Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Advertisements
Advertisements

Badgers face first test of the season on the road

After finishing the exhibition season at 2-0, the Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team will face a tough test tonight in Philadelphia against the Pennsylvania Quakers. It will be the first regular season game for both teams and each will be looking to continue a trend of success from last year. Both teams have won their respective conference titles two years running, and both received automatic bids for last year’s NCAA tournament.

The Badgers bring national rankings into the contest, currently standing at #14 in the ESPN/USA Today poll, and at #15 in the AP/Coaches poll.

The exhibition season has allowed the Badgers to adjust to playing without last year’s third-leading scorer and offensive rebounding specialist Alando Tucker. Tucker is sidelined with a fractured foot, and isn’t expected to return until late December.

Advertisements

With the absence of Tucker, the Badgers have been led by strong performances from a pair of juniors. Preseason All-Big Ten player of the year Devin Harris has picked up right where he left off last year as the Badger’s leader on offense, and has averaged 24.5 points per game, 9.5 assists and 5 rebounds in the Badger’s two exhibition games. Forward Mike Wilkinson has contributed an average of 21 points and 7 rebounds in both contests.

Also on the injury front, sophomore Boo Wade will likely play more minutes in tonight’s matchup as he continues to recover from a knee injury incurred in the preseason. Wade, last year’s sixth man for the Badgers, will most likely start tonight in the guard position.

Badger head coach Bo Ryan hopes to start his third season at UW on a winning note. A Philadelphia native, Ryan is 1-1 in the opening game of the season in his time at Wisconsin, and despite Ryan’s homecoming, the Badgers will face a solid opponent in the Quakers.

The Quakers will be faced with several questions as they open their season. The two-time defending Ivy League Champions lost 6 seniors from last year’s squad, a group who averaged 43 points per game last year. Penn looks to a pair of returning starters to lead this year’s team offensively.

Senior guard Jeff Schiffner is the leading returning scorer from last year, averaging 11.4 points per game. Schiffner is especially deadly from the three point range, evidenced by his nation-leading 49.3 percent shooting from the behind the arc. Schiffner also shot 45 percent from the field and finished the season with All-Ivy League honors.

Junior guard Tim Begley is the other returning starter who saw significant playing time last year. One of the best all-around players on the Penn team according to head coach Fran Dunphy, Begley led the squad with 80 assists and was third with 130 rebounds last year.

Penn will look to Schiffner, Begley as well as seniors Charlie Copp and Adam Chubb to provide leadership to a very young Quaker squad. Despite its youth, Penn remains a solid team, and was chosen to repeat as Ivy League Champions in the conference’s preseason poll.

Advertisements
Leave a Comment
Donate to The Badger Herald

Your donation will support the student journalists of University of Wisconsin-Madison. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
Donate to The Badger Herald

Comments (0)

All The Badger Herald Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *