About this time last year, things were not going so well for Wisconsin basketball. They had lost Greg Stiemsma and Marcus Landry to academic ineligibility and DeAaron Williams was no longer on the team. UW also suffered the biggest upset of the season when they lost to North Dakota State at home.
There was a lack of cohesiveness and lack of rhythm that UW showed out on the floor. At times, the lack of a consistent Badger cadence showed itself in a lack of confidence.
Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor scored nearly 47 percent of the Badger points and Tucker, at times, had to do it over three and four defenders. Overall, pressure seemed to be the key: some guys had too much on them and others wanted no part of it.
This year, everything is different. The swagger is back, the shots are falling and the nice gents over at the Associated Press, by actually looking at what has transpired throughout the season and not at how good Greg Oden is supposed to be, have ranked Wisconsin No. 1 overall.
So for a second, flash back to the end of last season. The Badgers finished up with four games: at Northwestern, home against Minnesota, at Michigan State and at Iowa. They won the game against the Gophers in the Kohl Center, but lost the three road games by an average score of nearly 12 points. That of course led to the loss to Indiana in the second round of the Big Ten tournament, and the debacle in the first round to a fast-paced Arizona club.
This season, the Badgers finish up in similar fashion: At Michigan State Tuesday, then the showdown everyone's waiting for at Ohio State and then home again vs. Michigan State.
So, from '06 to '07, what's different for UW? Why won't we see a repeat of last year's devastating conclusion?
Senior center Jason Chappell will tell you it's the team's momentum, Alando Tucker will tell you it's the team's health. I would point to three other key factors that mark a major difference between the two teams.
Badger bench runs deep
Without Stiemsma and Landry, what seemed like a deep team to start the 2005-'06 season, soon became a slim one. Wisconsin lost their best shot-blocker in Stiemsma and probably their best big defender in Landry, who had come into his own as the first half of the season wore down.
While I won't go so far as to say their temporary departure was a blessing in disguise, their suspension paved the way for the Badgers' success. Without Stiemsma and Landry, Joe Krabbenhoft and Kevin Gullikson were expected to play big minutes against the nation's best. Now Stiemsma, Landry, Krabbenhoft and Gullkson are playing like seasoned veterans off the pine.
And that doesn't include the bright play of freshmen Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon, whose play in practice has earned him the respect of Bo Ryan and thus a major increase in playing time on the court.
Flowers keeps blooming
As the only new addition to the Badgers' starting lineup from last year, Michael Flowers has been a favorite target of perplexity of losing coaches at postgame press conferences. From Iowa's Steve Alford to Pitt's Jamie Dixon, coaches have spouted frustration when it comes to Flowers' play. They prepare for Tucker, Taylor and Brian Butch, but the junior guard always shocks them.
His anticipation on defense, whether it be the direction of his man or his anticipation of passing lanes, is extraordinary. His 53 steals lead the club.
Furthermore, anything Flowers does on offense is a plus. His 7.7 points a game is fourth on the team, and his ability to finish around the basket, sometimes in the most innovative ways, has improved tenfold.
Road Warriors
Want a key difference from last season? Wisconsin was 2-5 going into those final three road games to end last season. This season the Badgers are 7-1, not including their loss at a neutral site.
And it certainly helps that the Badgers' leader takes it into a higher gear on the road Tucker averages nearly six points more away from the Kohl Center. While his teammates say he's the same guy before home and road games, it seems Tucker loves sending opposing fans home with frowns on their faces.
As Tucker said following the Badgers' win Saturday, ""Anything we do from here will add to our legacy. And I'm accepting the challenge.""
While the Badgers are happy to have the should-be National Player of the Year there to accept the challenge, they're certainly happy to have a roster full of guys who will be there to accept it with him.
Sam can be reached at sepepper@wisc.edu.
