2024 - 25 Wisconsin Basketball Thread

[Jim French Stepstool]

30 minutes ago, yourout said:

I think the earth must be off it's axis. 

Gilmore with 14?

He shot the ball well in HS, and I thought he'd at least be somewhat of a threat at this level because he's big enough to get his shot off within a halfcourt set. But he was totally remade as a 'dirty work' guy at UW, and a pretty good one. That takes a lot of energy, takes a lot out of your legs. If he can continue to at least be a threat, then teams have to guard him on the perimeter & that can be huge AFA opening up the paint.

[homer]

road win is a good win the Big 10

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Gilmore, what else can be said? Really keyed their whole run.

I thought Klesmit looked better too. I know still only 1-4 from deep, but he got to the line a little and looked more assertive. They need him to be a factor down the stretch.

Winter hit some big threes. We got a lot better defensively as the game went on. I think Gard figured out the right lineup to stop the dribble drive. As others said, have to take care of the ball better. No excuse to turn it over 8 times in a half against a team where you're more athletic at just about every position.

That's a solid road win. You can build a real strong profile by beating good teams at home and decent teams on the road. So far, the Badgers have been doing that.

[Oxy]

It's probably a couple weeks too early, but I started looking at seeds and NCAA tournament sites tonight.  From East to West, the opening weekend sites are: Providence, Raleigh, Cleveland, Lexington, Milwaukee, Wichita, Denver, and Seattle.

Even with Marquette being Milwaukee's host, it doesn't look like UW can be a protected seed in MKE unless they pass 2 of MSU, Purdue or Iowa St. on the seed line.  Since the Western US pretty much sucks at basketball it looks like the 4 seeds will occupy the 4 slots in Seattle and Denver.  Perhaps Arizona, UCLA or Oregon can really turn it on and go to Seattle preferentially as a 3 seed, but that doesn't seem likely.

This predicament is less than ideal, since right now it looks like UW will be a 4 or 5 seed.

A 6 seed in MKE, Cleveland or Lexington might be just as good as a 4 seed in Seattle.  Hmph.

 

I guess UW will just have to go on a run.

[LouisEly]

10 hours ago, Oxy said:

A 6 seed in MKE,..  might be just as good as a 4 seed in Seattle.  Hmph.

The committee will do that - give a lower seed in exchange for a more favorable round 1/2 location.

Of course, I wouldn't mind Denver at all...

[Underachiever]

I am surprised that a win over NW moved the Badgers up three spots in the Net Rankings. They are up to 16 now. They are up to 13 in KenPom. It's a big move to make 20 games in. These rankings really value offensive efficiency more than defense, it would seem. If you hit your numbers (spread, total), you will not fall. In past years, Iowa's offense has kept them above the UW despite records and head to head saying otherwise.

 

[Jim French Stepstool]

4 hours ago, LouisEly said:

The committee will do that - give a lower seed in exchange for a more favorable round 1/2 location.

Of course, I wouldn't mind Denver at all...

'04 was a good example of that. I don't remember where they were in the computer rankings, but UW rose to 10th in the polls & received a 6 seed but went to Milwaukee. Beat Richmond in a 6-11 game that was a little too close for comfort before getting bounced by Pitt.

Unless they hang a major skin or two on the wall (MSU, Purdue) I'd guess they're in one of the three regionals west of the state. But like @Oxysaid, it's really too early to speculate.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

8 hours ago, Underachiever said:

I am surprised that a win over NW moved the Badgers up three spots in the Net Rankings. They are up to 16 now. They are up to 13 in KenPom. It's a big move to make 20 games in. These rankings really value offensive efficiency more than defense, it would seem. If you hit your numbers (spread, total), you will not fall. In past years, Iowa's offense has kept them above the UW despite records and head to head saying otherwise.

 

The NET also seems to really care about road/neutral games. When teams make big jumps, it seems to often follow road wins. Nebraska just jumped up to 5 spots after beating Oregon in Eugene.

[Jim French Stepstool]

A stat posted on another board that I just couldn't let go by................On the season, Carter Gilmore is 12-30 on 3pt attempts. A J Storr is 12-46.

[Jim French Stepstool]

Probably unlikely, but I was wondering if Greppi could grab a few minutes tonite. Ballo isn't a bad matchup for him, and if Crowl picks up a couple early fouls he might be an option. There's a precedent. Chris Hodges was briefly used a minute or two vs Edey over the years.

Indiana is a real Jeckyl-and-Hyde group. Hopefully UW cures the 1st half turnover-itis.

[yourout]

Smoking hot start to this one. 

 

[Oxy]

Unbelievable first 10 minutes, obviously.  There was a lot of stupid the last 10 minutes though.

[Jim French Stepstool]

6 minutes ago, Oxy said:

Unbelievable first 10 minutes, obviously.  There was a lot of stupid the last 10 minutes though.

Blackwell w/a real brain cramp on the late foul. Fortunately it didn't cost them.

I can understand settling for 3s after the hot start from out there. And cutting off the driving lanes is maybe the one thing Indiana is kinda doing well defensively. I think the IU defense is vulnerable if you swing the ball & make them guard for more than 15-18 sec. That's what I'd like to see in the 2nd half.

 

[Jim French Stepstool]

Gilmores' jaw is just SET. Lots of confidence right now, on both ends.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

33 minutes ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Blackwell w/a real brain cramp on the late foul. Fortunately it didn't cost them.

I can understand settling for 3s after the hot start from out there. And cutting off the driving lanes is maybe the one thing Indiana is kinda doing well defensively. I think the IU defense is vulnerable if you swing the ball & make them guard for more than 15-18 sec. That's what I'd like to see in the 2nd half.

 

Honestly seems like the Badgers have been coasting since the 26-4 start. Came out nice to start the second half, though.

