Look out Las Vegas. Omaha will soon be invading your city.
Creighton fans have had their calendars circled since they found out that they were going to play in a tournament in Vegas. It became a definite destination for some as it was announced later this year that the opening opponent at the 2012 Las Vegas Invitational would be the Wisconsin Badgers. The Badgers are the type of non-conference opponent the Bluejays and their fans don’t see much outside of the occasional meeting in March. There will be plenty of CU fans on the Strip this week.
Perennially one of the best teams in the nation, Wisconsin has run into a few early season bumps in the road. Bo Ryan’s team was dealt some injury woes before the season even started, and they recently lost a blowout against Florida. To give us a better look at the Badgers and to continue to hype up this game, we talked to Jim Polzin of the Wisconsin State Journal. He gives us some great information on the matchup and other items of interest.
White & Blue Review: From what you have seen so far, does this team look like a typical Bo Ryan type of Wisconsin team or has he had to make any changes to the way they do things this season?
Jim Polzin: The offense looks a little different this year without Jordan Taylor running the show. The Badgers did a lot of high screens with Taylor because that was his specialty. There’s been less of that this season but more movement away from the ball and more of an emphasis on feeding the post to senior forward Jared Berggren. But the basic principles that have made Wisconsin successful under Ryan haven’t changed: It takes care of the ball on offense and works to make it difficult for opponents to take quality shots at the other end of the court.
WBR: The Badgers have suffered a bit of an injury bug with the early injury to Mike Bruesewitz and then losing Josh Gasser for the season. How is the team adjusting to the loss of their point guard for the season and how is Bruesewitz looking since coming back from the preseason injury?
JP: I’ll start with Bruesewitz, who returned to the starting lineup on Sunday against Cornell and seems to be getting back to his old stuff. He’s never been a big scorer, but the Badgers need his energy, hustle, and rebounding. The loss of Gasser is huge in many ways. George Marshall has taken over at point guard and, offensively, I think Wisconsin will be fine. But Gasser was a first-team All-Big Ten defensive player last season and the Badgers are going to have a difficult time replacing him as a perimeter defender. He also was an emotional leader, which the Badgers needed in the early going of their loss at Florida last week. I see Wisconsin getting better as the year goes on, but it’s going to take some time to adjust to life without Gasser.
WBR: What were the problems that led to the loss against Florida? Are there weaknesses that Creighton could take advantage of?
JP: The biggest issue against Florida was that the Badgers left Erik Murphy open too often. The Badgers knew Murphy was a dangerous shooter, especially off high screen situations, but they didn’t follow the scouting report at times, lost track of him and got burned because of it. We’ll see if that was an aberration, or if Doug McDermott will do more of the same on Friday.
WBR: What player for the Badgers should Bluejay fans be aware of that doesn’t get a lot of publicity on their play?
JP: The guy I’m writing about later this week is Berggren. Wisconsin fans were angry when Berggren wasn’t included on CBSSports.com’s list of the top 50 frontcourt players before the season began. Berggren hasn’t made a big deal about the list, but he’s aware of it and is motivated to have a great senior season. So far, so good.
WBR: Which position will be the deciding factor in the game on Friday night against Creighton?
JP: I’m not sure who will draw the assignment guarding McDermott, but that’s the one that stands out most to me. But, frankly, Creighton has so many other weapons that I’m not sure containing McDermott guarantees a win for the Badgers.
WBR: Wisconsin likes to slow the game down while Creighton likes to turn up the pace. Would the badgers be able to play at a high-pace level if the game turns into that style?
JP: The Badgers aren’t as plodding as some people like to make them out to be, though I can assure you they don’t want to get in an all-out running game with Creighton. I’d anticipate a game in the 60s.
WBR: How did Wisconsin get involved in this tournament versus having so many other choices out there to play in?
JP: They like to mix it up. They played in a tournament in Chicago last year, Orlando last year and Maui the year before that. I think Las Vegas is appealing because there are a lot of Wisconsin alumni in the Southern California and Phoenix areas that could make the trip if they so choose.
WBR: Jared Uthoff decided to transfer during the offseason. Creighton was mentioned as a possible destination. Was that really in the cards as an option or did he ultimately want to go to Iowa in the first place? How would he have figured into the team this season if he was still in Madison?
JP: At first, I though Creighton was a legit option. But the more I talked to Uthoff after he announced he was going to Iowa, the more I was convinced that was his plan from the start. He admitted he sat on the bench and watched those two Iowa-Wisconsin games last year and admired the Hawkeyes’ up-and-down play. He thought that suited his game better. He would have played this year, but probably not a lot. I think he had a good chance at starting the three years after that, though, if his game developed like the UW coaches hoped it would.
WBR: What is your final prediction? Which team will go to the Las Vegas Tournament finals on Saturday?
JP: I think it was good for Wisconsin to get a road game under its belt. Time will tell how much the Badgers learned from playing in that difficult environment. I think it will be a good game, but I think Creighton is the better team at this point. I say Creighton 65, Wisconsin 60.