Wisconsin vs. Arkansas

[GuyFawkes]

Wisconsin is currently losing to Arkansas 40-29 at halftime (on espn3 if you want to watch it)

This could be the year the gophers finally finish ahead of the Badgers in the B1G, I predicted they would before the season, but right now, I am not sure if the badgers will even make the tourney, they look horrible,just not athletic enough. Going to be hard to win in conference as hard as the B1G. Hoping this is the start of their demise, and if tubby can lock down our border from Wisconsin (so far he has done a good job) preventing them from getting a guy like Jordan Taylor, things could really become difficult for the badgers in the future.

 

[GophersOnTheRise]

I hate Wisconsin, but I bet they make the tournament. Marshall and Dekker will likely improve as the season goes on and Bo will do a good job of manipulating the refs on their home court as per usual. I bet they get a 12 seed. Having said that, if the Gophers make the tournament (which they should) and the Badgers don't, this will be one awesome season.

 

[Gopher Warrior]

Becky has lost two games, but there is no shame in losing @ Florida and on a neutral court to Creighton.

 

[Gopher in Texas]

Badgers 60 - 58 with several minutes left. Badger guards had a melt down under pressure but Dekker has had a really good offensive game.

 

[GuyFawkes]

badgers came back and won, I still thing this team is going to struggle to make the tourney being they play in the B1G, just not athletic enough

 

[gopherbadgerman]

badgers came back and won, I still thing this team is going to struggle to make the tourney being they play in the B1G, just not athletic enough

Not great athletically, but I would bet they will make the NCAA's. Hard to pick against Bo Ryan making the tourney...

 

[OSUfan]

This was an interesting game that I watched a lot of on ESPN3. The Badgers could not seem to guard Arkansas the first half, and struggled to make buckets on offense, then the second half it was like a completely different game. No doubt the Badgers were aided by being able to have a parade to the FT line in the second half, as it seemed like Arkansas couldn't go two possessions in a row without fouling. 38 FT attempts for Wisconsin in this game, and I didn't look at the breakdown by half but the majority of them had to be in the second half. Traevon Jackson came in and helped give UW a steady presence at the point, and seemed to help them get into their offense whereas with Marshall they were unusually (compared to the past couple years) loosey goosey on offense - this game might result in Jackson wrestling the PG job away from Marshall. It was definitely a tale of 2 halves. Arkansas didn't seem like they could do anything as a team on offense the second half, a lot of 1-on-1 moves and they seemed to be out of rhythm the whole half (though they did get to the FT line a decent amount as well). Good play by Dekker and a few timely 3s by Bruesewitz and Brust helped make the difference (along with the parade to the FT line).

 

[XMan]

This was an interesting game that I watched a lot of on ESPN3. The Badgers could not seem to guard Arkansas the first half, and struggled to make buckets on offense, then the second half it was like a completely different game. No doubt the Badgers were aided by being able to have a parade to the FT line in the second half, as it seemed like Arkansas couldn't go two possessions in a row without fouling. 38 FT attempts for Wisconsin in this game, and I didn't look at the breakdown by half but the majority of them had to be in the second half. Traevon Jackson came in and helped give UW a steady presence at the point, and seemed to help them get into their offense whereas with Marshall they were unusually (compared to the past couple years) loosey goosey on offense - this game might result in Jackson wrestling the PG job away from Marshall. It was definitely a tale of 2 halves. Arkansas didn't seem like they could do anything as a team on offense the second half, a lot of 1-on-1 moves and they seemed to be out of rhythm the whole half (though they did get to the FT line a decent amount as well). Good play by Dekker and a few timely 3s by Bruesewitz and Brust helped make the difference (along with the parade to the FT line).

good post, thanks for the info.

Can't stand the Badgers, but Bo is seldom out coached. He will get the most from his players....even if they aren't as strong as they have been in the past. That being said, lets sweep!

 

[Bad Gopher]

Guy's point is a good one. Minnesota's all but dried up for Wisconsin in recruiting. You're now just starting to see the effects. Bo will find a way to be competitive, but they're going to have to look places other than here for their stars.

Am I guilty of wishful thinking?

 

[MinneStoa]

Am I guilty of wishful thinking?

Probably. Their class for next year is pretty decent, and I imagine they'll pull in a couple very serviceable players from MN in 2014 since that class is absolutely loaded.

On a side note, I foresee fans around 2017 freaking out that we should have recruited Player X because he is lighting it up for some other team, when we had much better players as much higher priorities (much like the 2009 class). "Should've gone for Lockett, should have gone for Wolters, etc".

 

[mnsportsgeek]

Back to back losses was just too good to be true.

 

[BuckyGopher]

Guy's point is a good one. Minnesota's all but dried up for Wisconsin in recruiting. You're now just starting to see the effects. Bo will find a way to be competitive, but they're going to have to look places other than here for their stars.

Am I guilty of wishful thinking?

Ummm...Sam dekker? Bronson Koenig?

 

[Cayman]

Ummm...Sam dekker? Bronson Koenig?

Neither of them are from Minnesota.

 

[Gold Vision]

Guy's point is a good one. Minnesota's all but dried up for Wisconsin in recruiting. You're now just starting to see the effects. Bo will find a way to be competitive, but they're going to have to look places other than here for their stars.

