After suffering a disheartening 66-64 loss to Missouri State, the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team showed its resiliency by not dwelling on the loss and disposing of SEC bottom dweller Auburn just one day later. Now the Badgers return home to the Kohl Center to face Florida State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge at 6:30 p.m.
The No. 12 Badgers will look to redeem themselves against the Seminoles in a match-up that looks like it could go either way. The Badgers, sporting a 5-1 record, are the odds-on favorites, but FSU should not be counted out too quickly.
Florida State was one of last season's most confusing teams, as they struggled early in the season but came on strong down the stretch. While they didn't earn an NCAA tournament bid, they thrived in the NIT tournament.
The Seminoles have an athletic bunch of players from top to bottom, and stopping their versatile attack will be a key to a Badger victory.
""It'll be the most athletic team we'll probably face all year,"" Wisconsin assistant coach Greg Gard said. ""All five positions can put pressure on you. All five positions can run the floor. They can do a lot of different things. We're going to have to be very good with the basketball. We're going to have to be very sound.""
Senior forward Al Thornton leads the FSU attack, as he enters tonight's match-up averaging 16 points per game and a team leading 5.4 rebounds per game. Thornton is paired with sophomore guard Toney Douglas, who is averaging 13.2 ppg and leads the team with 18 assists.
For the Badgers, senior forward Alando Tucker leads the way with a shade over 20 ppg and around four rpg. Tucker will have scoring help from senior guard Kammron Taylor who enters tonight's game averaging 11.2 ppg. Taylor struggled in the South Padre Invitational against Missouri State, but rebounded to lead the team with 16 points against Auburn. The Badgers have been getting strong guard play from junior guard Michael Flowers, who is leading the team with 3.8 assists per game.
Flowers and the Badgers will be playing with a chip on their shoulders after Friday's loss to Missouri State.
""This weekend we took a bump, but we learned from that and so we're going to come back and we're going to improve on some things,"" Flowers said, noting the keys to the game would be slowing down the Seminoles' high-flying, fast-paced style.
""We need to attack their pressure, to make them stop being so aggressive,"" he said. ""That's what they look for, forcing us into turnovers ... that's how they get their points in transition, so we've got to stop transition play and make sure we're in control.""
While the Seminoles may be faster and more athletic than the Badgers at every position, the Badgers and head coach Bo Ryan hold that certain intangibles will likely give them the nod in tonight's contest. The Badgers are 62-25 (.713) in non-conference games under head coach Bo Ryan, including a 38-3 record at the Kohl Center.
Over the last four years, UW owns a 19-3 record in November. While Ryan holds just a 2-5 record in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge thus far, tonight's game against Florida State certainly looks like an opportunity for him and the Badgers to improve on that record.
