Preview: Wisconsin travels to Georgia Tech in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge
No. 23 Wisconsin (5-1, 0-0) vs. Georgia Tech (5-1, 0-0)
Game: Wednesday, Dec. 1 inside the McCamish Pavilion
Time: 8:15 PM (CT)
Watch: ESPN2 (Dave Pasch and Debbie Antonelli)
Listen: 1310 WIBA AM and 101.5 FM (Matt Lepay and Mike Lucas on the call); stream online on iHeartRadio
Prediction: Wisconsin 68, Georgia Tech 57
Follow Online: The Badgers' Den
Twitter: @Badger_Blitz
PRE-GAME NOTES
Wisconsin heads to Atlanta on Wednesday to take on Georgia Tech in their first true road contest of the season. The Badgers return to the court for the first time since an impressive showing at the Maui Invitational last week.
UW is looking to ride the massive swing of momentum it had to open the season. Led by Jonathan Davis - recently named Big Ten player of the week - the Badgers have now entered the national conversation and are ranked No. 23 in the latest AP Poll.
"We never really care about the rankings. It’s great for fans, alumni, all that," Greg Gard said when speaking to the media Monday. "It’s not going to change how we approach today. It shouldn’t change how we work… Georgia Tech isn’t going to care.
"You want to keep a mindset that we haven’t accomplished anything yet. We still have a long ways to go. We have to improve in a lot of areas."
Despite Gard's comments, the Badgers are further along than most had predicted. The quick start is due in large part to their defensive activity and the sophomore leap Jonathan Davis has taken.
Davis currently leads the Badgers in scoring (20.2), rebounds (5.6), assists (11) and steals (10). He has provided constant rim pressure and has been able to get to his mid-range shot consistently. The natural next step will be to see how Davis responds to teams game planning against him and seeing different looks from defenses.
"He had a terrific week in Vegas, and now he’ll see a different approach from opponents," Gard said. "He’ll be highlighted and there will be more film on him. He’ll have to continue to improve; be more consistent and continue to grow his game."
The Wisconsin backcourt could receive a boost if guard Jahcobi Neath, who has only played in one game thus far, is able to return. The Wake Forest transfer returned to practice this past Sunday and has seen his work load incrementally increase, according to Gard. His status for Wednesday is still up in the air, but his return could add a solid veteran presence off the bench.
Georgia Tech, reigning ACC champion, went on a run this past March. Josh Pastner's group will present a different challenge for UW's young bunch on both ends of the floor. On the offensive end, Tech runs a Princeton-style offense that deploys a number of backdoor cuts, hand offs, on-ball screens and off-ball screens.
"It’ll be the first time this group faces a Princeton offense, so it’s going to challenge a lot of our defensive discipline," Gard said. "Following our rules and all those types of things. We as a staff have coached against it and we’ve actually added sprinkles of it into what we do. That’ll be the one big challenge."
The major defensive assignments will largely fall on the trio of Davis, Brad Davison and Tyler Wahl, who will be asked to contain the high scoring duo of Michael Devoe and Jordan Usher. Devoe and Usher are the lone players who average double figures. Devoe is currently the nation's fourth leading scorer (23.4) while averaging 5.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game and shooting 62.1 percent from three.
On the defensive end, the Yellow Jackets like to mix in a 1-3-1 zone along with traditional man-to-man. The 1-3-1 look they present alternates between a matchup and traditional zone.
"Just making sure we stay true to who we are," Gard said. "Make good decisions, get the ball to high percentage areas."
Wednesday night will be just the third all-time meeting between the two schools with the series split at one game apiece. It's the first meeting since 2001 when the two programs matched up in the Big Ten/ACC challenge with Georgia Tech earning a 62-61 victory.
| Pos. | Wisconsin | HT/WT | Pts. | Reb. | Ast. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
G |
Chucky Hepburn (Fr.) |
6-2, 211 |
6.2 |
2.5 |
1.5 |
|
G |
Brad Davison (Sr.) |
6-4, 200 |
13.3 |
5.0 |
1.7 |
|
W |
Jonathan Davis (So.) |
6-5, 194 |
20.2 |
5.6 |
2.2 |
|
F |
Tyler Wahl (Jr.) |
6-9, 221 |
9.3 |
5.0 |
0.8 |
|
F |
Steven Crowl (So.) |
7-0, 234 |
9.2 |
5.2 |
0.8 |
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| Pos. | Georgia Tech | HT/WT | Pts. | Reb. | Ast. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
G |
Kyle Sturdivant (Jr.) |
6-2, 197 |
7.5 |
2.2 |
2.2 |
|
G |
Michael Devoe (Sr.) |
6-5, 191 |
23.4 |
5.6 |
5.0 |
|
G |
Jordan Usher (Sr.) |
6-7, 220 |
15.8 |
8.7 |
3.0 |
|
F |
Khalid Moore (Sr.) |
6-7, 208 |
3.8 |
4.0 |
0.3 |
|
C |
Rodney Howard (Jr.) |
6-10, 246 |
8.5 |
7.3 |
2.7 |
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