The Wisconsin women’s basketball team hopes to keep its winning streak alive this week as they matchup against Michigan State Thursday before they travel to Ohio State to play Sunday.
Just a week ago, the Badgers (4-5, 6-14) were tied with Northwestern at the bottom of the standings, each having only one win in conference play. After turning in three solid performances against league opponents Michigan, Indiana and Northwestern, Wisconsin has jumped from being second-to-last to being seventh in conference standings.
When asked to evaluate the team’s most recent performances, Jane Albright, Wisconsin’s head coach said, “I think we are executing better. We have made our goals better.” Albright also cited Wisconsin’s defense as the main feature of their improving play.
“I think another wonderful stat, another puzzling one, is that we lead the Big Ten in field-goal-percentage defense,” Albright said. “Teams are shooting 39 percent against us … our ball pressure has been better. Our zones have been better. We have mixed up our defenses better.”
Wisconsin will have to play well against Michigan State (5-3, 12-7) Thursday if the team hopes to continue its current winning streak. Michigan State is fifth in league standings and is currently enjoying a three-game winning streak of their own.
According to Jane Albright, one of the keys for the Badgers in the game Thursday will be how Wisconsin handles Michigan State’s defense.
“They are a matchup zone, that is what they drill every day. … They get you off balance, because they rotate so well with one another,” Albright said.
Michigan State coach Joanne McCallie doesn’t expect the game to be an easy one for the Spartans.
“It’s definitely going to be very challenging.” McCallie said. “The games I have seen [of Wisconsin] have been really impressive. … They are a very very good team.”
Although the Badger’s overall record isn’t very impressive, McCallie says it’s important to not rely on the numbers.
“The record is completely misleading. Records are not indicative,” McCallie said.
As the regular season winds down and the Badgers look forward to the Big Ten tournament, they know they must keep improving if they hope to sustain the level they have achieved over the past week.
Home v. Away, which matters more?
Being perfect is pretty hard to do. However, five teams remain perfect when playing on their home courts.
Penn State, (8-1, 18-5) who leads the conference, has a perfect 5-0 record at home against Big Ten opponents. Purdue (7-2, 18-3), Ohio State (6-3, 15-5), Minnesota (5-3, 16-3) and Michigan State (5-3, 12-7) are a combined 17-0 at home against Big Ten opponents this season.
Winning on the road, however, is another story, and one that is equally as important. Of the five teams with perfect home records, three have losing records when playing away, and one, Minnesota, has yet to win a Big Ten road game.
As the Big Ten tournament slowly approaches, and the regular season begins to wind down, the teams that find a way to win on the road are going to be the ones that last the longest in the postseason.
“The conference is going to be very tight, very competitive,” Michigan head coach Sue Guevara said. “Those teams that are taking care of business at home are putting themselves in good positions.”
Guevara admits that the defining characteristic will be the teams that can win outside of their own arenas.
“That’s the key stat right there, sneaking a few here or there on the road,” Guevara said.
So, while going undefeated at home may look nice on paper, the statistic to really pay attention to is what teams are able to accomplish on the road.
