Badgers play at Iowa tonight

The No. 16/15 Wisconsin men’s basketball team (9-5 Big Ten, 20-7 overall) looks to get an important road win against Iowa (6-8, 14-13) in Iowa City on Thursday.

Although Iowa delivered the Badgers a shocking defeat at the Kohl Center at the end of December, no one considers it a revenge game.

“They exposed us a little bit. We obviously didn’t play our best game when they came down here and it kind of set the tone for the Big Ten that we didn’t want, obviously,” sophomore guard Josh Gasser said. “We think we’re back on track here and ready to go. We’ll take it to them again. I wouldn’t say revenge, but we’re playing to get a win.”

Though the Badgers will not call it a revenge game, they will certainly want to play better against the Hawkeyes this time around.

In their loss earlier this year to the Hawkeyes, the Badgers gave up a season-high 72 points, including 14 points off the fast break. The Badgers also struggled on the offensive side of the ball, turning in one of their worst shooting performances of the year.

Wisconsin shot just 35 percent from the field and missed 25 of their 28 three-point attempts. Missing those outside shots not only hurt Wisconsin’s shooting percentage, but exacerbated the Badgers’ troubles in transition as well by allowing the Hawkeyes to grab the long rebounds and run.

A game with an up-and-down pace that the Hawkeyes like to play does not suit Wisconsin’s slug-it-out style, so it will be very important for the Badgers to slow the pace down this time.

One way to stop the Hawkeyes from getting in transition is by making shots. In order to do that, the Badgers must find an inside presence that has been somewhat absent in their last two games. In those games, Wisconsin was outscored by the Spartans and Nittany Lions in the paint by a combined 42 points.

“We’ve got to work the ball in the post a little bit more. I think we’ve got to establish a strong inside game, especially with [junior center] Jared [Berggren],” junior forward Mike Bruesewitz said. “I think we’ve got to get him back going on the block because he can be really dominant down there.”

Getting the ball in the paint also gives the Badgers more free-throw attempts, slowing down the Hawkeyes’ transition game even further.

“Getting to the line obviously slows them down. It just changes the pace of the game,” Bruesewitz said. “It kind of makes the tempo more of what we want it to be, a little more of a ground-it-out game than trying to get it up-and-down and run with those guys.”

Thursday’s game could be a big one for Wisconsin’s momentum and possible NCAA Tournament seeding moving forward. If the Badgers are able to slow down Iowa and get a road win in a tough environment like Iowa City, it could give them a boost of confidence they could use when they visit Columbus, Ohio. to battle the Buckeyes on Sunday.

Thursday’s showdown with the Hawkeyes is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and can be seen on ESPN2.

Let's hope Bucky wins so they help themselves with tournament seeding.  GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Badgers may have to go without Bruesewitz

Mike Bruesewitz took part in a limited practice Tuesday but the sophomore forward's availability for the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team's opening game in the NCAA tournament remains in question.

"He remains day-to-day, but its (sic) a positive step," the school announced via the official UW men's basketball Twitter page.

Bruesewitz sustained a sprained right knee in Friday's loss to Penn State in a Big Ten Conference tournament game.

The Badgers (23-8), who drew the fourth seed in the Southeast Region, will face 13th-seeded Belmont (30-4) on Thursday at 6:27 p.m., a game that will be televised by TruTV.

Let's hope Bucky is playing on Saturday.  GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Badgers Beat #1 Ohio State

In Saturday's clear-cut marquee match-up, the No. 14 Wisconsin men's basketball team stunned top-ranked and previously unbeaten Ohio State (21-1 Big Ten, 24-1 overall) by finishing the game on a 39-20 run to pick up a 71-67 victory.

With the victory, Wisconsin becomes just the eighth school to take down a top-ranked team in both football and basketball during the same school year, and just the second to do so against the same school (Florida pulled the trick against Ohio State in 2006-‘07).

Sophomore forward Mike Bruesewitz might have made the play of the game with a clutch three in the final minute, but junior guard Jordan Taylor left little doubt about player of the game honors.  After struggling to just six first-half points, Taylor shined in the second half, leading the Badger comeback with 21 second half points including 10 over a three minute stretch that ultimately saw UW erase a 15 point deficit with a 15-0 run.

"We just had to toughen up," Taylor said. "They made a run and we knew we had a run in us."

If there were any doubters about Taylor's rightful place as one of the nation's best, this 27-point, seven assist,  four-rebound performance should silence them now.

