Senior guard Bronson Koenig sat out Tuesday afternoon’s practice resting the calf injury he sustained in No. 11 Wisconsin’s (10-2 Big Ten, 21-4) victory over Penn State last month. But when the Badgers travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to face the Michigan Wolverines (6-6, 16-9) Thursday night, Koenig is expected to be in uniform.
Koenig, along with senior forward Nigel Hayes and redshirt sophomore Ethan Happ, look to help UW rediscover its early season offensive firepower against a streaking Wolverines team.
It’s hard to believe that a team that hasn’t scored more than 70 points since Jan. 24 has the potential to be prolific on the offensive end. But the Badgers have shown flashes of offensive greatness, scoring at least 90 points four times this year.
Koenig, UW’s leading scorer in non-conference play, has looked especially limited of late by his calf injury, yet Wisconsin has not used that as an excuse for its offensive struggles.
“I don’t think it’s an issue for him in terms of knocking down shots,” assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft said. “I think he could shoot it off one toe, one foot or two feet and he’d expect to make it. And that’s the Bronson Koenig we know and we love. And we’ll be ready to go when he’s ready.”
Koenig struggled in Wisconsin’s loss to Northwestern, finishing the game 1-of-8 with a mere two points. The Badgers’ offense as a whole looked lethargic once again, as Wisconsin shot 38 percent from the field. Still, Krabbenhoft admitted that UW’s shot selection has only improved as the season has progressed.
“The shot selection has improved greatly,” he said. “But has the competition gone up greatly? Of course it has. The Big Ten is a great league. These coaches, they know what’s coming and we’ve just got to continue to counterpunch and get back at it.”
Against both Nebraska and Northwestern last week, opposing defenses double-teamed Happ in the post. The Badgers struggled to counterpunch.
The continuous double-teams have also forced Happ to get the ball out of his hand more quickly, leading to just eight and nine shot attempts in UW’s last two games, respectively.
Happ has been forced to emerge as more than just a scorer. Sunday, against the Wildcats Sunday for instance, he dished out five assists.
“Basically, if they’re gonna take away me, then the other guys are gonna have to step up,” Happ said. “And I trust them to do that.”
The Badgers though have struggled scoring on possessions when Happ has been double-teamed.
“Guys gotta shoot it better, guys gotta pass it better, catch it better, attack better out of it,” Krabbenhoft said. “[Happ will] take what the defense gives him. He’s a very, very unselfish player, almost to a fault sometimes.”
Against the Wolverines last month, Happ had three assists to go along with his 11 points and six rebounds. Michigan didn’t aggressively double him then, but will very likely copy the blueprint that Nebraska laid out last Thursday, which Northwestern followed to a T Sunday night.
“I mean, we’re prepared for whatever they throw at us,” Happ said. “We’re not gonna change offensively based on what they do.”
Happ admits he needs to do a better job of getting the ball out of his hands. Doing so would allow UW to take advantage of a potentially scrambling defense.
The Badgers are looking for answers on the offensive end of the floor. Thursday evening’s game comes against a team Krabbenhoft says has a new identity and a new sense of urgency. Yet he has been hopeful that the amount of time his players have spent in the film room and on the practice court will pay off sooner rather than later.
“They just don’t think good things will happen just because you roll the ball out,” Krabbenhoft said. “These guys put in the work and the time, and that’s why good things have happened to this group and this program."
Tipoff against the Wolverines is set for 6 p.m. from the Crisler Center.
