No. 14 Wisconsin (10-2) vs. Minnesota (6-6)
Game: Wednesday, Jan. 3 inside the Kohl Center
Time: 8:00 P.M CT
Watch: BTN
Listen: 1310 WIBA AM and 101.5 FM (Matt Lepay and Mike Lucas on the call); stream online on iHeartRadio
Prediction: Wisconsin 79, Minnesota 61
Follow Online: The Badgers' Den
Twitter: @Badger_Blitz
PRE-GAME NOTES
Against Western Michigan, with 2023 right around the corner, the Badgers needed another second half run to pull away from an inferior opponent. No matter — Wisconsin reached 10 wins and moved up to No.14 in the AP poll. Wisconsin is the second-highest ranked Big Ten team, behind the undefeated and No.1 Purdue Boilermakers.
The Badgers won't get to face Purdue until the second day of March, but they've got plenty of worthy Big Ten foes populating the schedule until then, starting with Minnesota. The Golden Gophers have struggled early this season, but this game represents the start of the Badgers' exclusively Big Ten stretch. Wisconsin fared extremely well in it's out-of-conference schedule, losing to Wake Forest and what are now the No.3 Kansas Jayhawks by a combined four points.
Against Western Michigan, the Badgers only led by two at the half. Then, they exploded for 47 in the second period, led by the efforts of center Steven Crowl. The big man notched a career high 25 points to go along with eight boards. It was an inspiring performance for Crowl, who has enormous, but largely untapped, potential. He appears to be finding his groove at the right time though, as he now has double-digit points in four straight contests after scoring in double figures just twice before that stretch. Wisconsin will need that level of play from their seven-footer in the grinding, physical Big Ten.
Crowl will be asked to keep it up Wednesday against Minnesota. The Gophers haven't been a prolific offensive team, but they're led in scoring by their 6-11 North Carolina transfer Dawson Garcia. The Savage, Minnesota native averages 14.3 points on an efficient 46.0% shooting. The Gophers unleash Garcia in the paint, and his matchup with Crowl down low should be entertaining. Garcia can also shoot threes — he's only hitting them at a 29.3% clip this season, but the former Tar Heel shot 37.5% from deep in Chapel Hill last season. If Garcia gets his three point stroke back, the entire Gophers offense becomes much more problematic.
As a whole, Minnesota has had a rough start to the season. They beat Arkansas Pine-Bluff and narrowly escaped Chicago State to stop a five game loosing skid. Their six wins have featured a one-point overtime victory against California Baptist and a one-point win against the same Western Michigan squad Wisconsin beat by 10. At 6-6 and 0-2 in Big Ten play, the Golden Gophers are second to last in the conference, and it's not looking great for them to improve that position as they enter the thick of their Big Ten schedule.
Wisconsin's offense once again shot the three ball well against Western Michigan, and they're shooting 38.1% from deep this season, good for 25th in the nation. It's the main reason as to why even without the copious scoring of Johnny Davis, Wisconsin's offense hasn't fallen off a cliff. Connor Essegian, Max Klesmit and Chucky Hepburn are all shooting over 40% from downtown, with the later hitting nearly half of his long range shots. Whether or not the Badgers can keep it up during Big Ten play will be a key factor in how Wisconsin performs down the stretch.
After a light schedule in December with a two-week intermission, Wisconsin's schedule gets serious from here on out. After Minnesota, the Badgers get Illinois, Michigan State and then a huge matchup with No.15 Indiana. It's all Big Ten basketball from here on out. Buckle up.
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