My buddy and I get in the same argument every day. Which team is better: the 2004-'05 Badgers that went to the Elite Eight or this year's team that is well on its way to another 25 win season?
A good argument can be made either way, and we keep changing our minds about who is actually right. I say this year's team. He says the Elite Eight team.
Right now the numbers are in my favor, but we aren't even half way through the Big Ten season. The '04-'05 team finished with a +7.4 scoring margin while these guys are winning by an average of 15.4 points per game.
The defense is also better this year, holding opponents to just 54 points per game. The Elite Eight squad was solid, but not as good, holding opponents to 60 points per game.
So who has the edge? Let's go position-by-position:
Point guard: Trevon Hughes vs. Sharif Chambliss/Kammron Taylor
Chambliss was a big addition to a team that ended up really needing a point guard after Boo Wade lasted only one game before leaving the team.
Taylor was a sophomore and not quite ready to lead the team, so the Penn State transfer and Taylor split playing time (each averaged 26 minutes per game) and combined to score 15.9 points per game.
Chambliss played like the solid senior he was. He turned the ball over only 41 times on the season and dished out 95 assists. Hughes already has 48 turnovers on the year, but also has 51 assists, which will put him near Chambliss' output by the end of the year.
The senior transfer was also a slightly better 3-point shooter at 39 percent (Hughes is shooting 37 percent from behind the arc), but the sophomore point guard certainly has more scoring ability, averaging 13.1 points per game.
The two seem pretty even so far, but there is no doubt Hughes is an upgrade defensively. He already has 38 steals, which is the same amount Chambliss and Taylor combined for in the entire '04-'05 season.
Edge: Hughes
Shooting guard: Michael Flowers vs. Clayton Hanson
Both are seniors in the two seasons we are comparing, and both are very good defensive players. Hanson proved that being a good defender is not always about steals (he grabbed only 20 of them during his senior season), but Flowers is certainly showing that they are nice to have (27 in just 19 games this season).
On the flip side, Hanson committed less fouls (65 in 34 games) than Flowers (50 in 19 games so far), but that's the price you pay when you go for more steals.
Flowers is also a better scorer, averaging 9.2 points per game to Hanson's 6.5. Everyone loved how many threes Hanson hit (55), but Flowers won't be far behind when this season is over (he has 23 through 19 games).
Edge: Flowers
Small forward: Joe Krabbenhoft vs. Zach Morley
These two players could not be more alike. Both are bruising players that won't lead the team in scoring but will lead the team in hustle points while grabbing rebounds and doing the little things.
But Krabbenhoft is just a little bit better in every aspect. He's pulling down 6.3 rebounds per game to Morley's 4.7. He's averaging 7.9 points per game to Morley's 7.4. And Krabbenhoft leads the Badgers with 54 assists, while Morley had 58 the entire season.
Edge: Krabbenhoft
Power forward: Marcus Landry vs. Alando Tucker
While Landry is starting to turn the corner and be the player many Badger fans were expecting, the sophomore version of Tucker was better than the junior version of Landry.
Tucker led his team in scoring with 15.2 points per game and was second on the team in rebounding with 6.1 boards per game.
Landry is averaging a solid 10.8 points per game in an offense that is not relying on him as heavily as Tucker's was, but his 4.9 boards per game are pretty disappointing.
Edge: Tucker
Forward/Center: Brian Butch vs. Mike Wilkinson
Both are seniors in this comparison, and while I love the things I'm seeing from Butch, Wilkinson did all the same things but more consistently. His 14.3 points per game average was not as up-and-down as Butch's 13.2.
You could argue that Butch does not need to score in double figures every game while playing in a much more balanced offense, but the truth is that his team would be a lot better if he was as aggressive in every game as he was against Purdue Saturday (game-high 20 points).
The rebounding is similar as Wilkinson averaged 7.4 boards, while Butch is currently at 7.8, but Wilkinson was a much better defender, no question.
Edge: Wilkinson
As you can see, it's a tough argument because when it comes to the go-to-guys the Elite Eight team was better. But in all other areas, specifically defensively, this year's team is definitely better.
So what gives these Badgers the edge? The bench. Between Morley and Taylor, one of them had to come off the bench and both provided a big boost, but I'll take Jason Bohannon over Ray Nixon any day. Also, there was no one on that Elite Eight team that could provide a boost in the post like Greg Stiemsma, except for, well, Greg Stiemsma. He was a freshman that year and might have been the only big man that season that showed any ability to stop North Carolina's Sean May. But he only played in 10 games that season, and because he did not have the offensive ability to play the entire game against UNC - he only played three minutes - May tore up the Badgers and ended their postseason run.
In the end, those guys did go to the Elite Eight, the longest postseason run since Ryan has been at Wisconsin. So is this year's team better?
Well, I guess they will just have to prove that themselves.
E-mail Adam at hoge@wisc.edu to comment.
