SPORTS
Wisconsin staying wary of underdog
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Also by Mike Ackerstein:
- Wisconsin hits road for Milwaukee (December 12, 2007)
- Heisman pressures could tackle Tebow (December 10, 2007)
- Wisconsin's home streak dead at 28 (December 10, 2007)
- Poor ball control haunts Badgers (December 10, 2007)
- Badgers put on show against Terriers (December 4, 2007)
Related Stories:
- UW offers Southern Hospitality (November 17, 2006)
- Wisconsin rewrites record books (November 20, 2006)
- South Padre Invitational proves worst of NCAA's bunch (November 28, 2006)
- UW guards learn valuable lessons in South Padre, take tournament experience back to Kohl Center (November 27, 2006)
- UW takes on final in-state rival (October 27, 2004)
by Mike Ackerstein
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
After running Southern out of the building Sunday evening, the No. 7 Wisconsin men's basketball team (3-0) will face Delaware State (1-3) Tuesday in their second game as part of the South Padre Invitational Tournament.
Though certainly not a marquee matchup, the Badgers will face a Hornet team that has a track record of winning, as well as one of the best players in the MEAC, Jahsha Bluntt.
"He's a very good player, very athletic," UW head coach Bo Ryan said of the senior guard.
Bluntt, the reigning MEAC Player of the Year after averaging 14.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game last season, has averaged 15 points through the team's first four games this season.
Having already played No. 5 Pittsburgh this season, and with two other Big Ten foes still on their schedule, playing against top competition is not something new to the Hornets. Last season, Delaware State faced off against NCAA runner-up UCLA as well as perennial contenders Maryland and Louisville, and though the team was unable to pull off any stunning upsets, the squad certainly gained big-game experience.
"They play pretty well, their coach has done a good job, they've been to the tournament, and we know that they're used to traveling," Ryan said. "I'm sure they'll come in here and give us their best shot, and we'll try to give them ours."
Plenty of parity
Tuesday's matchup with Delaware State, a relative unknown, also raises questions about what happens when power teams play, and lose to, smaller and less-talented programs.
Early-season losses by top teams like Kansas and Georgetown to Oral Roberts and Old Dominion, respectively, have the basketball world talking.
With several more games against smaller schools not known for basketball still on their schedule — and last season's shocking loss to North Dakota State still lingering in his memory — Ryan understands the parity that exists in college basketball.
"There are a lot of good teams out there, and every night that you go out on the court, the other team could shoot better, or you might be off," Ryan said. "[Losing] can happen. Whoever it is, you have to play well that night. There's maybe a margin of 5 percent of the games that you play where you could've played poorly and still won, but in the rest of the games, if you play poorly and the other team is in stride, you get beat."
The losses have also raised questions about how Wisconsin schedules their non-conference opponents and what they look for in a matchup.
"We look for teams that are going to be good, and when it gets down to the very end sometimes, it's whoever is willing to play," Ryan said. "I know what we're always looking for. Can we always get it? Probably not, but we'll try."
Having coached at UW-Platteville earlier in his career, Ryan knows firsthand what happens to a smaller school when they start beating bigger ones.
"When [smaller schools] beat [bigger ones], they won't get scheduled anymore."
No rest on the horizon
As part of the South Padre Invitational, the Badgers will play four games in a span of six days, a difficult task for any team early in the season, but one that Ryan feels the team is equipped to handle.
"I think conditioning and depth can help us. It's there; we just need to use it properly when we have our opportunities," Ryan said. "Hopefully, conditioning and depth can give us something that we wouldn't have otherwise."
Wisconsin's capable conditioning may stem from their practices, which have been especially tough and hard-fought, according to Ryan.
"They're very competitive in practice," Ryan said. "That's tough every day to go two-and-a-half hours, grabbing and bumping and elbowing."
