Cool Hand Lucroy

I'm starting to hear the national folks giving lots more love to the Badgers (Field of 68 even directly said they hadn't talked enough about how good they are), so I think a lot of people are starting to realize how good this team is. In December/January, I wasn't sure how good the team WAS, but I could see how good they might be. They've really come into their own over the last few weeks. It's hard to explain how good these guards are. Blackwell, Tonje, and Klesmit are not national names, but that is a true, three-headed, backcourt monster. And then you can bring in McGee off the bench, who is just the perfect role-player, someone who can score if you need him to, but is fully capable of putting in dirty work. Up front, Crowl has shot it this year, and that is just a killer from an eFG% perspective. Dude is creeping up on 40% from three. Makes it a true pick your poison kind of offense. And if you get Crowl in foul trouble, Winter can do a lot of those same things. And then throw in Gilmore, who is a classic dirty work guy that's gotten more confident offensively, plus the athleticism and shooting you can get from Amos and Janicki. That's 9 guys who all fit together really, really well. I don't think there's a star in the bunch (I could see Tonje or Blackwell making NBA rosters, though), but the cohesion and ability to get points in myriad ways make them a nightmare to defend. You can't isolate Johnny Davis or Storr (like JMU did last year in the tourney). It's wild. Of course, three-point shooting is always fickle, but at least there are a lot of options, and it's not like the team can't get to the line or the rim (or backcut you to death) if the shots aren't falling. They're a matchup nightmare for most teams.

Ho-hum. Another blowout win against a good team. I was a little worried about this one because Illinois is weird. But, man, did UW run away with things late. Illini couldn't keep up.

Agreed. Shouldn't have left them off. The SEC is terrifying, and there about four other teams there you could really see going on a run. I mean, I have seen Miss St look incredible at times, and bracket matrix has them as a 7.

Yes, I think there's an extra reward to being a top-3 seed too, in that it looks to me like the bottom of the bracket is going to be bad, but the 11-13 lines might be loaded. Bubble looks stronger to me when a team like UCONN or Creighton might be in line for, like 10 seeds, and SEC schools like Vandy might end up on the 12 line. My big-picture bracketing thought is that this year's field feels simultaneously wide-open and very chalky. Would I be surprised if a bunch of 10, 11, 12 seeds won in the first round? Not a bit. But I also think Auburn, Alabama, and Florida (plus maybe Houston just because of their toughness and Duke because of Flagg) are really, really going to be hard to beat.

I've been really impressed with the Four Nations. Kind of a model for All-Start breaks right now. Big chunk of time off, meaningful competition. Hockey has some things that set it up well for that kind of thing (it's probably not repeatable in baseball, but removing the ASB and creating an in-season, cup-style competition is doable), but I feel like other sports could learn something.

This era can't really last. Coaches hate it. The NCAA doesn't want it. The big-time programs can't enjoy having to re-recruit every year, often against schools who would never touch their status under other circumstances. Plus, you can kind of feel the media starting to turn. Used to be, "pay these guys!" was a click machine. Now, it's "this is out of control." Maybe we get a true ONE-time transfer waiver. A cap of some sort. NIL as a multi-year contract. Who knows? But I doubt we're seeing this level of player freedom in 3 years. The Badgers have followed a good blueprint, I think. Be active in the portal, but make sure to keep identifying players with a high probability of sticking around. Having Klesmit and McGee (not to mention Crowl and Gilmore and even Blackwell) really helps when you bring in Tonje.

Thanks. This is good! They gave Loyer some good looks I'd like back, but this takes some steam out of any criticism I have for sure.

So many things to say. First, the most obvious. Ridiculous call on McGee. Barely a common foul, let alone and F2. Okay. Second, my favorite thing about this game was how Tonje knew when to be assertive and when to throttle back. Just an awesome team effort. Every guy contributing on every level. I am kicking myself for not posting ahead of tip, but I really thought this was a favorable matchup because, as good as Brayden Smith is (he is Klesmit if Klesmit were a better ball handler and passer), our guards are just way more athletic than he and Loyer. Just didn't think they'd be capable of stopping us, and they certainly weren't in the second half. Honestly, I like our roster better than Purdue's. We earned that one. Finally, we have a signature win. Not many teams are going to be able post something as strong as a W at Purdue. Big picture, two things: 1) I thought Gard's lineup management was awesome. Tonje got some good rest and was able to key big possessions late. This really wasn't a Crowl kind of game, so going with the smaller lineup more often worked (I know Crowl had foul trouble, but Gard felt no pressure to force it and managed the guys really well without McGee. 2) We can win so many ways, that it's going to be difficult to matchup with us in the NCAA tourney. It is a good March roster. Let's hope it delivers. One issue: @Jim French Stepstoolmentioned a couple of defensive breakdowns against Iowa. Same thing happened here. We give up open 3s at bad times. Rotation around the perimeter needs to be a bit better. Minor gripe. Big big win!

