Following a dominating second half Monday against Holy Cross, Wisconsin basketball stays home tomorrow night. The Badgers will take on the Montana St Bobcats out of the Big Sky conference. It will be the first game of season for the Bobcats as they are coming off a berth to the NCAA Tournament last season. It should be a good opponent for Wisconsin basketball. Tip time is 7 PM on BTN Plus. Here is a preview of tomorrow night’s game.
Wisconsin Basketball Has to Start Much Faster
Monday was the worst possible start you could have if you were Wisconsin basketball. The Badgers fell behind 23-7 midway through the first half. A big part of that was missed shots and poor defense. It took them longer than it should have to get into the flow of that game. What was most discouraging was four of the five starters were on last year’s team. The way this team plays defense should not come as a surprise.
Tomorrow, I want to see the Badgers lock in and buy in on the defensive side. Good defense usually leads to good offense and open looks. The Bobcats appear to be a much better team than Holy Cross. If Wisconsin falls behind that much that early, I am not sure they will be able to come back.
Work the Paint Touches to Get Three Point Looks
Montana St will also be a lot bigger in size. The Bobcats have eight players that are 6’7 or taller. For the Badgers, they have seven. This is a game to work the paint. I know Greg Gard has mentioned they will be shooting a lot threes this year, but a lot of those looks can come from touches in the paint.
This Wisconsin basketball team played it’s best on offense a year ago when the ball got into Steven Crowl in the paint. He makes good decisions and whether to attack the rim or kick back out. Those usually lead to a good swing offense and an open three look. Even on a miss, it’s usually a good shot. I want to see that happen more tomorrow, The first few games have been brutal at times from three, but this is good habit that can lead to success
Prediction
I wouldn’t let the 18 losses last year from Montana St fool you. 10 of those losses were by six points or less. They were in a lot of game a season ago.
The Bobcats also return three starters with two of them making pre-season conference honors on the Big Sky. The Big Sky media picked this team to finish first while the coaches said second. Either way, I think this is a good team the Badgers face tomorrow.
It is also the first game for the Bobcats. They did not play on Monday when it seemed like everyone did. Like Holy Cross, they have no pressure. It all falls under this Wisconsin basketball team. Montana St is also a veteran team with seven seniors/grads and five juniors. They won’t be afraid to come into the Kohl Center.
I think Wisconsin basketball found some good things in the second half of the Holy Cross game and they can use that to their advantage. At the end of the day, if they take care of business, they shouldn’t have an issue. This will be a closer game than most think, but UW pulls away in the second half.
Wisconsin 78 Montana St 65
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