At 5-3 in the Big Ten, Wisconsin has been one of the league’s surprises this season. Yet when the Badgers travel to Welsh-Ryan Arena tonight for a 7 p.m. game, they won’t catch the Northwestern men’s basketball team off guard.
“They’re a tough team, but I think people have been underestimating their abilities,” NU guard Jitim Young said. “It’s a Big Ten team, and you underestimate no Big Ten teams because anybody can be beaten on any given night.”
But even if Wisconsin had started slowly, the Wildcats still wouldn’t have reason to get cocky, head coach Bill Carmody said.
“I don’t think we’d be overconfident,” Carmody said. “We haven’t done enough yet to do that. Once we start getting some wins, then I have to worry about guys with big heads. That might be a nice problem to have because that means you’ve done something.”
NU (11-7, 2-4 Big Ten) is in position to match last year’s conference win total – three – with a victory over Wisconsin (12-9, 5-3).
Before the season, most experts didn’t pick the Badgers to be in their current position, third in the league. Junior Kirk Penney is the only starter returning from last year’s squad, which graduated Wooden Award candidate Mike Kelley. Wisconsin lost four other seniors, including leading scorer Roy Boone.
Despite the less potent lineup, first-year Badgers head coach Bo Ryan said he’s not befuddled by his team’s success.
“There were a lot of question marks about how competitive a group can be without A, B and C,” Ryan said. “But also on the other side, you have got some guys that have been in some pretty tough places – some guys like Travon Davis, Charlie Wills, and Kirk Penney – who have been in some wars and have learned some things. So bringing that to the table helped.”
NU must contend with Wisconsin’s second-biggest offensive threat from last year, Penney, a native of New Zealand. The 6-foot-5 guard was second on the team in scoring with 11.2 points per game last season and is currently 10th in the Big Ten with 14.3 points a contest.
Carmody also pointed to freshmen guard Devin Harris and forward Mike Wilkinson as threats. Harris is second on the team in scoring with 12.4 points a game, and his 41 assists leads the team. For his part, Wilkinson averages a team-best 6.4 rebounds a game and is third in scoring with 9.8 points a game.
Young, however, said he’s not too concerned about stopping Penney. NU’s backcourt is more athletic than Wisconsin’s, which could give the Cats an advantage in getting to the basket. NU must attack the Badgers’ post players if it wants to be successful, Young said.
And, most importantly, the Cats can’t allow Wisconsin, a team known for its quick starts, to jump out to an early lead.
“We’re just looking to come out on this team early and take their confidence away,” Young said. “This is a team we can definitely jump on right away. It also can be a dangerous team if you come out lolly-gagging out there and not play the first five minutes of the game.”
