After Marquette snapped Wisconsin's 28-game home winning streak last weekend, the Badgers will look to begin a new streak this Saturday against UW-Green Bay.
The game against Green Bay will be Wisconsin's third consecutive contest against an in-state opponent and their second straight game against a member of the Horizon League.
Wisconsin suffered a close loss last Saturday to the Golden Eagles and enters the game with a 6-2 record.
If we had a few more possessions where we didn't hurt ourselves by turning the ball over, that game could have been a little bit different,"" junior guard Joe Krabbenhoft said.
Green Bay is coming off their first conference loss last Saturday to Illinois-Chicago. With the defeat, the Phoenix are 1-1 in the Horizon League, including a victory over Loyola, and 6-3 overall.
The only team Green Bay has faced from a major conference is Ohio State, a team Wisconsin will square off with later this year. The Phoenix lost to Ohio State during the regional round of the NIT Season Tip-Off in Columbus, 91-68.
Green Bay is lead by junior forward Mike Schachtner. Schachtner is averaging a team high 19.8 points and 30.4 minutes per game. In addition, Schachtner is shooting 57 percent from the floor, which also leads the team.
Though Wisconsin will certainly keep an eye on Schachtner, it has been the quickness of opponents' guards that have created problems for the Badgers of late. Marquette's point guard Dominic James was able to break down the defense off the dribble last Saturday and create opportunities for himself and his teammates. James finished the game with 20 points and six assists.
Therefore, Wisconsin will look to emphasize making plays on defense, especially from their guards out on the perimeter to keep opponents from penetrating towards the basket.
Also, Wisconsin will rely on their guards to disrupt the three-point shooting of Green Bay. Even at 6'9', Schachtner has the ability to step back behind the arc and drain the three pointers, shown by his 40 percent behind the arc shooting. Freshman guard Rahmon Fletcher and junior guard Ryan Tillema are also dangerous from long range, shooting 61.5 percent and 41.7 percent, respectively.
Senior guard Michael Flowers will be a key ingredient to the team's play on the defensive side of the ball.
Krabbenhoft pointed out that Flowers stands out on the team as both a defender and a leader.
""He sets the tone defensively with him and Trevon [Hughes] out on the floor,"" Krabbenhoft said. ""He's very vocal out on the floor and he really gets people going. He's a great teammate. Watching him work so hard makes you want to work even harder.""
Two other troubling statistics jumped out after the clash against Marquette. Despite outrebounding opponents by about 13 boards per game and boasting a sizable height advantage against the Golden Eagles, Marquette managed to pull down seven more rebounds than Wisconsin over the course of the game.
Furthermore, Wisconsin missed 10 foul shots against the Golden Eagles, including six misses by Trevon Hughes, who had numerous chances to close the gap from the charity stripe toward the end of the game.
While free throws can only be improved through practice, the Badgers should have a chance to regain their dominance on the glass on Saturday. Just one player on the Phoenix, junior forward Terry Evans, is averaging over five rebounds per game.
Green Bay, a mid-major school without much success recently, represents a good opportunity for Wisconsin to make progress and get back into the win column.
