Thanks to a thrilling victory over then No.12 Michigan State at the Kohl Center Saturday, the Badgers extended their home winning streak to 38 games-currently the nation's longest-and gave themselves the opportunity to make it 39 when top-ranked Illinois comes to Madison Tuesday night.
Unfortunately for Wisconsin, NCAA championships and tournament bids for that matter-are not awarded for impressive home records, but rather for overall records, which include games played in unfamiliar arenas draped in unfamiliar colors. After all, the road to the Final Four is, well...on the road.
Before Wisconsin turns its attention to the inviting possibility of upsetting the No.1 Fighting Illini and defending home court in the process, they must travel to Ann Arbor, Mich. to take on a tough Michigan team that has won six of its last seven games.
The Badgers are just 2-3 on the road this season with their two wins coming to underwhelming foes Rutgers and Purdue, and have lost the last three times they have played at Michigan-and make no mistake; even with the Illinois game nearing, the players are hungry to put an end to the drought in Michigan.
\I think everybody is focused. We haven't won in Michigan since [head coach Bo Ryan] has been here so we aren't looking at Illinois,"" sophomore guard Kamron Taylor said. ""We take one game at a time because this Michigan game is as big as any other game."" While a win this weekend would mark thier first quality road win of the season, the Wolverines are poised to make sure the Badger woes in Ann Arbor continue.
Michigan showcases a dynamic scoring duo at guard with sophomore Dion Harris and junior Daniel Horton, who averaged 13.7 and 12.1 points per game respectively. The two DH's primarily handle the scoring and Wisconsin will ask Taylor, along with starting senior guards Sharif Chambliss and Clayton Hanson, to keep the Wolverine backcourt in check.
""I think we match up pretty well against Michigan's guards,"" Taylor said. ""I know a lot of people thought we weren't going to match up well against Michigan State's guards and I thought we did a pretty good job. You know, our coach just preaches defense no matter who we play against.""
Wisconsin will have the edge in the front-court scoring with Tucker and Wilkinson carrying the load offensively, racking up almost 29 points per game between the two. Michigan will counter with a pair of promising sophomores: solid big man Courtney Simms, who is averaging 10 points and six rebounds in his second year as a starter, and athletic forward Brent Petway who can challenge shots and haul in an alley-oop as well as anyone in the conference.
""[Michigan] has height, they got quickness, they got shooters, they got ball handlers-they really don't have a weakness,"" Ryan said. ""I mean they're pretty deep.""
Wisconsin split the season series last year with the Wolverines, but predictably, their loss came in Ann Arbor.
Crisler Area however-while an intense environment to say the least with the student section practically on top of the opposing bench-is certainly no ""Big House"" and the Badgers should ultimately triumph with their smothering defense which has held opponents to under 60 points a game thus far.
If the Badgers come up short and resume their struggles on the road they can do one of two things: blame the Sports llustrated curse-they got ominous recognition for beating the Spartans, even being called a ""great team""-or dig through the closet for those ruby red slippers and click the heels three times because without a doubt, for these Badgers, there's no place like home.
