The Big Ten Tournament has arrived and Wisconsin basketball is now in postseason mode. The Badgers will take on Maryland after the Terrapins defeated Rutgers in the first game of the Big Ten Tournament 65-51. Game time will be tomorrow at approximately 1:30 PM as it follows Minnesota and Michigan State. The winner of this game takes on four seed Northwestern Friday afternoon at 1:30. The Badgers won the only meeting between these two teams in Madison on February 20 74-70. Here is a preview of tomorrow afternoon’s game.
Wisconsin Basketball Has to Start This Game Fast
A known issue for Wisconsin basketball during the month of February was early game turnovers and staring games slow. Too many times we saw themselves in early deficits and playing a different style of ball to crawl back into the game.
Maryland started off tonight with a bang, opening an 11-0 lead in the first few minutes. They will have the advantage in this game as they are already loose from playing. They will also play with nothing to lose as the 12 seed.
I like the way Wisconsin basketball started their last two games. They dictated the pace against Rutgers and they went toe-to-toe with Purdue. The Badgers have known shown the second half of the season they have to offense to come back from early deficits. I will be interested to see how they start the first five minutes of this game.
Steven Crowl Needs To Win in the Paint
The battle between Steven Crowl and Julian Reese will be a big part of this game. Reese is a big and physical center who went for 18 points in the only other meeting a few weeks ago. Tonight, he had 12 points on 6-8 shooting against an very good defender in Cliff Omoruyi.
For the most part, Crowl struggles with opposing bigs, especially players like Reese. He gives up too much space in the paint and by the time the ball is in the paint, he is essentially out of the play. Greg Gard mentioned again this week Crowl needs to be more aggressive on offense. Unfortunately, Gard has mentioned this a number of times during the season.
I believe Crowl is a big part of what makes this Wisconsin basketball offense successful. This is an important Big Ten Tournament for him in my opinion.
Prediction
If you research predictions for the Big Ten Tournament, you will see Maryland upsetting Wisconsin basketball is becoming a popular pick. I don’t think this is an easy game for the Badgers tomorrow.
Despite a 14 point win, Maryland only shot 43% from the field tonight, but they were 14-19 from the line and only allowed Rutgers to shoot 31% from the field. Overall, it was a really good defensive performance.
Maryland stud point guard Jahmir Young only had 11 points tonight. He typically averages 21 points a game. Look for him to be more aggressive tomorrow and getting to the free throw line.
One thing to keep an eye on is Maryland reserve Jahari Long left tonight’s game with a knee injury. His status tomorrow is unsure. Long averages 19 minutes a game and is the top reserve on the Terrapin bench.
For a 5/12 matchup, I think this will be a close game tomorrow. AJ Storr seems to be the X-factor. Whoever can get to the free throw line will have the advantage. This game will likely come down to the final few possessions, but I like Wisconsin to get stops at the end. I like the way this team is playing as of late.
Wisconsin 73 Maryland 69
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