Am I guilty of wishful thinking?

Wisconsin has a great recruiting class coming in next year. Including two of the Gophers main targets and a stud in Koenig.

 

[newman21]

Wisconsin has a great recruiting class coming in next year. Including two of the Gophers main targets and a stud in Koenig.

The Badgers with assistant Lamont Paris on board seem to be hitting Ohio much harder. Vitto Brown and Nigel Hayes look like good gets for 2013. Riley Deering is from Minnesota, but he looks like a Bo special (easy to dismiss now, we'll see once he is in the program for a couple years). Koenig was a really competitive recruitment, and if you can judge him by who wanted him, he is one of Bo's best gets. With Ethan Happ (looove what I have seen of him) from Illinois, the Badgers are full for 2014 and can really push hard for 2015. Redshirts for Gasser and Dukan have changed the scholarship grid.

Interestingly, 2013 was one of the deepest in-state classes ever for Wisconsin but the Badgers took only one of five recruits from Wisconsin.

 

[UWOle]

Guy's point is a good one. Minnesota's all but dried up for Wisconsin in recruiting. You're now just starting to see the effects. Bo will find a way to be competitive, but they're going to have to look places other than here for their stars.

Am I guilty of wishful thinking?

Minnesota seems to have dried up for Tubby as well. Since the really strong 2009 class with White and Williams, Tubby only has one in-state kid (Coleman in 2011). In reality, it's that Minnesota has not produced much in the 2010 thru 2013 classes. Tubby replacing Monson certainly changed UW's recruiting in Minnesota, but the addition of coach Paris shifted UW's focus further to the east, specifically Ohio. In addition, the state of Wisconsin has been stronger in recent classes which has allowed the staff to focus more in-state.

For this season, the loss of Gasser is going to be an issue throughout. He was by far the best guard on the team, such that there is a lot of pressure on the younger guys to do things they maybe aren't ready for. The non-conference schedule will provide some good learning experiences, which they are hopefully able to put to good use once the Big 10 rolls around. I am expecting the Badgers to make the tournament, but I don't know if they'll be able to continue the string of top 4 finishes.

 

[GuyFawkes]

you make a good point that there haven't really been good basketball players to come out of Minnesota since the 2009 class, but just look at the 2014 class, none of us on here are worried that Wisconsin will get any of the top 3 Minnesota guys, that barely ever happened before Tubby. Every major recruit from Minnesota 2014 to 2016, aren't going to Wisconsin I think its safe to say. Tubby is even after a wisconsin kid in the 2015 class, with that ellenson kid, and from what I have heard, and just looking at who he follows on twitter, I would say minnesota has the lead in landing him. That is a very good sign for the program, and it is why I like Tubby as coach. I am not the biggest fan of his coaching, but when it comes to recruiting I am a big fan. People will point out to who has gotten since the 2009 class, and I would respond with there hasn't been a big recruit out of minnesota since 2009, and come on guys, its minnesota, as great as this state is, kids around the country don't exactly grow up dreaming of playing for the cold state of minnesota. Our reputation isn't great around the country. So its difficult to get kids here, for tubby to get the hollins brothers(I know they aren't related) from Tennessee of all places is impressive in itself. If Tubby can keep the border closed, and with the nice classes coming up, Minnesota will be in good shape when it comes to winning games, and as we all know, once you start winning, the recruits will come, from all over the country.

BTW, my biggest pet peeve over the years, has been losing to Wisconsin and seeing that their players are from minnesota, with jordan taylor now gone, and this years senoir class has a lot minnesota kids, so I doubt this will be an issue for me in the next few years. Now if only the football team can do the same.

 

[XMan]

Lets sign the instate kids next year and then take Ellenson from Wisconsin the year after!

 

[UWOle]

you make a good point that there haven't really been good basketball players to come out of Minnesota since the 2009 class, but just look at the 2014 class, none of us on here are worried that Wisconsin will get any of the top 3 Minnesota guys, that barely ever happened before Tubby. Every major recruit from Minnesota 2014 to 2016, aren't going to Wisconsin I think its safe to say. Tubby is even after a wisconsin kid in the 2015 class, with that ellenson kid, and from what I have heard, and just looking at who he follows on twitter, I would say minnesota has the lead in landing him.

For the two highly recruited 2014s, it is not a surprise that UW is not involved. I don't see that as a change from pre-Tubby to now. Wisconsin isn't going to get very many (any?) out-of-state kids with offers from the big boys, even if they are from a neighboring state, just as Minnesota isn't. Travis may have been a guy they could have had a shot at, but they focused on other forwards and have not offered. With Hayes and Brown now in 2013 and Ethan Happ already committed in 2014, they have at most one spot left in Reid's class and the priority would likely be PF Michael Finke.

The 2015 class looks to be similar to 2013, in that Wisconsin has a lot of interesting prospects (including Henry Ellenson). UW will likely have four openings, but I would be surprised if they make a serious push for anyone in Minnesota because of all the talent in-state.

 

[Bad Gopher]

You look at the circumstances, and I guess they could keep on repeating. In the Leuer situation, Monson had traded the proverbial cow for some proverbial magic beans, only had one scholarship available, and gave it to bird-in-the-hand Hoffarber. In the case of Taylor, he wasn't highly recruited and, indeed, had to convince Bo to take him.