Kaminsky and Badgers Steal One in Iowa City

Before Wisconsin took on Iowa, many people wondered if this basketball team was 'back.'  It is tough to
know what 'back' really means but Wisconsin continued to look more and more like a top 10 team worthy of consideration for a deep run in the NCAA tournament.  Badgers held on to a 79-74 victory with another large performance from Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker is solid again, Bronson Koenig's first big game and Badgers desire to play in-state for the first two rounds.

When Kaminsky put in 43 against North Dakota, many saw it as an aberration. Kaminsky had some big games through the first two years of his career, but nothing like 43 points. In the last three games, Kaminsky is averaging 21 points, the exact amount he had on Saturday afternoon.  He also pulled down seven rebounds, and in his last five games, Kaminsky is averaging 7.4 rebounds a game which is nearly a half a rebound above his average. Kaminsky hit a a clutch jumper after Josh Olgesby put Iowa ahead, and then found a way to make a big defensive play stripping Roy Deyvn Marble. Kaminsky is becoming a go-to player for Wisconsin.

The reason why Kaminsky is a hassle for teams as he can be a true inside-out player. If there is a lumbering big man like a lot of the B1G have, Kaminsky is able to beat them on the outside. If they have a smaller lineup, Kaminsky's post game has drastically improved in the last month and is growing as a player. One of the things I did not expect with Wisconsin is Kaminsky developing into a two-dimensional player whom Wisconsin needs to have big games in order for them to win basketball games. Kaminsky's value probably correlates with the attention Sam Dekker gets from defenses around the conference.

Dekker in his own right had another strong performance notching his second straight 15 point game, and this time getting the double-double pulling down eleven rebounds. Since the zero rebound game against Illinois, Dekker's rebounding numbers have went up in the four games since, and that's a big thing for Wisconsin in the coming month.  As a power forward, he needs to be averaging right around six rebounds a game and if he keeps doing that, this Wisconsin team will be much better off. Dekker struggled a bit from three on Saturday, but he did not let that be the only part of his game which is another solid development for him.

Coming into the season, Koenig had the most hype about him as a freshman. Nigel Hayes took over Koenig's spot as being the freshman du joir, but on Saturday, he put in his strongest performance as a Badger. Koenig had 12 points on 5/7 shooting with two threes. There might be a case for Koenig to get more playing time as he played 23 minutes which is eight above his season average and played way above his head. If the Badgers have Koenig and Hayes contributing each at least seven points a game, Wisconsin becomes dangerously deep with two viable options off the bench.

With another win in the Big Ten, Wisconsin remains two games back from Michigan from the Big Ten crown. But unfortunately for the Badgers, Wolverines have a pretty easy road to the finish meaning it would be highly unlikely they would drop two games.  But all that being said, Badgers have vaulted themselves into the two or three seed right row meaning they will probably be playing in Milwaukee to start the NCAA Tournament. Wisconsin did not capitalize the last time this happened back in 2004 with a second round loss to Pittsburgh in the Cream City.

It appears that door is open for them to have a home court advantage. If they finish strong, like win out of the season, they are probably still in the conversation for a one seed. Who would have thought it after they hit tough times last month.

Charlie.