Any excitement from the win over Duke or the Big Ten's first Big Ten-ACC challenge victory was short-lived for Wisconsin.
The Badgers are now focused on preparing for the next game on their schedule as Grambling State comes to the Kohl Center on Saturday.
The Tigers (1-3) are a member of the Southwest Atlantic Conference, which was considered the worst basketball conference in the nation last year. Only three SWAC schools finished over .500 with most of the victories coming from within the conference itself. The conference winner, Alabama State, lost in the NCAA tournament play-in game last season and finished with an RPI close to the bottom of the Division I schools.
Grambling State finished in a last place tie in the SWAC in 2008 going 4-14 in conference play.
But don't expect the Badgers to pencil in a win and take the Tigers lightly. Grambling State plays a high-tempo game, led by senior guard Ariece Perkins. He's averaging 15.5 points a game and against one of the Badgers' familiar opponents, Marquette, he scored 20 of the Tigers' 41 points.
Junior guard Lance Fuertado also has the ability to post a big night against the Badgers. He had 23 in the Tigers' last game and is averaging 13.8 points a game.
""They're very athletic,"" assistant coach Gary Close said. ""They use a lot of dribble penetration to get to the rim so it will test our ability to stop the ball and make proper rotations.""
Wisconsin will use its size and strong defense to suffocate the Tigers, who are averaging 18.3 turnovers per game. Close liked what he saw from sophomore guard Jordan Taylor and freshman forward Ryan Evans on the defensive side of the ball against Duke.
""Jordan has the chance to be a terrific defensive guard,"" Close said. ""He likes playing defense. He's tough and obviously he has some physical attributes that will help. Ryan is getting better. He's moving his feet. He's got some length so he's harder to shoot over. His stop near the end of the game on Singler was as big a defensive play as there was.""
Badger fans have seen their fair share of Taylor this season with Wisconsin utilizing him as a combo guard in its smaller lineup. Both senior guard Trevon Hughes and Taylor open up the court offensively with their speed and vision.
""I think defensively it allows us to get into some guys maybe a little bit,"" Taylor said of using two point guards. ""[It allows us] to try to get into some passing lanes. [Hughes] is really quick, and he's a great on-the-ball defender. On offense I feel like it gives us an extra penetrator and extra playmaker, but I mean we've got a lot of guys on the team that can make plays. It gives us an added dimension of quickness.""
The game tips off at noon Saturday and will be streamed on BigTenNetwork.com.
