Almost a year removed from watching 2004 Big Ten Player of the Year Devin Harris lead Wisconsin (11-5 Big Ten, 20-7 overall) to the Big Ten Tournament Championship, the Badger faithful will tune in tonight to see Bo Ryan's club take on the No. 6-seed Ohio State Buckeyes (8-8 Big Ten, 20-11 overall). The Buckeyes defeated No. 11 Penn State 72-69 Thursday afternoon in their first round matchup, coming back from an 11-point deficit at halftime.
Prior to its victory over the Nittany Lions, Ohio State took down the No. 1 team in the country, Illinois, ending the Illini's run at an undefeated season. Behind 25 points and a back-breaking 3-pointer from junior forward Matt Sylvester with 5.1 seconds remaining, the Buckeyes made sure to go into the post-season with emotions riding high.
Wisconsin, winners of its last three games, swept the season series against the Buckeyes. In the first game on Jan. 11, the Badgers defeated Ohio State 72-66, without their leading scorer sophomore forward Alando Tucker. In his absence, senior forward Mike Wilkinson scored a career-high 29 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
The second game in Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 27 featured the interior defense and 3-point shooting of Wisconsin, sparking the Badgers to a 64-56 victory. With Wilkinson in foul trouble, junior forward/center Terrence Dials dominated the first half, scoring 16 points in the first 20-minute frame, but the Badgers still led 37-27 behind 6-for-7 3-point shooting. For Dials, the second half was a different story. Wisconsin clamped down on him, not allowing him to even attempt a shot over the last 18 and a half minutes. Tucker paced the Badgers with 19 points in the victory over the gritty Buckeyes.
Despite its success this season, and whatever success it does achieve in the Big Ten tournament, Ohio State cannot advance to the NCAA Tournament due to self-imposed sanctions. Ryan believes that the casual viewer, as well as the media, might not realize how well Ohio State has played this season. Ryan feels that if his Badgers had not played some of their best basketball against the Buckeyes, they most likely would not have come out with wins.
\Ohio State's a good team. I think they're an NCAA Tournament team if they hadn't put the ban on,"" Ryan said.
Wisconsin's top two leaders, Wilkinson and Tucker, have been consistent all year long. In order for the Badgers to make a run in this tournament, they will need a third player to step into the spotlight. Whether it is sophomore guard Kammron Taylor, whose 8.5 points per game is third on the team, or senior guard Sharif Chambliss, who leads the team in assist to turnover ratio at 2.29, or freshman forward/center Brian Butch-recently returned from a battle with mononucleosis-someone needs to emerge as a third option.
Ryan does not see any need to worry about the lack of a consistent third threat. He said that coaches around the league yearn for the reliability of Tucker and Wilkinson, and anybody on the Badgers is capable of filling that third hole.
""I want them to guess who that other scorer's going to be the next game,"" Ryan said. ""Then they don't know who to guard or to put extra help to. So the answer is we like to keep them guessing,"" Ryan said.
When it comes time to play, though, there cannot be any guessing. The Badgers will have to play with certainty as they battle a tough Buckeye ball club, who has proved they can play with, and beat, the best.
