The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team (23-7, 13-6) will conclude their regular season on Sunday against the Penn State Nittany Lions at the Kohl Center.
A senior day celebration for the Badgers also marks the end of the road for Penn State, as their season will come to a close following the matchup. The Nittany Lions sit in 17th in the Big Ten Standings — only ahead of Washington — and with only one game remaining, they are guaranteed to miss out on the Big Ten Tournament, which features the top 15 teams in the conference.
Wisconsin will honor Steven Crowl, Max Klesmit, John Tonje, Carter Gilmore and possibly Kamari McGee and Markus Ilver on Saturday afternoon for Senior Day. McGee and Ilver are likely finishing their college basketball careers this season, but because of NCAA lawsuits, it is not completely certain if they will have no eligibility remaining. Regardless, their futures will become more clear if they choose to walk prior to the game.
The Badgers are currently tied for third in the Big Ten with Maryland. In the Big Ten Tournament, the top four schools will receive a double bye, meaning that with a win on Saturday Wisconsin will automatically advance to the quarterfinals.
Penn State has had a disappointing season, as shown by its 5-14 record in the Big Ten. What started as a promising year has ultimately gone off track, and their immediate future might not be much better with their star point guard graduating after this season.
That player is Ace Baldwin Jr., who has spent two years with the Nittany Lions. He followed his head coach Mike Rhoades from VCU, and his play has only improved with the conference upgrade.
Offensively, Baldwin thrives as a playmaker, averaging 7.0 assists per game, which is second in the conference. While Baldwin has not been efficient shooting the ball, he is still a volume scorer, leading the Nittany Lions in points per game. But, one area where he has been effective is at the free throw line, where he is second in the conference with a 93.8% free throw percentage.
But Baldwin is known for his defensive prowess. He was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year last season and a semifinalist for National Defensive Player of the Year. His 2.3 steals per game is slightly down from his average last season, but that number on its own is still the second-best in the conference, only 0.1 shy of the Big Ten leader.
Another bright spot in the Nittany Lions’ season has been center Yanic Konan Niederhauser. A relatively unheralded transfer from Northern Illinois this past offseason, Konan Niederhauser broke out on a bigger stage and has solidified himself as Penn State’s second-best player.
Konan Niederhauser averages 12.8 points per game, which is second on the team, and leads the team in rebounding with 6.2 per game. Being 7-foot, Konan Niederhauser is an extremely talented shot blocker and is tied for first in the Big Ten with 2.2 blocks per game.
In general, Penn State has had a year to forget. While they were predicted to finish 17th in the Big Ten preseason poll, they managed to only meet their extremely low expectations. If Penn State wants to pull off the upset, they will have a lot to deal with in the Badgers’ explosive offense.
The Nittany Lions do not excel in any specific area, lacking a true identity. Much of their statistics are propped up by their early season blowout wins in non conference play, and their offense looked much better than what it truly would be in the Big Ten.
Wisconsin’s pair of star guards John Tonje and John Blackwell should thrive against Penn State. The Badgers’ ability to score in a variety of ways should be too much for the Nittany Lions to handle, even with a defensively stout backcourt of Baldwin and Nick Kern Jr. and Konan Niederhauser protecting the paint.
For Wisconsin, they can’t overlook their lesser opponent. If they can manage to limit the effects of Penn State’s two best players, they should feel pretty good about their chances of earning a resounding victory to close out their already successful regular season.
In what will probably be a packed Kohl Center crowd, there should be no lack of motivation for Wisconsin to get one last home win for the departing seniors. With Big Ten and NCAA Tournament seeding at stake, there is still a lot to play for, even if they are facing an opponent whose season is already over.
