After three straight home games, the Wisconsin men’s basketball team will travel to New York City to play in Madison Square Garden as part of the this year’s 2K Classic.
The Badgers are one of four teams participating in the tournament, and they will kick off the event Friday when they take on Georgetown. Here is a breakdown of the other three teams Wisconsin could potentially face this weekend.
Men’s basketball: Wisconsin tops North Dakota behind big day from Happ
Georgetown (0-2)
This is the one team Wisconsin is guaranteed to play this weekend, and despite the Hoyas’ disappointing 0-2 start, the team is nothing to scoff at this early in the season. While the double overtime loss to Radford in their season-opener surely came as a shock and disappointment for the club, their effort just three days later on the road against No. 3 Maryland showed Georgetown has some fight in them — as they fell by just four points.
A pair of seniors, center Bradley Hayes and guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, will lead the Hoyas. After appearing in just 17 games his junior season, Hayes’ senior campaign has been off to a great start, averaging a double-double of 17.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game through the team’s first two outings. Standing at a massive 7-feet, 275 pounds, he could create real issues for an undersized Wisconsin frontcourt.
Smith-Rivera, on the other hand, was a pivotal part of the Hoyas’ offense attack last season, and he put on a show against the Badgers in the Bahamas last season when he shot 61 percent from the field and scored 29 points. As both a slasher and shooter, he’ll look to wreak havoc on the Wisconsin backcourt, which has at times struggled this season from keeping guards out of the paint.
VCU (2-0)
The Rams have cruised through their first two games of the season, defeating Prairie View A&M and Radford by a combined 43 points. It is the team’s first season under head coach Will Wade, who replaced Shaka Smart after he lead the program to tremendous success. But Wade was Smart’s first assistant coaching hire at VCU and the personality of the program has mostly remained unchanged.
Aggressiveness is at the foundation of the Rams’ game plan, with senior guard Melvin Johnson leading the way, who leads the team in both points (18.5) and steals (3.0) per game. In fact, three different VCU players have recorded six steals in their first two games, as the team will always look to make a living off turnovers and fast break points.
This will be the biggest issue Wisconsin could potentially face, as other than junior guard Bronson Koenig, the Badgers are very light on true ball handlers. The team’s current guard rotation other than Koenig consists of redshirt junior Zak Showalter, redshirt sophomore Jordan Hill and freshman Khalil Iverson — all of whom have very limited experience running UW’s offense.
But if VCU’s aggressive play has a kryptonite, it’s Bo Ryan’s methodical offensive approach. Rarely does a Ryan-coached team turn the ball over and lose control of the game. Should the Badgers face the Rams on Saturday, that ball control will most certainly be put to the test.
Duke (2-1)
If the Badgers and Blue Devils meet Saturday, it will be the third time in a calendar year that the two programs will square off against each other. While Duke won both meetings last season, both squads bring an entirely new rotation to the table after sending a combined six players to the NBA.
The Blue Devils are coming off a loss to a revamped Kentucky team, but are still looking to prove that they are one of the most dangerous teams in the country once again. Despite losing their four best players from last year’s team, a familiar face — especially for Wisconsin — is leading the way for Duke through their first three games.
Grayson Allen, the hero of last year’s national championship game, is currently averaging 20.0 points in 30 minutes through three games this season. After hardly seeing the court last year, Allen is taking full advantage of his expanded role, displaying his good outside touch and his overwhelming athleticism in the open floor.
In addition to Allen, Duke boasts a legitimate threat in the post on both ends of the floor in Amile Jefferson, who is averaging 15.3 points and 12.7 rebounds per game, and Matt Jones, a sharp-shooting guard who is averaging 15.0 points per game and shooting a remarkable 56.3 percent from three. They also possess a standout freshman, Brandon Ingram, whose athleticism allows him to be equally gifted on defense as he is on offense.
Duke brings a lot of firepower to the table, and while they may not have the talent of last year’s team, they will surely look to give these inexperienced Badgers more than they can handle should the two face off.
