The Wisconsin men’s basketball team (16-9 overall, 8-4 Big Ten) is barreling toward a marquee match-up against No. 8 Michigan State.
After pushing to the postseason with a seven-game winning streak, expectations for Wisconsin are high going into Thursday’s game against their second top 10 opponent in a week.
Wisconsin’s momentum sped up from the beginning of the season, but Michigan State presents a challenge the Badgers haven’t seen since their last meeting with the Spartans.
“[Physical] is how our games have always been,” University of Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard said. “They’ve been physical. They’ve been battles. Regardless of teams’ records, regardless of the past games leading up to that game.”
Despite the clear increase in the level of Wisconsin’s play, Michigan State also has continued to assert their dominance over conference opponents. The Spartans are coming off a 69-88 win over No. 22 Indiana and maintained a 13-game winning streak earlier in the season until falling to the No.4 Iowa Hawkeyes in December.
Gard affirmed the key to the Badgers’ success over Michigan Sate is going to be consistency in fundamentals, similar to Saturday’s win over No. 2 Maryland.
“When the other team is better defensively, you succumb to worse shots than you were normally taking, so you have to find a way and play the percentages, so to speak, where you can be consistent,” Gard said. “Can we consistently take care of the ball and get good shots each time, make sure we are good in transition defensively, make sure we are good on the defensive backboard and blocking out?”
With Wisconsin’s 3-point percentage climbing, the Badgers’ use of 3-pointers has been steady and effective in recent play. But Gard insists that dependence can not lie only in the hands of the 3-point shot.
“We try not to be dependent on [3-pointers],” Gard said. “That’s why we have tried to really emphasize touching the post and getting to the free-throw line, and making sure we are defensively sound. There will be nights where the ball, for whatever reason, doesn’t go in.”
Junior Nigel Hayes will be key to the Badgers’ success against Michigan State. Hayes’ role as a strong offensive player has already been established, but his role in the team’s defense is increasingly important to the smoothness and execution of the team. If Hayes can come out Thursday and play with what Gard describes as “unselfishness” in his defense, Gard’s plan to “muddy the water and have a rock fight” against Michigan State will be legitimized.
As the Badgers move into preparation for Thursday’s game, Gard has one thing to say to the players:
“Hey, do your job.”
