[media-credit name=’JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]

When much-heralded Indiana freshman Eric Gordon came into
the Kohl Center earlier this season, it was Mike Flowers who drew the
assignment. Thanks to his energy, Flowers shut Gordon down for most of the
game. Coming off a rare conference home loss with another date with Indiana
coming up, he?ll need to bring it again.

?Well, he?s always going to have the energy,? Badger coach
Bo Ryan said in his Monday press conference. ?He always brings that.?

Though Flowers was kept off the court due to foul trouble earlier
in the season, the senior has cut down on fouls, resulting in more time to help
the University of Wisconsin on the court.

?Sometimes that burst of energy thinking you can get a ball,
and you reach your hand in, or do this, or do that to maybe make contact with a
player somewhat, then it?s up to interpretation of the officials, so I think
he?s avoided more of those situations,? Ryan said. ?So it keeps him out of foul
trouble. And I think that?s just learning how to control the moment.?

Fatigue may have sunk in for Flowers at times this season,
but based on the guard?s play against Purdue, Ryan is confident the senior is
ready to go for the next matchup.

?He seemed to recover Saturday. He was playing hard. He was
moving. He was diving in the floor. He was doing his normal stuff,? Ryan said.

Gordon scored 16 points in Wisconsin?s first meeting with
Indiana, but much of the damage was done after the Badgers had amassed a big
lead, thanks largely to Flowers? ability to slow down Gordon in the first half.
This time around, it?ll have to be more of the same from Flowers as well as the
rest of the team.

?I like this thought on trying to shut people down,? Ryan
said. ?He thinks that way. He thinks, he knows he has to have help from
teammates.?

?I mean, he didn?t make All-Big Ten defensive team last year
by accident.?

Whether or not Flowers nabs the honor again this season is
yet to be determined, but based on his play so far, he warrants a look,
according to Ryan.

?You know, you have to do something, and I?d be surprised if
he didn?t make it this year. But he?s had some really tough assignments to work
with his teammates as far as funneling guys and chasing guys and trying to take
away their strengths, but he seemed, he answers the bell and gives the effort,?
Ryan said. ?Results vary, but the effort is there.?

?

Hughes in midseason crisis

After a hot start to his season, sophomore Trevon Hughes has
hit a slump lately. While his turnover numbers have gone up, his scoring
numbers have taken a nose dive.

Though opponents have keyed in more on Hughes after his
early season performances, other factors have played into the scoring decline,
though Ryan isn?t sure exactly what the leading one is.

?Well, somewhat,? Ryan said of teams focusing in on him
more, ?and some is shot selection, and finishing, and it?s always a
combination, but I can?t say one?s 25 percent, the other?s 60 percent and the
other?s whatever. I mean, it?s not. It?s different teams, different
opportunities, different shots, different ways to score. Some teams, he?s going
to get to the free throw line more than others.?

Hughes is currently tied for the team lead in points per
game with 12.7, but the guard entered conference play averaging 15.1 points per
contest and has scored just four points in the Badgers? last two games.

While part of the problem might be the kind of games the
Badgers have played, Ryan again attributes some of it to the shots Hughes is
taking.

?If you?re playing with a lead, you tend to get to the free-throw
line more if you?re the point guard because you got the ball in your hands,?
Ryan said. ?But I think in some, it?s shot selection.?