No. 23 Wisconsin (7-2) at No. 1 Arizona (7-0)

Game: Saturday, Dec. 9 in the McKale Center in Tucson, AZ

Time: 2:15 P.M. CT

Watch: ESPN

Listen: 1310 WIBA AM and 101.5 FM (Matt Lepay and Brian Butch on the call); stream online on iHeartRadio

Prediction: Arizona 72, Wisconsin 61

Follow Online: The Badgers' Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting line: Arizona -8.5 (according to ESPN BET)

The Badgers are preparing to finish off a three-game stretch that’s been circled since the schedules were first released. Some may have viewed it with dread, especially given Wisconsin’s issues last season, and through some of their early games. But the tough series has become a golden opportunity to let the world know that this team is different than last year’s.

They first dismantled the rival Marquette Golden Eagles at home last Saturday, 75-64, dropping them from No. 3 to No.8 in the AP Poll. The Badgers followed that up with a convincing 70-57 victory over Michigan State in East Lansing this past Tuesday.

Those two impressive wins finally pushed Wisconsin into the AP Poll for the first time since January of this year.

Leading the charge in the recent victory over the Spartans was A.J. Storr. The St. John’s transfer has led the team in scoring for essentially the entire season, but hasn’t been as efficient in recent games.

Storr put up 22 points on 8-11 shooting after entering with a 39.4% field goal percentage. His nine points in the first 10 minutes gave the Badgers an early lead, and they never looked back.

“He has grown probably as much as anybody,” head coach Greg Gard said of Storr after the Michigan State win. “I’ve always viewed him as a freshman, even though he’s had a year of college experience simply because everything that we do is new to him on both ends of the floor. He’s playing off two feet more.”

The other major contributor on Tuesday night was Steven Crowl, who put up 18 points, six rebounds and five assists, slowly cementing himself as perhaps the best all-around player on the Badgers.

During the six-game winning streak, he’s averaged 13.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. His sheer dominance over a series of smaller lineups has been one of the driving forces for Wisconsin’s resurgence.

Another key for the Badgers during the win streak has been show-stealing freshman John Blackwell. He’s averaging 9.8 points on 17.8 minutes off the bench. The point guard has also surprisingly made 26 of his 28 free throw attempts over the past six games, turning a prior weakness for the Badgers into a strength.

“Blackwell did a hell of a job,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said after Tuesday’s game. “Deserves a lot of credit, comes from a real group program, played well. I thought he was stronger and tougher.”

The Wildcats’ program had been tainted by the successful, yet wildly controversial head coach Sean Miller, who went 29-27 in the three seasons after he was exposed for being involved in the infamous 2017 college basketball scandal.

Miller was replaced in 2021 by 20-year Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd, who quickly returned Arizona to national prominence. Lloyd’s 61 wins through his first two seasons are the most for any head coach in NCAA Division I history.

He led them to a 33-4 record and the Sweet 16 in his first season, then suffered a first-round upset to Princeton as the #2 seed earlier this calendar year.

Such a disappointing finish incentivized Lloyd to improve the team through the transfer portal, and those additions have already paid dividends.

His biggest addition was guard Caleb Love, who spent his first three seasons at North Carolina. The newcomer already leads the team in points per game (13.3), yet isn’t the most efficient scorer. He’s averaged double-digit points in all four of his seasons, but his current 39.5% field goal percentage is the highest of his career. The Badgers should especially let Love shoot as many 3-pointers as he pleases. He’s averaging 6.0 attempts per game, yet makes just 1.2 on average, for a measly 28.6%.

The other major portal addition was forward Keshad Johnson. After spending four years at San Diego State, Johnson’s now having the best season of his career in Tucson. He’s leading the Wildcats in rebounds per game (6.6), while his 12.1 points per game are second on the team.

Arizona’s greatest strength is that it is not reliant on any single player. They don’t have just one scorer that the Badgers can target and try to neutralize, like Marquette with Kam Jones or Michigan State with Tyson Walker.

The Wildcats have six players averaging over 9.5 points per game, and all but Love are shooting over 50% from the field.

Arizona’s plethora of options have made them one of the most lethal scoring teams in the country, averaging 93.4 points per game, good for third in Division I. They’re also second in point differential, beating their opponents by an average of 30.8 points per game.

A major factor in the Badgers beating their previous two opponents was their dominance on the glass. Wisconsin out-rebounded Marquette and Michigan State by a combined total of 74-45. They’ll now face their ultimate test against a Wildcat team that averages 47.1 rebounds per game, good for first in the country.

Crowl will do his best to mitigate the impact of 7-foot center Oumar Ballo, who’s second on the team averaging 6.7 rebounds per game. Behind Ballo is Lithuanian center Motiejus Krivas. The 7-foot-2 freshman has quickly become a key reserve, averaging 9.9 points and 5.3 rebounds in 16.0 minutes per game.

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