Style aside, this has the feel of a vintage Badger team. Obviously, they play faster and are more athletic, but the toughness that was missing a little bit these last few years (Chuckie aside) is on full display in these road games. The Pitt win too. Just a team that keeps coming at you, and Blackwell and Tonje are absolute gamers. Good time for a mini-bye. If they can get one of the big road games (and take care of business the rest of the way), you'll feel awfully good about their chances.

I'm honestly surprised Woodson is still employed. Everyone seems to know the writing is on the wall. Coaching is a tough gig, so not piling on here, but even he looked pretty disinterested after the 26-4 start. Not blaming the guy, either, because IU's history with coaches is so bad, but that just seems like a situation where everyone would want a fresh start as soon as possible. Maybe the brass are hoping he quits or something. Just seems like a lot of playing out the string happening there. Villanova is going to open sooner than later too, I'd think. They've stopped the leaks a little but are looking way outside the NCAAT picture. Hard to see Neptune getting another year. I wonder if maybe teams are keeping coaches around to have the best shot at the hot name in March? Maybe they're worried an interim would do an awesome job and put them in a tough position? Would OSU rather have Dusty May than Diebler? I don't know, just tossing things out there. I hope Gard sticks around a while for a lot of reasons, but one of them is that I just want no part of having to wade through the coaching market in what seems like a never-ending search for a "better" guy. Stable coaching staff seems like it helps in an era of maximum player freedom.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Yeah, it will work itself out. And there's still a lot of basketball between now and Selection Sunday. I think, from a Badgers perspective, the team's seeding is going to be really vulnerable to fluctuations around Rutgers, USC, Ohio State, and UCF. I don't think those fluctuations should impact how we assess the Badgers one bit, but the committee, staring at so, so much data, will see a team with 6 or 7 Q1 wins, for example, so differently than one with 3 or 4. Like you said, one of the vagueries of the sport and trying to assess some 50 potential at-large teams. Of course, if we just keep doing what we're doing, we should be able to get some big wins down the stretch. Not many "bad" loss opportunities left on the schedule. Really just home Washington and (to a lesser extent) home Indiana.

And Rutgers winning at NW makes that road win Q1, albeit (again) barely. It's weird that the Badgers could have anywhere from 5 (really good) to 2 (meh) Q1 wins depending on some arbitrary borders, but that just shows the kinds of wins they have. A lot of good wins and very few awesome wins. Still, team looks good. Enjoyable to watch and capable of winning in March.

For sure. That's a good basketball team. No wonder the computers love them. The only thing that stings about losing is that it was chance to add a major quality win. It's pretty hard for me to imagine this team missing the tournament at this point. My one concern seeding wise is that there are not a lot of high-end wins. Two of their Q1 victories are OSU and @USC, and both of those are the lowest Q1 ones you can get. We're rooting for those teams the rest of the way. Those two are going to wobble on the Q1/Q2 border I'd bet. Arizona is a great win. The next best is....Pitt on a neutral? The OSU win? It's a weird resume because there is nothing even close to a bad loss and a bunch of good wins. There just aren't many great wins. They'll have chances to fix that with Illinois and Oregon at the Kohl, plus @MSU and @Purdue. I kind of think the Northwestern game is pretty big. That one and @Iowa are likely to be very gettable Q1 games. I'm really hoping for that 4-6 line, which makes a S16 very doable.

Lot of inconsistent whistle all around tonight. Phantom fouls called, actual contact not. My analysis of this one (before it even ends) is that Maryland was super hot from three, the Badgers couldn't match and missed too many at the line. All in all, I thought UW played pretty well. This is why it's so tough to win on the road. If they can salvage the split in Evanston, that's a good week. Obviously, some things to clean up. Turnovers in the first half. Couple of breakdowns that ended up in threes late. Seemed to run out of gas in the final five. Good effort. Probably needed an A+ game tonight, and I think they only managed a B one. Badgers haven't lost a game outside of Quad 1. If you could have one back, you'd want the Michigan win at home. Or maybe @UCLA. Still looking like a team that could actually be a 4-6 seed if they keep playing at the level they're capable of.

