The University of Wisconsin men's basketball team will once again face their most difficult foe this weekend ... the road. Coming off of a disappointing loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions, the Badgers are currently 8-4 in the Big Ten--a game behind Michigan--and 18-6 on the season. Next, they will travel to Iowa City, Iowa where they will take on the Iowa Hawkeyes (5-6, 13-9).
Despite the loss to Penn State the Badgers just want to put it behind them and focus on playing strong offense and defense against the Hawkeyes.
\We're just going down and trying to focus on what we do best,"" sophomore forward Mike Wilkinson said. ""One of the things we do on offense is play unselfish and [work on] playing good defense.""
The last meeting between the two teams resulted in a victory for the Badgers, as UW defeated the Hawkeyes by a score of 74-61. Despite Iowa's loss to the Badgers, they still have a very capable team with senior guard Chauncey Leslie leading the way, averaging 16.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
The Hawkeyes have also had support from freshman guard Jeff Horner, who is averaging just under 10 points and five rebounds a game, and is leading the team in assists.
Finally, junior forward Glen Worley is the unquestioned leader of the group, and is enjoying his finest year as an Iowa Hawkeye.
As for the Badgers, two players in particular have been playing well. Head Coach Bo Ryan will be looking to freshman forward Alando Tucker and sophomore forward Mike Wilkinson to step up and help take pressure off guards junior Freddie Owens and senior Kirk Penney.
Both Wilkinson and Tucker have been having great years, with Tucker averaging 12.5 points and 5.9 rebounds, and Wilkinson averaging 6.6 rebounds and scoring just under 10 points.
For Wilkinson's part, his individual performance is a bonus, but only in the context of helping the team.
""I'm just trying ... to do the things I can to help the team win and lately it's been scoring a little bit more, but my philosophy is do whatever I can to help the team win,"" Wilkinson said.
Ultimately, the key is playing with the right mentality and attitude, said Wilkinson.
""We know what they like to do. They know what we like to do,"" Wilkinson said. ""We've played each other before. It's who executes better; we got to go down there and come off more intense and be ready to play from the get-go.""
Even so, only time will tell which team decides to show up Saturday, the team that defeated Indiana and Michigan State or the team that lost to Penn State and Purdue. With only one victory away from being first in the Big Ten, every win is important.
