Wisconsin Could Challenge Ohio State in Big Ten
It's not as far-fetched as you may think. Ohio State has been mentioned as the favorite in the Big Ten, by a large margin and then it's the rest of the field with that rest of the field being Wisconsin, Michigan and Michigan State having a slim chance. After all, Ohio State returns three starters, including Big Ten and national Freshman of the Year and now, Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year, Jared Sullinger, plus shooting guard William Buford in his quest to become the school's all-time leading scorer and last season's defensive player of the year, Aaron Craft at point guard.
Wisconsin had just two starters from last year's Sweet 16 squad. But one of these starters is Jordan Taylor, a preseason All-American himself, to lead the way. His 18.1 points per game were fourth in the conference, while his 4.7 assists were ranked sixth. So should we be worried that he is averaging 8.3 points, down nearly 10 points per game, and 5.3 assists? In short, not at all. Taylor is a senior, playing for the soon-to-be winningest coach in program history and the Badgers have the nation's top defense, an overall scary defense.
Through four games, the Badgers are allowing a nation's best 34 points per game and allowing opponents to shoot just 26.1 percent from the floor and 26.4 percent from behind the arc. Against UMKC the other night, the Kangaroos came out and hit 3 of their 5 shots, but the Badgers clamped down and UMKC made just 8 shots the rest of the game.
Wisconsin has trailed for just 1:08 this entire season thus far.
By President - Corey Ruff - 11-27-11
