The No. 21 Wisconsin men's basketball team (6-3 Big Ten, 15-5 overall) will take on an underrated Iowa Hawkeyes team (3-5, 15-6) Wednesday night at the Kohl Center. If you are one of those people already keeping count, the Badgers will be playing for their second consecutive home win. More importantly, they will be attempting to rebound from a dismal performance in Minnesota last weekend when Gopher junior guard/forward Vincent Grier lit up the Badgers for 32 points and Wisconsin lost 60-50.
\We were lackadaisical with the ball, and played right into Minnesota's hands,"" said junior forward Alando Tucker, who was still nursing a foot injury during the game.
UW will not be able to get away with that type of play Wednesday. Iowa has played well this season, taking No. 1 Illinois to overtime Jan. 20, beating the aforementioned Minnesota, and taking Michigan State to the final two minutes. Iowa seems to be bipolar, though, losing to Michigan and Northwestern, two teams that Wisconsin dominated.
Which of Iowa's bipolar sides shows up Wednesday night cannot be predicted with confidence, but one thing for sure is it will come on strong in the second half. Iowa plays catch-up like it's a game plan, but it often fails to make up the ground and the Badgers are not a team to allow several scoring runs.
Iowa will have to play consistently in order to stay in the game with the Badgers' tough defense. This requirement was made much more difficult last week with the dismissal of the Hawkeyes' leading scorer, junior guard Pierre Pierce. He was averaging 17.8 points and 2.5 steals per game when he was let go by Iowa head coach Steve Alford. He is under investigation by the West Des Moines, Iowa police for undisclosed reasons.
The Badgers know what it is like playing without their leading scorer. Tucker hasn't been healthy since the Indiana game Jan. 8, plagued with back problems, then a foot injury. Since then, he has been a game time decision for every game. Tucker had 10 points against Minnesota, and expects to play Wednesday.
""It's going to be tough sometimes, but once you get through that mental part, you gotta just push your body through it,"" Tucker said. ""Even though you may not be 100 percent you gotta play like you are,"" Tucker said. ""Pierce is a great player, but they have two of the best 3-point shooters probably in the nation.""
Whether or not this is true, the Badgers can compete from downtown. Senior guard Clayton Hanson is shooting .463 from behind the arc, senior guard Sharif Chambliss is shooting .418, senior forward Zach Morley is shooting .471, and even Tucker, the Badger most prolific at taking it to the hoop, is shooting .395.
""I have to be the oil that keeps the engine running,"" said Chambliss, who has been shooting less in the past few games and distributing the ball more. Chambliss will focus on doing whatever the team needs to get the victory. If everyone on the Wisconsin team keeps this mentality, they should have no problem handling the depleted Iowa team.