I think Maryland is tough and interesting matchup, but it definitely feels like a game of bigs vs. guards. In those spots, I'd usually go with the guards, but that's going to require good games defensively from Crowl and Winter, with the both of them being able to stretch the floor on the offensive side. I'll be interested to see how we rotate. Does Amos get more minutes, do we go small and try to create dribble penetration, kickouts, and fouls, etc.? Should be a really fun game.

Totally. This team is FUN. And fun without abandoning the things that we've come to expect from Badgers basketball. They're up to top-50 in KenPom defensive efficiency, for example, which, while not vintage, is still very good given a top-10 offense. Not sure we've been this good offensively since the Kaminsky days. As Jim French said, the threes are a big part of this team's style. And that anyone can shoot them definitely makes this the most modern Badger team I have seen. Crowl's limited athleticism is much more offset by having Winter on the floor with him instead of Wahl. And Tonje and Blackwell are better complements than Chuckie on the offensive end. Plus, he's making threes at a higher clip, and doing that from his spot just makes this offense so dangerous. Maryland has been playing great lately. Wednesday will be a nice test. I like Gard and am impressed by his ability to adapt after basically just being mentored by Bo, so I hope he gets a couple of tourney wins. I think he deserves it, even if I've also been worried about his x's and o's. He's also clearly kept the program relevant and is better than a lot coaches at similar programs, so I'd hate for another early exit to start clouding the judgment of some. Looking forward to Wednesday!

Game of runs in the first half. I've been a little nervous about the Badgers being kind of a first half team in B1G play (Minnesota game excepted), so hopefully they back up this performance (minus the 6+ minute scoring drought) in half number 2.

Agree on all of this. I will say, they are starting to defend, and if they figure things out on that end of the floor, look out. Anyone in the backcourt can get hot and go for 25, and that's a great place to be. Amos should something in the first half, which was good to see, and Winter, as others have said, looks like he might be something really impressive. I was hoping for a split in CA. Now I'm greedy, of course, and I wouldn't call at UCLA a "house money" game, but the Badgers will definitely be underdogs. I'm still not sure how good this team IS, but I'm getting a little fired up imaging what it CAN be. They're going to be a lot of teams playing like they did in the first half these past two nights. And they closed strong today. The schedule is....not that bad? You look at it and think, "These guys will probably lose at Purdue and MSU, but they should have a good shot in every other game." We'll see. EDIT: rewatching a little bit, and maybe this will make me sound like a total homer, but John Blackwell might legit be one of the most underrated players in the country. That dude can do so many things it's ridiculous.

It's one of those bits of news where you know thousands of people are feeling the exact same way you are upon hearing it. You don't even need to say anything. It's just there. As with many of you, Uecker was a massive part of the reason I fell in love not just with the Brewers but with baseball. There are poet announcers (Scully, Jack Buck, etc.) and there are action announcers (BA is one of these, I think). There are analytical announcers (Benetti). What I loved about Bob is that he was a human announcer. A storytelling machine. A humorist. A novelist. The Mark Twain of baseball. He never let you forget about the people playing the game, their human tics, their rituals, the life that comes with making a living playing this game. Baseball was Uecker's workplace. And he observed it in memorable, life-affirming detail. That's so so rare in this day and age, but, honestly, I think it's just rare in all of history. I don't remember Uecker ever being one of those grumpy anti-stats folks (I'm sure you could pull up some clips that I missed or forgot about), and I thought he was admirably open to the changing game as he got later into his career, maybe because that wasn't the thing he cared about. He cared about the experience of swinging a bat and catching a ball and nobody could make you see both its beauty and its absurdity quite like him. That's what I'll miss about Ueck. The game was there. He could get as into its results as anyone. Ultimately, though, it was the accumulation of details around it, and his way of observing and combining those details, that made you feel alive. I've teared up at least three times since hearing. I'll miss knowing the guy's out there breathing our air, but at least we'll always have his voice.

Uncomfortably close at the end. Two things: 1) That's a borderline Q1 win. In fact, Wisconsin winning moved OSU from 29 to 31 in the NET, which takes it from Q1 to Q2. Very well could come back up at some point. Good win, at the end of the day, against a team that hasn't quite logged the wins in line with its computer numbers. 2) I thought Gard managed the foul up 3 scenario perfectly at the end. Really all you can ask of a head coach is to get the strategic choices right, and I think he did.

Agreed all around. Basketball terms, USC just won at Illinois, which is a shock result. The B1G is weird this year. Seems like there are only a couple of really good teams (I really only trust MSU and Purdue), a big, messy middle (with Illinois at the top), and then a fair number of bad teams.