The Big Ten’s most exciting college basketball game this weekend comes this Saturday from Iowa City, as the Wisconsin Badgers travel to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes. These teams met just over a week and a half ago, on January 20th, at the Kohl Center in Madison. The Badgers, who historically do not play very well against Iowa, showed no mercy in this game, beating the Hawkeyes by the final score of 82-50. Iowa was outscored 35-17 in the first half. The Hawkeyes turned the basketball over nine times, while the Badgers only committed one turnover. The Badgers shot nearly 50% from the field, and out-rebounded Iowa 37-23 en route to the easy victory on their home court.
Wisconsin comes into this matchup as the No. 5 ranked team in the country, with an 18-2 overall record, and a 6-1 record in the Big Ten. Wisconsin’s only losses this season have come at home against No. 4 ranked Duke, and on the road against Rutgers, where the Badgers were playing without Wooden Player of the Year candidate Frank Kaminsky, while also losing point guard Traevon Jackson in this same game to a devastating foot injury.
Last time out, on January 24, the Badgers pulled out a win in overtime in Ann Arbor, defeating Michigan by the final score of 69-64. Wisconsin struggled throughout this game, blowing two double-digit leads. They also turned the ball over eight times, while being out-rebounded 33-30, while receiving zero points from their bench. They were led by Kaminsky, who finished the game with 22 points and 9 rebounds, along with junior forward Sam Dekker’s 15 points and sophomore guard Bronson Koenig’s 13 points.
The key to this game for Wisconsin is to silence the Iowa crowd from the beginning by setting the offensive pace and taking smart shots. The Badgers often get off to slow starts due to poor shot selection and turnovers. They also need to get production from their bench. Ever since losing point guard Traevon Jackson to a foot injury, Bronson Koenig has done a solid job of filling in his shoes. However, this certainly has hurt the bench production. Senior forward Duje Dukan has struggled ever since the very beginning of the season, and they are getting limited production from sophomores Vitto Brown and Zach Showalter. Look for Wisconsin to try and find a balanced offensive attack in this game.
Iowa enters this game with a 13-7 overall record, including a 4-3 record in Big Ten play. Iowa has lost two straight, including a loss at Purdue last Saturday, where they shot only 33% as a team from the field, including a 2-14 showing from their second leading scorer, junior forward (and Wisconsin transfer) Jarrod Uthoff. The Hawkeyes actually out-rebounded Purdue 46-31 in this game, but failed to knock down many shots. Four of Iowa’s seven losses this season have come against ranked teams. The Hawkeyes will look for a momentum changer this weekend, and they historically play the Badgers well on their home court. A season ago, in Iowa City, the Badgers escaped with a 79-74 victory. Frank Kaminsky scored 21 points, to go along with 7 rebounds, in that game.
The key to this game for Iowa is to make open shots. As simple as that sounds, the team as a whole is shooting at a very poor percentage this eason. They also must penetrate this Wisconsin defense by drawing fouls, getting to the free throw line, and forcing Wisconsin to rely on its bench. Defensively, Iowa must have a plan of attack for Kaminsky. The Badgers have been feeding “Frank the Tank” the ball at ease over the past several weeks, and he has been dominant. Iowa must limit the productivity of Kaminsky in this game.
Saturday’s game will not be a blowout like the one at the Kohl Center on January 20th, I can ensure that! Game time is set for 12:00 ET. Yet another exciting Saturday afternoon of college basketball!
*Section Photo credit to Mike McGinnis, Getty Images; Featured Photo (above) credit to Mary Langenfeld, USA TODAY Sports.
