Badgers!

We don't need no stinkin' Badgers.

See what I did there?

Anyhoo.

BG travels to Madison to play Wisconsin in the first game of the Cancun Challenge, an odyssey that starts in Madison, moves to St. Louis and then ends up in a hotel ballroom in Cancun.  I know.

These next two games are as tough an assignment as BG will face this year.

The Badgers are off to a 4-0 start.  They beat St. John's, a highly ranked Florida squad, Green Bay and then North Dakota last night, in a matchup of 2013 BG opponents.

I watched some of the game last night.  It was interesting.  When you think of Wisconsin, you usually think of a 44-39 game where Bo Ryan calls for a two-hand set shot and you have to stop to get the ball out of the peach basket whenever anyone scores, which isn't too often.

Last night was interesting in that respect.  Wisconsin won 103-85 in a borderline crazy shoot out.  They have actually been playing a little more upbeat up until now, which is a departure for the Badgers.  Their games have been moving at 67 possessions a game, they are scoring 1.18 points per possession and have an effective FG rate of 57%.  Last year, it was 62 possessions, 1.04 points per possession and a EFG% of 48.6%.

As you can see, the defensive numbers are similar, with better shooting against WI as well.

Last night's unlikely star was Frank Kaminsky who set a school record with 43 points.  Yes, they have played basketball at Wisconsin for quite a while.  Anyway, he is a 7'0" JR who was 16-19 from the field, 6-6 from beyond the arc and 5 of 6 at the line.  Oh...the 43 points came in 28 minutes played.  Don't know if it was one of those nights, but a 7'0" going inside and out is going to present some matchup problems for BG.

The team's star was supposed to be Sam Dekkar, a 6'7" So from Sheboygan.  (No, really).  He is averaging 16 points a game on 53% shooting, making him a very efficient scorer.  He can score inside and out as well and will present a real matchup issue for the Falcons.

Guards Traveon Jackson and Ben Brust are also scoring in double figures and Jackson adds almost 5 assists a game against 2 turnovers per game.  Brust, oddly, leads the team in rebounds at 6 per game.

Wisconsin plays a very short rotation.  Their starters get most of the minutes.  Beyond them, only 3 players average 10 minutes per game.

In case you were wondering, BGHS grad Vitto Brown played 1 minute last night, which means he will not redshirt.  It was his first action of the season.

This is a very big challenge for BG, probably the toughest of the season.  BG has been playing very short-handed.  Some help might be on the way.  The BG News is reporting that the Falcons hope Craig Sealey will play (he is now practicing) but that it doesn't sound like Orr will play.   No word on Zach Denny, but I would assume that means he is not expected to play.