By Paul Gotham

Setting: It’s a Big Ten showdown as Tom Izzo brings his No. 5 Michigan State Spartans (19-3, 9-0)  to Madison for a tilt with Bo Ryan’s No. 16 Wisconsin Badgers (16-5, 6-3).

Plot: Michigan State could gain a four-game edge on Wisconsin in the Big Ten standings. The Badgers are currently tied for second with Purdue, Ohio State, and Illinois.

Sub-plot: Michigan State is riding an eight-game winning streak including two of the last three on the road. Wisconsin has lost two of  four but won their previous two home games. Wisconsin will be without their second-leading scorer, Jon Leuer, who has an injured wrist.

Flashback: The Spartans beat the Badgers last month, 54-47. Chris Allen scored 16, and Draymond Green contributed 11 off the bench. Michigan State out-rebounded Wisconsin, 38-23. MSU leads the series, 68-58. Wisconsin has won 17 in a row at  the Kohl Center.

The Spartans have made 23 NCAA Tournament appearances including last year’s loss in the National Championship game. Izzo led the Spartans to the title in 2000. Under Izzo the Spartans have advanced to five Final Fours.

Wisconsin has earned 15 NCAA Tournament berths. Last year, the Badgers lost in the second round. Ryan has led Wisconsin to the Sweet Sixteen twice (’03 and ’08) and once to the Elite Eight (’05).

Foreshadowing: Thirty-seven Spartans have earned roster spots in the National Basketball Association, including current players Charlie Bell, Shannon Brown, Paul Davis, Morris Peterson, Zach Randolph, and Jason Richardson.

Twenty Badgers have stepped on the court in the Association. Michael Finley, Devin Harris, Marcus Landry, and Alando Tucker all have current spots on NBA rosters.

Conflict: Michigan State turns the ball over 14 times a game. Wisconsin gets almost six steals per contest. The Spartans have a rebound margin of 9.8 while Wisconsin is limited to a margin of 2.6.

Wisconsin is sixth in the nation limiting opponents to just 57.1 points. With patience, the Badgers can create Spartan mistakes. Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers, and Chris Allen are athletic and experienced. Sometimes, the trio of guards hurry when trying to play fast. Wisconsin’s transition defense will need to make the initial stop of the Spartan rush. Then the Badgers will need to play defense inside the arc to limit Lucas and Allen off the dribble.

Trevon Hughes, Jason Bohannon, and and Jordan Taylor will be responsible for slowing down the Spartan back court. The three combine for nearly 36 points and nine assists per game.

Keaton Nankivil will try to make up for the loss of Leuer. Nankivil averages eight points and just under five rebounds.

Lucas, Summers, and Allen combine for 36 points a game. Raymar Morgan and Delvon Roe grab almost twelve rebounds. The front court duo hits over 56 percent of their shots from the field.

Resolution: Earlier this year, Wisconsin created 11 turnovers while committing just four in a defeat of Duke. They will need a similar performance tonight. The Badgers need to execute long possessions that will force Michigan State to work on the defensive end. Bo Ryan needs someone to step up in the absence of Leuer. Look for Rob Wilson or Ryan Evans to fill the void. This is the third of four on the road for the Spartans. They are ripe for an upset. Wisconsin hits 74 percent from the line while MSU finishes 68 percent of the time from the stripe. Wisconsin needs a victory, and the Badgers will win a single-digit affair tonight.

Got any thoughts on the game? Post them here.

By Paul Gotham

Taking care of the ball

Wisconsin’s 73-69 victory over Duke might have surprised some, but it should not have. Bo Ryan’s club values possession of the ball. Against the Blue Devils, Wisconsin turned the ball over just four times. No small task considering Duke averaged 8.4 steals per game a year ago. This is an early trend for the Badgers. Wisconsin turned the ball over just seven times in a 65-61 win against Arizona and 9 turnovers in a 74-61 loss to Gonzaga.  Jordan Taylor leads the way for Wisconsin. The sophomore has an assist to turnover ratio of 3.8 to 1. Trevon Hughes leads three Badgers averaging double digits early in the season. Hughes goes for 16.7 per night while while Jon Leuer chips in 13.9, and Jason Bohannon adds 11 points per game.

Pssst…what’s up with the Pac-10?

Members of the Pac 10 have to be looking forward to conference play; that might be the only way they will get wins against a major conference. That is if one can still consider the Pac 10 a major conference this year.

Early returns from the Big 12 / Pac-10 Hardwood indicate a notable disparity: Big 12 8 wins and the Pac-10 2 wins. That has to hurt. Especially when you consider that the two wins are Oregon State over Colorado, 74-69 and California over Iowa State, 82-63. The Buffaloes of Colorado haven’t exactly been setting the basketball world on fire. In fact, the last time Colorado saw action in a post-season tournament was 2006. They lost in the first round of the NIT to Old Dominion, 79-61.

For a rundown of all games and recaps click here.

Photo by:Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

The Pac-10′s troubles don’t stop there. UCLA is 2-5 with losses to Cal-State Fullerton, Portland, and Long Beach State. Ben Howland should be thankful he is not the coach of Notre Dame football as the alums might get a sudden case of amnesia and forget his recent trips to the Final Four.  Oregon is 4-3 falling also to Portland and Montana. Is Ernie Kent’s seat feeling a little warm? With an off-season shakeup in the rear view mirror, USC expected to struggle. The Trojans stand at 2-4. Besides dropping tilts to Syracuse and Ohio State, California also fell to New Mexico.

If this keeps up, mid-major wins over the Pac-10 might not be considered an upset.

The battle of the arc

Syracuse and Villanova have established themselves as threats from long range.  The Orange have hit 42% behind the arc. Andy Rautins and Wesley Johnson have both dropped over 50% of their trifecta attempts. Mookie Jones has hit 47%. With opposing defenses worrying about the inside threats of Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson, the perimeter is open and the Orange guards have been taking advantage.  The undefeated Orange square off with the undefeated Florida Gators Thursday night in the Big East – SEC Challenge.

Villanova set a school record with 39 3-pt. attempts in a victory over Maryland, 95-86.  Corey Stokes hit five, Corey Fisher finished four, with Scottie Reynolds and Taylor King chipping in three a piece as the Wildcats fell one short of the school record with 16 3 balls for the game.

On the other hand, Wake Forest has made hitting the three difficult. The Demon Deacons limited Purdue to just 1 of 15 shooting from long range. Didn’t matter. The Boilermakers downed the Deacs, 69-58. Wake Forest rebounded nicely from the loss, went on the road and beat Gonzaga, 77-75. Gonzaga’s Elias Harris (12ppg, 7.5rpg) was ejected in the first half. Wake Forest took advantage and picked up a valuable road win.

Don’t ever give up.

It’s Jimmy V week. Enjoy the hoops and if you can, make a contribution.

Plenty of Big East – SEC action. Xavier plays Kansas State tonight.

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