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Now that March has rolled around, the games start to have more significance. Wednesday night will be no exception.
No. 8 Wisconsin (24-4, 14-2 Big Ten) will host Penn State (14-14, 6-10 Big Ten) at the Kohl Center tonight in the team?s penultimate regular season game and in its last home contest of the year a win will move the team one step closer to a conference title.
With a 14-2 Big Ten record, Wisconsin needs only to get past Penn State Wednesday and Northwestern Saturday to claim the regular season crown. The Badgers had been tied with Purdue atop the conference, but Ohio State beat the Boilermakers 80-77 in overtime Tuesday night, and this means Wisconsin can now claim sole possession of the title with a pair of wins.
Penn State enters the game still hurting from an injury to its star player earlier in the season. In the Badgers? first meeting with the Nittany Lions, an 80-55 victory in Happy Valley, Penn State?s leading scorer Geary Claxton went down with a torn ACL that would end the senior?s season.
?When you?re missing somebody like [Claxton], it does affect what you?re doing, but you have some strengths,? Badger coach Bo Ryan said.
Before the injury, Claxton was leading the Nittany Lions in scoring and rebounding with 17.5 points and 8.4 boards per game. After the senior went down Penn State went on to lose nine of its next 11 games, but the team enters Wednesday?s matchup having won its last two conference games thanks largely to the freshman Talor Battle who scored 28 points in the team?s last game, a 69-61 win over Michigan.
?They?ve got quickness in the backcourt now, compared to the past few years, in Pringle and ? the other guard, Battle, besides the 3-point shooters, Morrissey and Walker, they?re getting some,? Ryan said.
UW will also have to deal with junior Jamelle Cornley, who is averaging 12.1 points per game and has scored 20 plus points in two of Penn State?s last three games.
?Cornley is so tough,? Ryan said. ?He?s a tough matchup.?
Though Penn State?s taken a step back with the loss of Claxton, the team still won?t be taken lightly by Wisconsin.
?They got a lanky post player that can do some things defensively, and they found a way to compete with that group. ? I know they?d like to have more on the left-hand side, but who doesn?t??
It?s been another strong season for Wisconsin at home this season, losing just twice, and the Kohl Center should prove especially daunting for Penn State, a team that has managed just two road victories all season. Additionally, UW should be well rested heading into the game after six days off following an impressive victory over Michigan State that saw Wisconsin turn the ball over just one time.
Wednesday?s contest will also be a meaningful one as it will mark the final home game for the Badgers? four seniors, Tanner Bronson, Brian Butch, Greg Stiemsma and Michael Flowers.
The four have each won 98 games during their careers at UW and have an opportunity to the tie school record of 99 career wins, set by last season?s class, with a win over PSU. The four?s 47 Big Ten wins is already a Wisconsin record.
?I just think this class has done an unbelievable job of coming together collectively,? Ryan said.
Butch currently leads the team in scoring with 12.4 points per game, Flowers has been a solid defensive contributor all year and turned in an impressive effort in limiting Michigan State?s Drew Neitzel to just three points in the team?s last game, and Stiemsma has provided a spark off the bench several times this season and currently leads the Badgers in blocked shots.
?I?m telling you right now this group has not been cheated,? Ryan said. ?They grab things as they?re going around. ? They?re reaching. They?re pushing their limits, and that?s what I really like about this group.?
