With excitement around the UW men's basketball team growing, expectations are rising. Now back for the Spring semester, the Daily Cardinal will be right there with the team through the Big Ten season and post-season tournament. This is a first in a series of weekly reports on the Badgers that will mostly be printed on Wednesdays.
Player of the Week: Alando Tucker
UW's depth continued to shine in victories over Purdue and Illinois as no single player really dominated the week. Still, senior forward Alando Tucker scored 14 and 17 points in the two games, respectively, but took home The Daily Cardinal's Player of Week honors with his performance in the final minutes at Illinois Saturday with three rebounds and a late assist to senior guard Kammron Taylor who hit the big shot to help bury the Illini.
Taylor's game Saturday was huge, but the 0-for-6 from beyond the arc against Purdue gave Tucker the edge.
X-Factor of the Week: Greg Stiemsma
Someone shows up as the X-factor each game, and this week senior forward Jason Chappell shined against Purdue with outside jumpers and junior center Greg Stiemsma shined Saturday with baseline jumpers that caught Illinois off guard. Stiemsma gets the honors with his 12 points coming against a tougher opponent and on the road in a building in which UW had not won in a decade. ""Confidence is the biggest thing,"" Stiemsma said after Monday's practice. ""Maybe a little bit more pep in your step coming into practice.""
Confidence spreading
Stiemsma is not the only one who is feeling confident these days. In fact, the team as a whole is loose but focused.
""Coming out of Illinois with a win gave us a boost of confidence,"" junior guard Michael Flowers said. ""Now we feel like we can win at home and on the road, but we also know it didn't happen by accident.""
Still, the players know they were atop the Big Ten around this time last year and sputtered to the finish line.
""We started off pretty good last year in the Big Ten and then we just drifted off and I think everyone is aware of that ... so I think our motivation is to not end up like last year,"" Flowers said.
Stiemsma added that the overall mood of the team is good right now, but that everyone has to stay focused.
""We're happy but we're not satisfied, that's for sure,"" Stiemsma said. ""We know we got a bigger goal to accomplish. We still got to come to practice everyday and play hard. We haven't done anything yet.""
On Deck: Michigan
UW hosts Michigan (4-1 Big Ten, 16-4 overall) tonight at the Kohl Center in a battle between No. 1 and No. 2 in the Big Ten.
""They are under the radar so to speak,"" Flowers said. ""They are a team we can't take lightly.""
A complete preview can be found in today's Courtside section.
Bear love in Sconnie
After the Chicago Bears beat the New Orleans Saints 39-14 Sunday, Tucker could not hide his excitement about his hometown team at Monday's practice.
""I'm very happy. We're going to the Super Bowl,"" Tucker said. ""I got fans back home that kept calling me all night last night—kept me up sometimes. They were calling at 2 in the morning so they must be happy. But I am a big Bears fan.""
The Bears will take on the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI Feb. 4.
Shootaround
The Badgers are 19-1 for the first time since 1915-'16 when they started 20-1. They are also 5-0 in conference play for the first time since 1962 ... Head coach Bo Ryan will appear on ""Jim Rome is Burning"" Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN ... UW-Platteville will dedicate their court to Ryan at halftime of their 3 p.m. game Saturday. Ryan won four Division-III national titles there in 15 seasons. UW coaches and players will be in attendance at the ceremony. The game is sold out.
