Sports: Men's Basketball

UW to begin regular season

Following a successful preseason, the Wisconsin men’s basketball team begins its regular season with a non-conference game against Long Beach State on Sunday at the Kohl Center.

Behind 21 points from senior forward Marcus Landry, the Badgers easily won their first exhibition game over Augustana 81-57. It took a bit more effort in the second game against UW-Whitewater, but Wisconsin got the job done, defeating the Warhawks 64-47.

“I thought our guys played hard; we just didn’t make all the best decisions,” Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said. “But you know, it’s early for everybody.”

With only two games and a few weeks of practice under its belt, Wisconsin will face the 49ers after playing a sloppy game compared to what Ryan is used to. Against Whitewater, the Badgers finished with an uncharacteristic 12 turnovers.

“Some of the decisions that were made with the ball shocked me,” Ryan said. “We just have to get better.”

“There’s always room for improvement,” junior guard Jason Bohannon added. “Last year we got tremendously better as the year went on, and that’s what we’re trying to do right now, just keep getting better every day. Coach Ryan won’t settle for anything less, so I think we’re expecting a lot of improvement as the season goes on.”

In the two exhibition games, Wisconsin did get a big boost from its freshmen, particularly guard Jordan Taylor. Forwards Ryan Evans and Rob Wilson contributed to the mix as well in both preseason games.

Taylor has impressed the UW coaching staff with his resiliency and strong defense. After starting the game against Whitewater with three turnovers and no assists, he came back to force a turnover and provide three assists for Wisconsin.

“[Taylor] did a great job,” Ryan said. “We knew he was a player, and he just keeps showing us different ways that he’s a player. He’s smart, tough, never reacts negatively to anything, but he’ll take your lunch money in a second.”

Going into the game against Long Beach State, the Badgers are huge favorites with their .939 home-winning percentage since Ryan took over coaching seven seasons ago. After winning both preseason games, however, Landry and UW know they still have much to work on as the season progresses.

“We need to get better as a team,” Landry said. “You have been watching Wisconsin basketball for a long time. That’s what we try to do here. We just want to keep on improving.”

Though the Badgers won’t be too severely threatened by the 49ers, they will face a difficult task in defending Donovan Morris, who averaged 21.2 points per game last season and was picked as a preseason mid-major All-American by the Big West’s media.

Wisconsin will also see its first team with a starter at 6 feet 10 inches, giving the Badgers a slight height disadvantage if Keaton Nankivil starts in place of Jon Leuer, as he did in the team’s first two exhibition games.

For now though, Ryan simply hopes someone will step up into a leadership role.

“When I look at things like this, you’re always looking for someone to pop up,” he said. “We’re looking, we’re just looking for some players.”