The time of year has come when the elite teams begin to separate themselves from the rest and dream about a potential championship. Other teams that have not earned an outright bid to the NCAA Tournament will either see their bubble burst or advance to the Big Dance in the upcoming days. The 10th-ranked UW men's basketball team (12-4 Big Ten, 21-6 overall) enters the Big Ten Tournament with a No. 2 seed and much momentum. To win their first Big Ten Tournament Championship the Badgers will need to rally around the 2004 Big Ten Player of the Year, junior guard Devin Harris.
Averaging 19.3 points and 4.5 assists per game, Harris also earned first team all-Big Ten honors this past week.
\I had a really good season and I could attribute a lot to my teammates, and the wins coming along with it,"" Harris said.
One of those teammates is junior forward Mike Wilkinson. Averaging 12.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, Wilkinson earned second team all-Big Ten accolades and has been a valuable asset to Head Coach Bo Ryan's scheme.
In addition to Harris and Wilkinson, many others have contributed to Wisconsin's success and stellar defense, which ranks first in the Big Ten in scoring defense. Sophomore Boo Wade, senior Freddie Owens and junior Clayton Hanson have all contributed to the guard position while senior center Dave Mader, sophomore forward Ray Nixon, sophomore center Andreas Helmigk and junior forward Zach Morley have been very serviceable big men. The overall team effort has been consistent all season, allowing the Badgers to develop and maintain not only the conference's top defense but also one of the best offenses.
The Badgers enter the Big Ten Tournament with four consecutive wins, two away from the Kohl Center. However, UW has shown the propensity to melt on the road, which does not fair too well going to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Tournament.
""We got a little bit of momentum playing two road games at the end of the season,"" Wilkinson said. ""Now we just got to carry it into the tournament.""
The current four-game winning streak for the Badgers included trips to Indiana and Michigan State, and home victories versus Penn State and Purdue, a team the Badgers may face in the second round. Despite a 4-4 conference road record this season and having to play in unfamiliar confines for the conference tournament, the Badgers remain confident after two straight victories away from Madison.
""I think we're peaking at the right time,"" Harris said. ""The last two have been extremely good wins for us, pretty much confidence- boosters for a lot of guys.""
For the first time in the last three seasons, UW will enter the postseason without sporting a conference title. Rallying around their leaders and building on momentum will increase Wisconsin's chances, but they have a tough road ahead.
No. 13-ranked Illinois enters the tournament with an outright regular season Big Ten Championship under its belt, holding the best record in conference play this year. With a No. 1 seed in the conference tourney, the Fighting Illini will have to prove its regular season title is not a fluke and surely will carry a bullseye on its back. Having split the season series with the Badgers this year, the only hope these two conference rivals have of playing each other is if both advance to the finals.
The Michigan State Spartans hold the No. 3 seed in the tournament after an impressive conference run. After finishing 5-6 in non-conference play, the Spartans put on a show, with a remarkable 12-4 conference record. Wisconsin has beaten Michigan State on both accounts this year, the most recent one being an exciting overtime victory during the final week of the regular season.
Many teams in the Big Ten are competitive, with some that have pulled extraordinary upsets. With that in mind, every team is a concern for Wisconsin. After feeling the effects of an upset on Feb. 7 against Northwestern, the Badgers know first hand the Big Ten Tournament is something that cannot be taken lightly. The players know they must take care of business in the present and not look too far ahead.
""We're going to just try to carry this momentum that we've got into the next game,"" Wilkinson said. ""You got to just take it one game at a time. You can't look past the first game; otherwise you're not going to make it.\
