Coming off a disappointing loss at UNLV Saturday, the Wisconsin men's basketball team is set to head down to Orlando, Fla., to open the Old Spice Classic Thursday afternoon. Now unranked after the season's first defeat, a a victory in the tournament would be huge as the Badgers try to get a few quality wins over the course of a fairly benign non-conference schedule.
While last year's third-place finish in a loaded Maui Invitational got UW back into the conversation as a top team on national stage, third-place probably won't be enough in this year's old spice classic, a normally strong holiday tournament that just happens to have caught a few programs on the wrong year.
In addition to Wisconsin's first opponent, MAAC member Manhattan, the field includes big name programs Texas A&M, Cal, Notre Dame and Boston College, with Temple and Georgia rounding out the eight-team bracket. Among these eight, however only Temple is currently ranked among the top 25.
But while the weak field means that nothing short of first place will do much to boost the Badger non-conference resume´, it also gives Wisconsin an opportunity to face some strong programs that are certainly beatable. Unlike Maui last year, a tourney title is not out of the realm of possibility, and an Old Spice Classic title is always a boost to that all-important profile come tournament selection time in March.
Putting first things first, the Badgers must shed the disappointment of last weekend's Vegas rendezvous and put up a quality performance against Manhattan. After finishing 11-20 last season, and still struggling to replace All-MAAC guard Rico Pickett, the Jaspers are a young, inexperienced team who present UW with a perfect opportunity to get back into their winning ways.
That said, Manhattan comes into the tournament having beaten a solid Penn team last Wednesday and is another team that can get hot quickly, shooting just under 45 percent from the field so far this season.
Should they win, it would be either Boston College or Texas A&M. Both prominent programs are having down years, and this match-up will be pivotal as the Badgers have yet to beat a high major this year and have only North Carolina State and Marquette left on their non-conference slate after this weekend.
Though BC is clearly having a down year, having already lost at home to Yale, Texas A&M may be a dark horse contender in the competitive Big 12 conference race and a win over the Aggies would look great on the resume´ in the spring.
The other side of the bracket appears to be more competitive on paper. Temple will face a good Cal team coming off a commanding victory over New Mexico Saturday while Notre Dame and Georgia both need quality wins of their own to get back into the national conversation.
After coming up a bucket shy in Las Vegas and now having the opportunity to pick up two much-needed high major wins, the Old Spice Classic is truly make-or-break chance for the non-conference portion of the UW season.
