The Wisconsin Badgers travel tomorrow night take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. This is a part of the annual ACC/Big Ten challenge. The Badgers are coming off of their Maui Invitational title. Here are the keys to victory tomorrow night.
Need To See The Maui Badgers
Last week was about as impressive of Badger basketball I have seen since they ran the table in 2020 and won a share of the Big Ten title. Most would think the Badger would win only one game, but they ran the table and won the championship against some really good teams.
The Badgers need to take this momentum on the road against Georgia Tech. True road games are never easy so this should be a tough battle for a young Wisconsin team. The Badgers used defense and rebounding last week when their offense wasn’t that great. It’s the little things that make a team great. The Badgers need to win these battles in they want to come out with a win.
Shoot The Three And Defend The Three
When I look at this contest, three point shooting sticks out to me. The Badgers are only shooting 28.8% from thee to this point. We didn’t expect the three point shooting to be a strength of this team, but it hasn’t been great to start.
Georgia Tech is shooting 41.1% from three. Senior guard Michael Devoe is shooting 62% from three as well. The Yellow Jackets will have multiple options from behind the arc. If Wisconsin can defend the three, I like their chances.
Keep The Momentum Moving
A week like last week is really important for a young Badger team. For a team that was not expected to be competitive, Wisconsin has put the Big Ten on notice. The Big Ten schedule will be a gauntlet for three months. The Badger can use victories against power five teams as momentum into the Big Ten season.
With victories against Houston, Texas A&M, Houston, and Saint Mary’s, the Badger still face their rival Marquette on Saturday as well. The Badgers can’t overlook Georgia Tech tomorrow night.
Prediction
I don’t watch Georgia Tech basketball so I don’t know much about this team a few weeks into the year. Wisconsin probably doesn’t know much about them either. This makes winning the fundamentals that much more important.
The Yellow Jackets have a two headed monster in Michael Devoe and Jordan Usher. These two average 42 points a game, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists a game. Obviously, the Badgers need to keep these two in check. I do like players such as Tyler Wahl and Chucky Hepburn to defend these two players. How they guard these two seniors will be a ley to the game.
Georgia Tech will be in a tough ACC conference. However, their schedule hasn’t been that impressive. Wisconsin has been more battle tested and have faced a lot better competition to this point. While the Yellow Jackets have a win against in-state rival Georgia, Northwestern also blew out Georgia. Schedule wise, it’s hard not to like the Badgers.
True road games are tougher than neutral site games. I am not sure how the crowd will be, but road wins are tough to get in college basketball. However, I think this Badger is motivated and they are scrappy bunch. I don’t see that changing and I see Wisconsin making a few more plays tomorrow night.
Wisconsin- 67 Georgia Tech- 63
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