"What he did there," UW head coach Bo Ryan said. "I don't think there's too many players in the country, not just this year but all time, who've done that, especially against the number one team."

What shined through in Saturday's win was the resiliency that, by all accounts, defines this year's Wisconsin squad. The Badgers not only overcame a double-digit deficit against the top team in the nation, but did so just three days after battling their way to an overtime victory in Iowa City against the struggling Hawkeyes.

"To do what they did and have those kind of legs and arms, to have Ohio State get the lead they got and then get the lead ourselves," Ryan added. "I don't know what else you can say about these guys about how tough they are."

As many expected, the crowd played a huge role in bringing down the Buckeyes. While a Buckeye run early in the second half seemed to knock the crowd out of it, Taylor responded with back-to-back threes to cut the lead to seven with 11:22 left. More importantly, however, he brought the raucous crowd back onto their feet.

"He came down and gave us back-to-back threes and got us right back into it," senior forward Jon Leuer said. "From there, we had the momentum, you could just feel the energy in the building."

Averaging over 18 points a game coming into Saturday, Leuer struggled against a physical Ohio State front line that held the Naismith Award candidate to just 12 points and six rebounds on 5 of 14 shooting.

Even with Taylor's career day, Leuer's struggles made the contributions from Bruesewitz and freshman guard Josh Gasser all the more crucial in the Badgers' 17th straight home victory.

"We talked about having [Bruesewitz] be the guy who beats us," Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said after the game. "And today, he did."

In addition to Bruesewitz's 12 crucial points off the bench (capped off by the aforementioned three-pointed), Gasser once again stepped up when needed most, going for 11 points and seven rebounds. Not counted in those stats, though, was a pivotal tip late in the ballgame that allowed Leuer to secure an offensive rebound and maintain possession.

"He makes those kinds of plays all the time that you might not see in the box score," Leuer said. "But he's the kind of kid who's hard-nosed and sticks his face into the ball."

Despite the late drama, the energy of the crowd suggested very few of the 17,000 plus that packed the Kohl Center would have imagined the comeback possible when the Buckeye lead stood at 47-32. But somehow, someway, the Badgers found a way to win with their backs against the wall, completing just the sixth comeback of 15 points or more in program history.

While the Badgers are certainly going to celebrate the win, they already have an eye on a road test against Purdue coming up Wednesday night.

 "This was a huge win for us to keep moving forward but we're not done yet," Leuer added. "We feel like we still have a lot of work left to do and we're just trying to get better every day so we can be playing our best basketball down the stretch."

It looks like Bucky is getting hot at the right time.  Can you say Final Four????

 GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Badger Basketball Freshman Making Waves

He may not be the most well-known player on the Wisconsin men’s basketball roster, but freshman forward Mike Bruesewitz is quickly making a name for himself.
Showing signs of talent right from the start, the St. Paul native set a career high in scoring, rebounding and minutes against Arizona. Although he has yet to match the six points, seven rebounds and 22 minutes of play tallied in the Maui Invitational game, the future still looks bright for the young star.
However, the transition from the high school level to the college level has been a challenging one for Bruesewitz, as it is for most players.
“I come home after practice, and the last thing I want to do is open up a textbook and read,” Bruesewitz said. “But you know, just get through it and make sure you get your stuff done, and it’s not too bad.”
Putting up over 17 points and almost 10 rebounds per game his senior year, Bruesewitz was highly touted out of high school. Winning both the Gatorade and AP Player of the Year awards in Minnesota, he already has experience as a team leader.
Bruesewitz won consecutive conference titles at Henry Sibley High School, and the Badgers are hoping that will carry over to the college level.
“You look at all the guys here, you know, they’ve all won at the high school level,” senior guard Jason Bohannon said. “Coming in here they know what it takes to win no matter what the situation is.”
Recruited by many schools, the freshman admitted the recruiting process was often hard on him due to the pressures of performing for scouts. Although Bruesewitz committed to the Wisconsin Badgers basketball program early on in February of his junior year, several other schools recruited him.
“Wisconsin, it’s just a great place to be,” Bruesewitz said. “It’s close enough to home where if I need to be home for something I can, (but) just far enough away where it’s kind of like I’m not going to go home for family dinner on Saturday nights.”
Coaches agree he shows great potential and definitely has the skill set to be successful in the future. With solid numbers coming off the bench, Bruesewitz is quickly showing signs of improvement.
With this kind of talent it is obvious that the Badgers will be a powerhouse for some time to come. GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!