Wisconsin men's basketball head coach Bo Ryan says his team only thinks about the upcoming opponent. However, with most UW students heading home for the holidays, it is important to remind students what the No. 7 Badgers (10-1) have in store over winter break.
Following UW's nationally televised battle with No. 2 Pittsburgh Saturday at the Kohl Center, the Badgers continue on the road toward their Big Ten schedule. But before Wisconsin begins waging war within its conference, the Badgers play host to Pacific (5-7) and Gardner-Webb (2-5) after a week off. After starting 3-0, the Pacific Tigers, an NCAA tournament team from a year ago, have gone 2-7, dropping their last four. Gardner-Webb has also stumbled out of the gate, including a 50-point loss to then-No. 2 North Carolina.
The Badgers then travel south for their second true road game of the season when they take on Georgia New Year's Eve. Last year, Georgia got off to a hot start, but cooled off to a .500 season. This season, the Bulldogs (6-1) look to keep up their red-hot play, which includes a win over Wake Forest. Sophomore guard Mike Mercer's scoring prowess, junior forward Takais Brown's wide body and the shooting prowess of sophomore guard Billy Humphrey could cause problems for the Badgers and UW's trip to Atlanta could result in their first road loss.
Before the Badgers meet up with No. 4 Ohio State in the biggest home matchup this season, UW begins their conference schedule against Minnesota. The Gophers' season has been nothing but tumultuous. After head coach Dan Monson resigned following a 2-5 start, interim head coach Jim Mullinari fired assistant coach Bill Walker Dec. 8, creating a firestorm. A loss to the Gophers (5-7) at home seems highly unlikely, but after North Dakota State last year, Badger fans know that anything is possible.
With the Gophers out of the way, the Badgers will be able to concentrate on what is the biggest Kohl Center game in recent memory, even more important than Illinois' trip to Wisconsin two years ago. If all goes to plan, both Wisconsin and Ohio State will be ranked in the top five. By the time their Jan. 9 meeting rolls around, freshman center and future No. 1 draft pick Greg Oden will be rolling. The 18-year-old has averaged 15 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and shot 91 percent from the field while shooting 91 percent from the charity stripe in two games.
Meanwhile, his classmate Daequan Cook will be tough for Badger defensive specialist Michael Flowers to handle. A win against the Buckeyes (8-1) could catapult Wisconsin to the nation's top three and a Marquette-like performance by senior forward Alando Tucker could catapult him into Player of the Year discussions.
UW closes out the winter recess at Northwestern (5-2), where the Wildcats, who beat UW in Evanston last season, are playing well despite losing Vedran Vukusic and Mohammed Hachad to graduation. In their absence, senior guard Tim Doyle has provided the leadership Northwestern needs.
The Badgers then host red-hot Purdue (8-1), led by this past week's Big Ten Player of the Week, senior forward Carl Landry, (brother of UW's Marcus Landry) who has come back from a serious knee injury to average 20 points per game. Head coach Matt Painter's Boilermakers' only loss was at No. 19 Georgia Tech, and they face No. 18 Butler Dec. 16.
Wisconsin wraps up their winter break swing in Champaign, Ill., against the Illini (9-2), whose only losses came against top-25 teams Maryland and Arizona. Junior forward Bryan Randle has been injured for much of the season, but an array of players have led Illinois, with six players averaging at least nine points, none of which average more than 14, led by senior forward Warren Carter.
