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UW men's basketball: Experts praise Badgers but hint at a difficult road ahead

Rob Schultz and Adam Mertz  —  3/17/2008 5:52 am

INDIANAPOLIS — The University of Wisconsin men's basketball team has beaten one No. 2 seed, Texas, in dramatic fashion.

But it was blown out by another, at Duke.

The Badgers have won 10 straight games, beating every foe over the past two months except for Purdue. And on Sunday, they wrapped up a sweep of the Big Ten Conference regular-season and tournament titles for the first time in school history.

But according to power rankings based on statistical analysis, the Big Ten is the weakest of the major conferences.

So, how exactly does Wisconsin (29-4) measure up nationally as it prepares for the NCAA tournament?

Pete Gillen, the former coach at Xavier, Providence and Virginia who was an analyst for Westwood One Radio that broadcast the Badgers' 61-48 victory over Illinois in the Big Ten tournament title game Sunday, believes UW is as good as any team in the tournament.

"It's a great team and it's beautiful to watch if you love basketball. All those different parts," Gillen said.

"That's a tremendous team Bo has put together. It's perfect for his style. The way they run that swing offense and isolate people, they are very tough to play against."

Illinois coach Bruce Weber couldn't have been more complimentary of the Badgers after his team's surprising run to the conference title game ended one step short of a bid to the Big Dance.

"Just reminds me of our '04-05 team," said Weber, who coached that team to the NCAA championship game that season. "Just a good team; they just are balanced and they have so many different weapons. They understand each other."

Gillen nodded affirmatively when he was asked if Wisconsin could win a national title. But he added that the Badgers' fate depends as much on who they are matched up against as how well they play.

"They have enough talent. But it's all who they play," said Gillen. "Some teams they match up well against and some teams they don't. It's all who they play and who is hot. But they can make a good run."

Wisconsin will be heavily favored to defeat first-round foe Cal State Fullerton (24-8), which won the Big West Conference tournament Saturday night to clinch its first NCAA tournament appearance in 30 years.

If the seeds hold in the Midwest Region, the Badgers' road to the Final Four in San Antonio would include matchups with Southern California in the second round, Georgetown in the regional semifinals on Friday, March 28 in Detroit, followed by a matchup with Kansas on Sunday, March 30 in the regional final in Detroit.

Wisconsin was tripped up in the second round by UNLV last season and is looking at another difficult matchup in that round this year.

Should the Badgers beat the Titans — the teams meet Thursday at 8:40 p.m. in Omaha, Neb. — they would advance to a second-round game Saturday at 3:20 p.m. against the winner of the game between sixth-seeded Southern California (21-11) and 11th-seeded Kansas State (20-11).

Both teams feature standout freshmen.

Michael Beasley of Kansas State, a versatile 6-foot-10 forward who is the front-runner for national Player of the Year honors, ranks third nationally at 26.5 points per game and averages 12.4 rebounds.

O.J. Mayo of USC, a 6-5 guard who ranks second in the Pac-10 in scoring at 20.2 points per game, nearly led the Trojans to an upset of third-ranked UCLA in the conference tournament semifinals.

CBS commentator Billy Packer praised both players on the bracket announcement broadcast Sunday evening but predicted that each would have his hands full with the Badgers' stingy defense.

Entering the Big Ten tournament, Wisconsin had allowed just 54.3 points per game, which ranks No. 1 nationally, and opponents were shooting just 38.3 percent against the Badgers, which ranks No. 5 nationally.

Over the weekend, UW set a Big Ten tournament record by allowing just 145 points in three games — a feat that included holding Michigan to 34 points in a quarterfinal victory Friday. Their foes shot a collective 34.2 percent.

"That's a style that neither one of them has seen before," Packer said.

Fellow CBS analyst Seth Davis, however, selected USC as his "sleeper" pick and predicted that the Trojans would advance to the regional finals before falling to Kansas, the top seed in the Midwest.

Packer, incidentally, rated the Midwest Region the weakest of the four regions.

The other top seeds were North Carolina in the East, Memphis in the South and UCLA in the West.

All that matters to the Badgers is that they'll be ready to face whatever is thrown at them.

"All the coaches in the country know what a great coach Bo is. But not all the fans appreciate the style," Gillen said. "They know Wisconsin wins but they don't understand how.

"Bottom line is, 'Just win baby.' Al Davis would love Bo Ryan," Gillen added.

Rob Schultz and Adam Mertz contributed to this report

Rob Schultz and Adam Mertz  —  3/17/2008 5:52 am