Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan addressed the media Monday, one day after his team's 60-55 victory over Michigan. Much of the discussion revolved around Wisconsin's success and emphasis on defense this season.
Ryan commented that even though record-wise the Badgers have been a streaky team this season, their defense has been a constant.
""Really, it hasn't changed that much,"" Ryan said. ""The results move to the [loss] column in a string there … [but] we haven't done anything differently. Every team is trying to improve too as the season goes along, so it's the team that can improve the most that will tell the story.""
Ryan believes his team's defensive performance in their conference losses has still been solid, including the team's defeats against Minnesota, Iowa, Purdue and Illinois. He is also pleased with the progression of his team's defense.
""Everybody that's been back a year has been better defensively. I don't see guys going back defensively. Looking at the way [Krabbenhoft] and [Landry] were playing some of the ball screens were really good,"" Ryan said.
Ryan also discussed how, whether his team was winning or losing, the leadership by seniors such as guard Joe Krabbenhoft and forward Marcus Landry has been steady.
""[Leadership] doesn't start during a streak. It's every day; it's September, it's August, [and] it's June,"" Ryan said. ""It's not a sometime thing or an all of the sudden thing. They've always been there.""
The Badgers began their conference schedule with a three-game winning streak before losing six games in a row. Since falling to 3-6 in the Big Ten, Wisconsin has won six of its last seven contests.
Ryan also commented on the progress of his red-shirt players and players whose predominant role is on the scout team.
""Ryan Evans had two practices where we couldn't stop him,"" Ryan said. ""[Evans] just lit us up. But there are some other days when we don't even know if he's on the floor. But that's part of red-shirting, finding your niche.""
Ryan has also been pleased with the scout team and how it has sufficiently challenged players in the rotation. Ryan said Evans did a solid job of preparing the Badgers for Michigan's top scorer Manny Harris by playing his role in practice. Ryan also mentioned senior forward Morris Cain and sophomore guards Brett Valentyn and Wquinton Smith as key contributors to the Badgers' scout team.
After a seven-day layoff before facing Michigan Sunday, Wisconsin will have only a two-day break before their contest at Minnesota Wednesday. Ryan does not believe the short rest for Wisconsin will be an issue.
""The subject wasn't even brought up,"" Ryan said.
—uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
