Losing two early games last season didn’t really mean that much for the men’s basketball team. If the Badgers lose on Saturday to Marquette, it might be a precursor for a rough season ahead.

With two early losses last year — Duke and Marquette — before Big Ten play began, many questioned whether or not Wisconsin could handle the pressure of playing a game against a tougher opponent. The losses of Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor were already causing people to virtually ignore Wisconsin, and few could blame them. Most teams losing their two best players wouldn’t be in a good situation.

Thirty-one wins later, most of those concerns were all but forgotten, with good reason.

This year, the team faces a similar situation. After squeezing by Iona and San Diego in the preliminary rounds of the Paradise Jam a week ago, the full-court pressure applied by No. 2 Connecticut was a bit too much for Bo Ryan’s squad to handle.

Now the Badgers have to face their in-state rival, Marquette, which is currently ranked No. 25. If they can beat the Golden Eagles, Wisconsin will be in pretty good shape going into the highly anticipated game against Texas.

But even if they don’t win, does it really matter?

Well, last year when the Badgers lost a nail-biter to Marquette at the Kohl Center, it ended up not having major implications because they upset Texas a mere few weeks later.

This year might not be as easy.

Last season, Wisconsin had four impact seniors, two impact juniors and two impact sophomores. Against Connecticut, the loss of the seniors was clearly evident. Now, with all Wisconsin’s best players starting, it doesn’t have the same luxury of bringing an experienced 7-footer (Greg Stiemsma) and a sharpshooter (Jason Bohannon) off the bench.

Now, when Bohannon needs rest and Trevon Hughes struggles from the field, Ryan sends in freshmen Jordan Taylor and Rob Wilson. Though both will probably be team leaders in due time, against the Huskies, they just couldn’t get the game going.

What resulted? Eight assists and 22 turnovers as a team. Not exactly what Ryan was hoping for.

Last year, when the Badgers were forced to play out of their game, they were still able to pull out a few wins because of size advantage and sheer talent; but let’s face it — Keaton Nankivil is no Brian Butch. Michael Flowers’ defense will probably not be matched by any Badger this season.

With a young, inexperienced team this year, Wisconsin will have to completely buy into Ryan’s strategy and slow down the game; otherwise, we might see more games reminiscent of that loss to the Huskies.

For the Badgers to beat Marquette and Texas, the team can’t commit 22 turnovers with only eight assists. But more importantly, they need the bench players to be serviceable while the starters get some rest — that was a major component for last year’s team’s success.

This year’s Badgers have struggled against lowlier teams like Long Beach State and Iona but have ended up on top because their talent level was simply higher than that of their opponents.

That didn’t work against Connecticut, and it won’t work against any ranked team. The Badgers need to play “Bo Ryan” basketball to win. If they don’t, it’s going to be a long season.

Now, the team can only hope that someone emerges to become a strong force off the bench. That was the way the Badgers could compete last year. If this year’s team wants to compare, it will need some help from those who aren’t in the starting lineup. Whether those players’ names are Taylor and Wilson is yet to be seen.

Jonah is a sophomore hoping to major in journalism. How do you think this year’s men’s basketball team compares to last year’s? Send him your thoughts at [email protected].