I totally agree with the (understandable) settling. If there's one thing I'd like from this team offensively, it would just be to pick their spots a bit more. Know when to throttle up and then throttle back down. I really thought there were more chances to get to the rim during the stage where Indiana picked up about 10 points. It's threes and FTs for this team. Definitely got a little too in love with the former for a bit there.

But other than the kind of stuff you're always going to be able to see on film, it's hard to complain about this performance. Indiana was never really in the game, even in a desperate situation for them. Maybe that says more about Indiana than UW, I don't know. But there's a lot to be said for just bossing a game against a talented team, even if you came in 8-9 point favorites.

Can't say enough about Gilmore these last two games. Wow. And again nice to see Max hitting a couple shots.

Defense was good too, aside from a breakdown or two. Playing at this pace and holding teams below 70 is impressive.

[Jim French Stepstool]

3 hours ago, Cool Hand Lucroy said:

 

I totally agree with the (understandable) settling. If there's one thing I'd like from this team offensively, it would just be to pick their spots a bit more. Know when to throttle up and then throttle back down. I really thought there were more chances to get to the rim during the stage where Indiana picked up about 10 points. It's threes and FTs for this team. Definitely got a little too in love with the former for a bit there.

 

I feel this has something to do, in large part, with Blackwell running point & not being overly experienced at it. Given that lack of experience I think he's mostly doing a fine job. But a lot of the really good college PGs have been in that role since the beginning of their HS days & have a 'feel' for the flow of the game that can be taught but doesn't happen overnight. But they've also really embraced the faster pace--even when a more experienced lead guard like McGee is on the floor they're still pretty hopped up.

But I agree, there are times when I feel it would benefit them to make people defend a bit longer, like I alluded to at halftime. You definitely want to make Indiana show that they can defend in the half court. Same thing when they go into Iowa City on Saturday.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

5 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

I feel this has something to do, in large part, with Blackwell running point & not being overly experienced at it. Given that lack of experience I think he's mostly doing a fine job. But a lot of the really good college PGs have been in that role since the beginning of their HS days & have a 'feel' for the flow of the game that can be taught but doesn't happen overnight. But they've also really embraced the faster pace--even when a more experienced lead guard like McGee is on the floor they're still pretty hopped up.

But I agree, there are times when I feel it would benefit them to make people defend a bit longer, like I alluded to at halftime. You definitely want to make Indiana show that they can defend in the half court. Same thing when they go into Iowa City on Saturday.

Good points all. Having three 2/3 types on the floor and no real 1 makes things different. Another chance at a gettable road W on Saturday, so hope Iowa's usual defense shows up.

[Playing Catch]

Blackwell just looks kind of drained to me. I think he's tired of not getting any calls. Individually, I'm not sure any non-call is bad, but with the sheer volume of opportunities, it seems like he should get more calls.

[Playing Catch]

He should just take a step back for a few games and let the game flow a little bit.

 

[Underachiever]

Blackwell is probably my favorite player (on a team where I like ALL of the players), even though he's a little loose with the ball, and that's not ideal. Last night was not his best, but his drives in the second half were critical to getting the team out of 3pt launch mode after their hot start. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

I've said it before, if there was someone else running point---if Hepburn had stayed, if Freitag was ready from day one, or even Cam Hunter was available to sop up some PG minutes as a combo guard---I remember Blackwell working off the ball last season, cutting, slashing off the wing or going baseline, and keeping defenders honest by also making threes. It was beautiful to watch. I give him a lot of credit for taking a large share of the PG responsibilities & still incorporating much of his strengths into the offense. And it allows McGee to be a sparkplug off the bench, which has worked wonderfully.

@Playing Catch may be correct about his batteries maybe running a little low. Lots on his plate this season. When you have the ball in your hands as much as he does, there are times you need to let the game come to you a bit. As well as last night went, we forced a few runouts that weren't really there.

[Jim French Stepstool]

6 hours ago, Cool Hand Lucroy said:

Another chance at a gettable road W on Saturday, so hope Iowa's usual defense shows up.

Yet another good reason to not force the issue if the runout isn't there. Iowa defending in the halfcourt shouldn't be a deterrent, especially with Freeman out for the remainder of the season. This could be a good game for Crowl to re-establish his low post offense.

[yourout]

Is the any coach that gets less out of more than Woodson?

Way to much talent on that roster for the results.

[Jim French Stepstool]

5 hours ago, yourout said:

Is the any coach that gets less out of more than Woodson?

Way to much talent on that roster for the results.

Even with a lack of consistent 3pt shooting, that's a talented enough frontcourt that you'd think they would get more done, on a more consistent basis. Any group that would rip off 5 wins in a row, then look as bottom-of-the-barrel horrible as they did vs Iowa & Illinois, then go toe to toe with OSU, Maryland & Purdue followed by what they turned in during the first ten minutes Tuesday---It has to be maddening to the hardcore fans of such a hoops-crazy state. I wouldn't be surprised if, with another loss or two, certain guys on that team start to mentally check out. Who knows, a couple might've already after falling short in West Lafayette.

I think next season, we'll see their seventh new coach since Bob Knight left. And maybe it benefits UW. Harun Zrno, a 6'7" forward who averaged 20ppg in Bosnias' top league committed to the Hoosiers but UW appeared to be in his top 3 or 4 schools. Although why Woodson would be the main reason for Zrno choosing Indiana is beyond me.🤷‍♂️

[Playing Catch]

Zrno looks like an absolute stud. I wish he'd chosen Wisconsin.

With that said, I'm really excited about the committed New Zealander, Hayden Jones. 247 lists him as a 6'5" shooting guard. Judging by his highlight videos, I see him playing a lot of point for Gard, a la Blackwell.