Saturday will be the last game at the Kohl Center for University of Wisconsin basketball players Jason Chappell, Kammron Taylor and Alando Tucker, and it couldn't have come at a better time.
After losing its last two games on the road, No. 4 Wisconsin (26-4 overall, 12-3 Big Ten) returns home for Senior Day to face a familiar Michigan State (21-9, 8-7) team.
"It's good knowing we just played Michigan State a week and a half ago," Tucker said. "It's good to be able to get them back because we're familiar with their sets. We don't have to refresh our memory too much because we know what they're going to bring."
Revenge will certainly be on the Badgers' minds.
After Wisconsin earned its first-ever No. 1 ranking, the Spartans upset the Badgers 64-55 in East Lansing, Mich., last week.
"Michigan State gave us a whooping up there," said Joe Krabbenhoft, a sophomore forward who made his first career start Sunday at Ohio State. "But I'm not giving them any post-able material because they're going to come in here and try to do the same thing."
Even though much of the spotlight will be on the senior trio of Chappell, Taylor and Tucker in what will be their last home game, Krabbenhoft may steal some of the attention when the starting lineups are announced.
With starting junior forward/center Brian Butch out four-to-six weeks with a right elbow injury, Krabbenhoft may be the one to fill in. After all, Krabbenhoft did start over a healthy Butch in the Ohio State game due to matchup problems.
UW head coach Bo Ryan, though, hasn't made up his mind just yet. He said he is unsure of who he will go with in the starting lineup in place of Butch. Other than Krabbenhoft, the other potential options would be sophomore forward Marcus Landry, who scored a season-high 18 points last time against Michigan State, or junior center Greg Stiemsma, the team's only other available near 7-footer.
Regardless of who starts, Krabbenhoft is just going to play his game.
"I'm just expecting to go out there and contribute to the team," Krabbenhoft said. "Brian's down, so there's a lot of guys on our bench that can pick him up, and if I'm asked to be one of them to start out, I'm comfortable doing that now. If it's somebody else — Marcus, Greg, Kevin (Gullikson) — anybody can step in there and do a great job, so I'm not worried about that."
What Krabbenhoft and the team may be worried about, however, is losing the edge Butch gave them as a big man who could shoot from 3-point range, helping to stretch out the defense in Ryan's swing offense.
Still, Krabbenhoft is confident the Badgers' bench can fill in for the injured Butch.
"It's hard to fill in a 7-foot shooter who can shoot like he's 6-5; it's hard to fill that because not all of us can do that," Krabbenhoft said. "We're just going to have to continue what we do and pick it up even another notch.
"We just have to pick up what Brian can't give us now."
Regardless of who starts in place of Butch Saturday, Chappell, Taylor and Tucker know it's their day Saturday, and they would like to make the most of it. Yet, they know they can't let the emotions get to their heads.
"We have a lot to play for and this being Senior Day, everybody's emotions are going to be high," Taylor said. "We just have to control our emotions and make sure we don't get away from the game plan."
