Two Tough Road Tests Await No.9 Wisconsin, Starting at No.7 Michigan
MADISON, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin likes to subscribe to the one-game-at-a-time philosophy, not trying to put the cart too far ahead of the horse in a league where anyone can beat anyone on any night.
But considering what’s coming up, it’s hard for players to overlook an important week high in magnitude that starts with a matchup at No.7 Michigan in Ann Arbor Tuesday and ends in Piscataway, N.J., against Rutgers Friday.
“We have a really big week coming up,” senior guard D’Mitrik Trice said, “two road games that are going to be really tough.”
Trice made those comments not long after Wisconsin’s thrilling 80-73 double overtime victory over Indiana Thursday. Avoiding what would have been another costly home loss during the first quarter of the conference season, the Badgers (10-2, 4-1 Big Ten) stayed a game behind the Wolverines (10-0, 5-0), which remains the league’s lone undefeated team.
Falling one spot to No.9 in this week’s AP Poll, Wisconsin (10-2, 4-1 Big Ten) sits in a third-place tie with Illinois (9-4, 5-2) after the Illini’s home loss to Maryland and a half-game back of Iowa (11-2, 5-1).
Picked to finish sixth in the conference’s preseason writers’ poll, the Wolverines are averaging 82.8 points per game and haven’t missed a beat with senior Mike Smith and freshman Hunter Dickinson blending in seamlessly with returning veterans Eli Brooks (9.1 ppg), Isaiah Livers (13.9) and Franz Wagner (12.2).
Joining the Wolverines as a grad student from Columbia, Smith has replaced Zavier Simpson – a season-team All-Big Ten selection in 2019-20 - and in ways made the offense better, leading the team in assists (53) and 3-point shooting (43.5 percent).
The big change to the Wolverines is the 7-1 Dickinson, who has blossomed with Michigan’s ability to get him the ball around the rim. Averaging 24.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in wins over Maryland, then-No.19 Northwestern and then-No.16 Minnesota, Dickinson is shooting 73.0 percent from the floor. Shooting 12-for-15 from the floor against the Gophers, Dickinson has shot 55 percent or better from the field in his first 10 games with the Wolverines. That stretch marks the most games to begin a Division 1 career shooting 55 percent or better from the field in the last 10 seasons (min. 5 FGA per game).
“He’s a freshman but he’s not playing like one,” senior forward Nate Reuvers said. “That’s something that coach has been saying. You look at his numbers, he’s putting up over 20 points per game. He seems to be a force, so it’s going to be a challenge for us on the defensive end.”
The Scarlet Knights (7-4, 3-4) rose as high as No.11 in the AP Poll but have dropped out of the poll following three consecutive losses, the last two to Michigan State and Ohio State by an average of 17 points. Like Wisconsin, Rutgers has plenty of experience. A year after being ranked 242nd in the nation in terms of experience, the Scarlet Knights have seven of their 12 scholarship players be upperclassmen.
Led by guard/forward Ron Harper Jr. (20.1 ppg), guard Jacob Young (15.5) and guard Montez Mathis (13.5), Rutgers hasn’t lost at home to Wisconsin since joining the Big Ten Conference in 2014 (3-0).
“You got to bring your own energy, that’s the big thing,” senior Micah Potter said of playing on the road. “Come in ready to swing first and react to getting punched, getting hit, making sure you are swinging back … You’ve got to be ready for anything. Having a senior group, a veteran group makes it easier.”
The Badgers have leaned heavily on that experience through their first 12 games. UW’s top five scorers and the six players who have made the most 3-pointers are all seniors. UW also has the luxury of a senior point guard off the bench in Trevor Anderson, a redshirt sophomore forward in Tyler Wahl who scored a career-high 12 points against Indiana and a four-star freshman Jonathan Davis playing older than his age.
UW has suffered through lulls on both ends of the court that have put them in precarious situations that have required a second-half surge, something the Badgers can no longer afford against the top teams left on their schedule.
“Michigan is a great team,” Potter said. “They haven’t lost yet. We’re looking forward to giving them their first one.”