After a tough loss at Purdue last Wednesday, the No. 12 Wisconsin men's basketball team bounced back to beat a pesky Penn State team on Sunday.
Things were working well for the Badgers all night on offense, as they scored 76 points and shot 54 percent from the field.
It was also a hot night for Wisconsin behind the arc, shooting 53 percent from three-point range. A big contributor to that was senior forward Keaton Nankivil, who got back on track after a three game dry spell, scoring 22 points and going 5-for-5 from three-point range.
When asked what Nankivil meant to the team Sunday, head coach Bo Ryan was complimenting yet cautionary.
""I don't know what the next 40 minutes is going to get, but I do know this. [Nankivil] stretches defenses. He has an excellent shot. He's a guy we want shooting the ball when he's open,"" Ryan said. ""So what it meant last night was that he was a difference maker in that game. Whether that can happen at Michigan, I'll have to talk to you after the game.""
Continuing forward, the Badgers will play three of their final four regular season games on the road, starting with Michigan Wednesday night at Ann Arbor. Michigan (7-8 Big Ten, 17-11 overall) comes into this next game as winners of six of their last eight and hungry to get off the bubble and into the NCAA tournament.
The key players as of late for the Wolverines have been sophomore point guard Darius Morris and junior guard Tim Hardaway Jr.
Morris leads the Wolverines in both points (15.4) and assists (6.9) per game. Hardaway is second on the team in points per game (13.4) and leads the team in three-pointers made (57).
These two were huge in Michigan's latest win over Iowa, combining for 50 points.
When asked about Michigan's recent success, Ryan hinted that it has something to do with Morris' play, as well as the team's confidence lately in their shooting.
""They're playing better together. Morris has been a little more consistent and that's important when you've got the ball in your hand as much as he does,"" Ryan said. ""They're knocking down shots. There's a lot of teams that look really good when those outside shots are going in. It's confidence.""
Three-point shooting has always been essential to a John Beilein coached offense. It was the three-point shooting of many Mountaineers, including Kevin Pittsnogle that led West Virginia team all the way to the Elite Eight in 2005.
This track record indicates how dangerous a Belein-coached team and their threes could be to the Badgers tomorrow.
Although the Wolverines are second in the Big Ten in three-pointers made and first in three-pointers attempted, they are only eighth in the Big Ten in three-point shooting percentage.
The Wolverines will have to make their threes on a consistent basis if they are going to upset the Badgers Wednesday night.
