College basketball has always had a fascination with mid-major teams. When one upsets a favorite in the regular season or the tournament, it sends the sport into a frenzy of excitement. The Badgers will look to avoid one of these upsets tonight against one of the top mid-major teams in the country, the Winthrop Eagles.
Wisconsin has already been stung by a mid-major team this year in their only loss to Missouri State. Since that game, the Badgers have won three straight. Winthrop comes into the Kohl Center with a 6-2 record, but the losses came to then-No. 2 North Carolina and No. 24 Maryland.
The Eagles are experienced, deep and talented—they returned several players from last season's Big South title team that came within two points of upsetting Tennessee in the NCAA tournament. Their top scorer is junior guard Michael Jenkins who began the year on the bench. After taking a starting spot, he leads the team with over 15 points per game. Jenkins, along with preseason conference player of the year Torrel Martin and playmaking guard Chris Gaynor, make up a skilled and talented three-guard offense.
Alando Tucker is leading the Badgers with 19 points per game, but only scored ten against Florida International on six shot attempts. He has been dunking the ball more than he did in previous years, and it is contributing to his stellar shooting percentage this season.
His running mate, senior guard Kammron Taylor, hit all four of his 3-pointers in his last game, but failed to register a single assist. Sophomore center Greg Stiemsma has broken into the Wisconsin rotation in recent games and has averaged four assists per game over the last two contests.
Winthrop is currently ranked No. 9 in the mid-major top 25 and carries a three-game winning streak into the Kohl Center. Under head coach Gregg Marshall, the Eagles have soared to unprecedented heights. Before Marshall arrived, Winthrop had never won a league title or gone to the NCAA tournament. In his eight years, they have accomplished both feats seven times.
Early last season the Eagles upset a good team from the dairy state when they beat Marquette, who the Badgers will face in Milwaukee on Saturday. If the Badgers start looking ahead to that game, it could spell trouble.
The Badgers allowed Florida International to hit over 40 percent of its 3-point shots—something UW will not be able to continue against Winthrop. Jenkins and Martin are both very capable 3-point shooters, who could hurt Wisconsin if left open.
This game is a warmup for the hardest part of the Badger's schedule. After today they will face No. 9 Marquette, and then play against the always-dangerous Panthers of Milwaukee. Their home stand will continue with No. 3 Pittsburgh, who is looking to get a statement win this season. The schedule then becomes easier and soon after Wisconsin enters Big Ten play.
The Badgers will need to split or sweep Pitt and Marquette if they want to justify their lofty preseason ranking but if they cannot take care of Winthrop tonight it will matter far less.
In their last game, the Badgers distributed their shot attempts very evenly, but look for Tucker to take a more active role in scoring tonight. Winthrop plays tough defense so Wisconsin will have to execute the swing offense, remain patient and work to shut down an offense that is averaging 73 points per game.
