No matter what team you are and where you are playing, the day after Selection Sunday will always bring complaints from coast to coast. (That is, unless you’re Duke and have the trip to Atlanta handed to you on a silver platter.) Whether it is Gonzaga trying to figure out their sixth seed or a team like Butler (25-5) wondering how many more games they would have needed to win to make the tournament, the grumbles will be heard well after March is over.
It is no different for Wisconsin. As a No. 8 seed, the Badgers drew a game against No. 9 St. John’s in Washington, D.C. While UW prepares for a trek cross-country, the Red Storm is adjusting to the harsh reality of having to travel the 250 miles to our nation’s capital from their home in Jamaica, New York (on the border of Pennsylvania and New York).
The reason for the closeness: the experimental pod system the NCAA implemented into this year’s tourney. It was created to help reduce the amount of travel in the first two rounds. For example, Ohio State is seeded fourth in the West region but opens up first-round play in Pittsburgh. Since the Kohl Center is host to the Midwest regional, playing in Chicago was not an option for UW.
Wisconsin also received the lowest bid of the four Big Ten co-champs with its eighth seed; the rest of the bunch was placed at fourth or fifth.
While the Badgers could dwell on these issues, they know it would do no good. Instead, they will concentrate on preparing to play a team that brings a whole new game plan to the court.
“We are very close to [St. John’s] area, and being an eighth seed and playing a seed lower than us, you wouldn’t think we’d be in their backyard, but this year is an experimental year with the pods and all,” commented UW assistant coach Tony Bennett. “You play the hands you’ve been dealt, and it isn’t any good worrying about it.”
With four days to prepare for the Red Storm, UW has already started to work on playing against a pressing team such as St. John’s, a team that is quite deep at the guard spot. The Badgers took multiple approaches to setting up a system similar to SJU’s: they began practice using six guys on defense and took advantage of having the NCAA’s career three-point percentage shooter in Bennett.
Bennett played the role of SJU’s quick point guard Marcus Hatten. While there will always be four other players on the court to complement Hatten, he is the go-to guy for St. John’s and will draw the majority of the attention from opposing teams. The junior guard averages 19.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game.
“[To play like Marcus Hatten] is like shooting like [Temple’s] Lynn Greer (who had 47 points in his outing against UW) all over again,” said Bennett.
Head coach Bo Ryan also addressed the issue of playing a guy like Hatten.
“[Hatten] is quick off the dribble, and you never know what he is going to do next — he can shake you, go left, go right, shoot bombs off the threes, which he hits enough of to [force you to] play him out there on the court,” said Ryan. “He can get you defensively too.”
Despite the focus on Hatten and the rest of the team, the Badgers are beginning to work on themselves just as much. Against Iowa, they committed 22 turnovers, one of which led to Recker’s pull-up jumper to give the Hawkeyes the two-point advantage in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
“[We’ll be working] mostly on decisions on where the passes are going, not reading passing lanes, because if you have a team that extends on the full court, you have to make good decisions. You have to use ball fakes [and] stay away from jump-and-run traps, and spacing is important,” added Ryan.
“Our downfall against Iowa was we did not take care of the basketball, and that is what we have to address,” said a concerned Bennett. “Valuing each possession and being so tough inside with the ball [is what we need to do], and if we do that, then our offense will provide good open looks, but if we don’t, we’re going to have a tough time.”
That tough time is exactly what the Badgers hope to eliminate during the next four days of practice.
