brilliance and intensity on both sides of the ball.
Wisconsin continued their struggles of last season from the free throw line in the exhibition games. UW shot only 59 percent from the charity stripe during the two contests.
The Badgers also struggled from the field in both games, shooting 44 and 45 percent, respectively, but senior guard Kammron Taylor attributes those stats to the unknowns the Division III teams provide.
""I think sometimes we might have overlooked who were playing because of we don't get a chance to get that much film on them,"" Taylor said. ""We don't know that much about what they're going to do defensively and we have to adjust on the fly.""
The same goes for senior forward Alando Tucker. Tucker was unable to get into any offensive rhythm in the two games, scoring 10 points on 30 percent shooting in the two games combined. Ryan stressed that his star player is used to playing ""more minutes strung together,"" and the need to see other players hindered his ability to get into any flow.
Most of all, what Ryan emphasized was the fact that the Badgers weren't playing against themselves anymore.
""That is good training. In practice, each guy gets to know the other guy and his tendencies and all that,"" Ryan said. ""That's why with exhibition games you get a chance to guard some different things and different movement.""
Badger fans will be able to see what Wisconsin has learned from their exhibition when they open their regular season Sunday against Mercer. The ninth-ranked team in the country has lofty expectations surrounding it. Now, Wisconsin finally gets to see what the 2006-'07 Badgers are made of.
