Badgers Lose Two in a Row at Home

The ridiculousness of Michigan State again beating Wisconsin on a post game official review and overturn overshadowed the fact that the Wisconsin Badgers have now lost two straight conference games at home. First Iowa and now Michigan State - a rough start for the Badgers. The whole different clock debacle was pretty crazy - see a Grantland rundown here, but it definitely masks some pretty big issues for Wisconsin Basketball.

At the beginning of the season I assumed two things - that Wisconsin would win at home, where they have only lost once in the past 2 seasons, and that Jordan Taylor would be a beast, carrying the team on his back if he had to. This was not figurative. I literally think Jordan Taylor could carry the team on his back. Look at him! Ok, maybe not the whole team, but at least the other four on court players.

This two assumptions have proven false so far this season. Wisconsin has lost 3 times at home already this season. The Kohl Center fortress has not been as impenetrable as in years past. Jordan Taylor, has been good, but not All-American caliber. His shooting has often times been downright poor this season. With these two preconceptions gone, the other problems become all the more evident. The main problems that I see would be the INFATUATION with the 3 pointer and the lack of interior defense. Wisconsin is just all too ready to jack the three. Usually it happens with the shot clock running down, but they often times go interior possessions without even getting the ball inside the 3 point line. Taylor, Gasser, Brust, Bruesewitz, Breggren, and even Kaminsky are all guilty of this. The only remedy of this though, seems to be Jordan Taylor. If he can be aggressive and drive to the basket it opens up shots not only for him, but his teammates as well. The other problem is a bit more troublesome. Teams with any decent big men will control the paint on both sides of the ball. Ryan Evans is athletic, but cannot guard the 4 ad Bruesewitz seems to be on the bench many times in the second half of games in favor of Brust. The lose of Leuer and Nankivil is very apparent on the defensive end.

There is still plenty of time for the Badgers to recovery. There is a lot of season and a lot of quality wins still up on the board. We have seen in recent years in college basketball that all that matters is being hot in March. I still think this team can put it together. A lot of it rests on Jordan Taylor. If he is aggressive like in the second half against MSU, Wisconsin can beat anybody. But this does bring up the rather scary questions, what's Wisconsin Basketball going to look like in 2013?