(3) Wisconsin vs. (10) Davidson. 6:10 CST

[wisconsinfan47]

Your 3rd seeded Badgers, ranked 6th in the AP poll take on the 10 seed Davidson Wildcats, ranked 23rd, at Ford Field in Detroit.

 

Key matchup: Flowers vs. Curry. If Flowers chases Steph like he has Drew Neitzel and Manny Harris, it will be a long day for the sophomore.

 

I think Curry will go off for at least 20...the key will be whether his teammates get involved offensively. Remember that the Badgers have allowed 31 and 26 from their first two opponents star players and still won rather comfortably. However, Davidson is far better and more complete than KSU and CSF. Should be a nailbiter.

 

Go Badgers!

[craigharmann]

The wife wanted to sit on the couch tonight and snuggle and watch The Bourne Ultimatum....I said, look, the Badger game is on tonight, so there's no way.....actually, I said, well, I'd like to watch basketball....thankfully she knows how much I love the Badgers and college basketball. I'm quite interested in the Curry/Flowers matchup. That's going to be tough. One whale of a game! It's going to be fun!

[Marleyboo]

My wife wanted to get a nice bottle of wine, a good steak on the grill and watch a movie tonight also. Instead she agreed on a bottle of wine, pork steak on the grill and the Badger game. For this i have to clean the garage tomorrow. Marriage is full of compromises.

[Roscoe Chill]

The Davidson love fest ends tonight!

 

Adjusted prediction:

 

Wisconsin 77

Davidson 68

[samwise]

Flowers is the most important player tonight, and he may only score in the single digits.

 

The one thing I really worry about is if they come out and make a few long threes right away and we have to extend our defense. I think one of our best strengths under Bo Ryan is how well we protect the basket and pack it in inside the three point line. That goes away if Curry comes out and buries a few 35 footers. Our defense is then forced to come out and it leaves some room in the paint area for easier opportunities.

 

On the offensive side I think we will be alright, we have guys who can score in so many different ways that we should be able to score enough.

[Oldcity]

I heard Len Elmore interviewed yesterday, and he said something along the lines of, "If you're Wisconsin, you can't let Stephen Curry beat you. Do everything you can to stop him, and make his teammates beat you."

 

I definitely disagree with that, and so does Bo Ryan. Don't get me wrong, Curry will obviously require a lot of attention from Flowers, but I'd rather accept that Curry is going to get at least 15 and probably 20 or 25, and worry just as much about stopping the rest of their guys. The Badgers don't play zone or any "junk defenses" (I had never heard that term before the tournament, now it seems to be everywhere?), so Curry will get chances, but I don't see anyone else going off the way Bill Walker did along with Beasley.

[jordanmuehl]

Won't be able to watch it as I've got a funeral to attend, but I'll be listening for a little bit. Go Badgers!

[owbc]

This has all the makings of an amazing night for the Badgers--I can't wait!

[Brewtacular]

I think this should be a fun game. It really sucks that we have to eliminate the last 'story' but it is better than Gtown.

Davidson/Curry...I wish I could root for them but I fear that Krabbenhoft would elbow me through screen.

[Roscoe Chill]

Let Curry score 25, who cares, if they have to work too hard to get him 25, that's not good for America's Cinderella Davidsion. If I've ever seen a one man team, this is it. Put Flowers on him and forget about it. It's not like the rest of the team sucks at defense, quite the opposite actually.

 

Speaking of Cinderellas, the real Cinderella when taking the whole season in to consideration is the Badgers seeing that they won the Big 10 outright, the Big 10 tournament and finished at 31-4. Sure they were underestimated big time. But I took a look at a college basketball magazine that I got before the season started and you'd be surprised the teams that they had ranked in the top 15 that are still left.

 

North Carolina, Memphis, Kansas, UCLA, Tennessee, Louisville, Michigan State, Villanova, Washington State, Texas, and Stanford.

 

Wisconsin was ranked 40.

[molitor fan]

Saying Curry is a one man team is not the case, as Jason Richards is a very good player that led the country in assists, and is a very capable defender.

 

Davidson did not go undefeated in their conference at 20-0 by being completely one dimensional. They are very good, and a Davidson win could very much be a reality, even if Curry is held below his averages by Flowers.

[BuckyTuba]

i got badgers winning by 13. hughes holds their PG in check, and flowers wears out curry.

 

the big men make the davidson front 3 look like crap.

[BrewCrewForever]

Badgers move on to the 8 in a close one. Then the true test....Kansas.

[Menotti80]

69-57 Badgers

[brettac1]

I agree with Stevo and NDOG. Play Curry man-to-man with Flowers and see what happens. That's of course what Bo's going to do. The Badgers have far more talent, and as long as they execute they'll be fine, just like when they were playing against Beasley State.

 

I said Badgers by 15 when I was discussing the game at work with a friend today, so I'll stick with that.

[Roscoe Chill]

Well sure Davidson is a good team. And I know they've played a pretty tough non conference schedule even. But you said it yourself they were 20-0 in their conference. That means they were 8-6 outside their conference, even with playing North Carolina, Duke, and UCLA. Even the other teams they lost to were decent in North Carolina State, Western Michigan, and Charlotte. But besides Georgetown (in a game let's face it, they should have lost) who have they beat? They play good teams tough, but the feel good story is coming to an end. Running through Elon, Georgia Southern, and the likes has nothing on the Badgers who went 16-2 in the Big 10, beat Texas, beat Georgia, and have been improving all year long. This Badger team is for real, and I would be shocked if Davidson beat them. Wisconsin is a legit title contender right now. I'm not saying they will even make it to the Final 4, but they are good enough to, and Kansas isn't going to have a cakewalk with us either if both teams win.

 

This isn't Tennesse we're talking about relying solely on athletic ability, this is the well oiled machine that is Bo Ryan's Wisconsin Badgers.

[Fatter than Joey]

Badgers 78 Davidson 32

 

The game gets Bronsoned at the 15:32 mark in the 2nd half.

[razzzorsharp]

Badgers 68-65, with a couple Krabby free-throws to ice it.

[craigharmann]

Badgers 78 Davidson 32

 

The game gets Bronsoned at the 15:32 mark in the 2nd half.

If that's the case, I'll be giggling like a school girl. I think it will probably be a bit tougher than that, but Wisconsin will win. There's some good games tonight. Stanford/Texas and Michigan State/Memphis. It will be fun to watch.

 

[ccbrew]

Badgers by 10.

[bjkrautk]

The badgers need to be more careful with their passing....but these teams are still in the 'feeling eachother out' phase of the game

[owbc]

Sloppy play early. Hughes has the jitters and they are turning over the ball way too much.

 

Hopefully they settle in, otherwise we could be in for 40 long minutes.

[craigharmann]

Yuck yuck yuck yuck yuckity yuck. That sums up what I've seen of ugly looking 3 point shots by Hughes, bad ball-handling and overall lackadaisical play. I think my TV will be taking me to the Texas game, but hopefully the Badgers wake up and start playing well.

[Mr QL]

Need to stop forcing it from the perimeter.

[craigharmann]

I'm stunned at the amount of Texas Orange at the game in Houston. Definitely an interesting matchup of size vs. speed.