Stone-Cold Shooting leads to a Wisconsin Stunner

It appeared like Wisconsin figured out a way to reverse their fortunes in the Big Ten. Taking down Purdue on the road beating them by double-digits and doing things completely different than the last three losses made things seem encouraging for the Badgers basketball team. On Wednesday, nothing seemed the same as Wisconsin turned in its worst performance of the year by losing to Northwestern at home, 65-56. Badgers turned in a putrid offensive performance combined with terrible perimeter defense plus raising the question, has the Kohl Center lost its luster?

Unlike previous years, Wisconsin has been a prolific offense with a team full of 3-point shooters whom can fill up the tin at will.  Even if they are not making their threes, the offense does not usually revert back to the days of Dick Bennett where 55 points would win you the game. Last night against Northwestern, this offense looked like a complete mess. Badgers shot a stunning 15/57 from the field, going 5/24 from three as well. According to KenPom, Northwestern holds the eleventh best defense in the nation, but at the same time, Wisconsin seems like to have the players to figure them out yet that did not happen as Wisconsin had only 39 points with five minutes left in the game. For reference, Wisconsin had 40 points at halftime in their first game against the Wildcats.

Sam Dekker disappeared last night, and that is something Wisconsin cannot have whatsoever. Dekker got to the free-throw line which is a bright spot, but the fact he only took six shots is concerning. He cannot become a ghost in this offense. Even though Wisconsin has five starters who can score, Dekker is the piece that makes everything go in the offense. What did not help either is bad Traevon Jackson came out to play as his inconsistent campaign continued for the Badgers. Jackson went 2/12 with only four assists. Wisconsin as a whole, only had 10 assists for the game. When there are bad shooting nights usually a lack of assists can tell the story.

Wisconsin's defense did not play much better than the offense especially in the second half.  Northwestern had 43 points in the second half, and there are some games where that would be the Wildcats' output for the entire game. Much of it had to do with Northwestern getting open shots on the perimeter. They shot 43 percent from three including having other open looks due to ball-screening Wisconsin to death creating open shots for Drew Crawford and others. Crawford had a great game for the Cats going 10/15 from the field and ended up with 30 points. If Wisconsin's defense is having troubles with Northwestern's 311th ranked offense, they could be in some serious trouble.

It is worth having a discussion about the Kohl Center and luster of it being one of the 'toughest places to play in college basketball.'  There was a time in previous years where Badgers were nearly a lock to win at home no matter the opponent. This is Northwestern's first win at the Kohl Center... ever. They were 0-13 and had not won in Madison since 1996. I do not know if teams are not intimidated anymore by Kohl or the lower bowl fans excluding the students are not as loud as they used to be. That was a problem for Marquette during different seasons and runs because there is an expectation that every home win would be a victory. We shall see how other teams will handle Kohl this season.

Wisconsin heads to Ohio State this weekend where the Buckeyes are also at a crossroads after losing to Penn State at home last night. Both teams are in a must-win situation making this game very critical for each team, but thankfully, Wisconsin will be playing in front of their home crowd. Hopefully, they can get up for the most important game of the season thus far.

Charlie.

Northwestern Football Union: A Step Towards a Needed Discussion

For anyone who studied feudal times about kings, queens and other royalty as well as any government where there is too much centralized power, the people beneath them start to get restless. They want to rise up, and form a coup trying to dethrone the leader or the king. This is the NCAA right now. A king or queen with too much power. Northwestern Wildcats football's attempt to form a union might be the first of many actions by teams trying to force the hand that feeds. This is a bigger problem for the NCAA than Northwestern.  

Let's face facts, NCAA is a monopoly without question. They earn all the money, do not really share the money without anyone besides the universities and players risk injuries for free. The last part is a murky, gray area topic. There is no right answer. "Just play the players" leads to a whole string of consequences while at the same time "Kids get free education and that's all they need." leads to another strand of consequences. There needs to be an obvious balance, and hopefully, Northwestern's effort to create a union will be a step in the right direction for the NCAA.

This is not a time for the NCAA to dig its heels into the ground. For them to act like this is not a crisis situation would be terribly wrong. If the NCAA does act like a king or queen and basically treats Northwestern like pheasants, it could spiraled out of control for them. Northwestern could possibly go on strike if their demands are not met, and that would easily be the worst case scenario. Northwestern is a part of a power six conference, and a conference that will be welcoming Rutgers and Maryland to their conference next season. NCAA could threaten to seize funding if Northwestern decides to go on strike, but how serious is that?  Not much honestly. 

It is hard to defend the NCAA when Notre Dame announces their plans a 400 million dollars renovation to their stadium. Arizona State Sun Devils recently added a 252 million dollar renovation to their stadium.  There are other stadiums all over the country getting face lifts, and some of these universities could not at least shell out a little coin for the players?  It is not like any of these schools like Notre Dame and Arizona State are going broke any time soon. From afar, it has the look of an institution with its head buried in the sand which is usually relates to a system being broken. While NCAA rakes in more money than ever before, it is a broken system, no question about it. 

Although this is not a foolproof plan by Northwestern as the idea of 'medical protection' after their playing days is flawed. Listening to Kain Coulter, not a likely NFL player, he wants to be medically protected long after playing for Northwestern. If anything, a window would have to be made saying 'Unless it is a direct injury related towards playing football, medical coverage only last two to three years after football.' Because if someone like Coulter blows out a knee playing adult league basketball, there is no reason the university should have to front that bill. It is not a football injury yet Coulter's attitude seems like the players have a medical umbrella until the end of time which cannot happen unless a serious, life-altering injury happens during their time at the university.  Additionally, this could open a can of worms for players dating back to the 1970's and 1980's demanding medical coverage as well leading to more lawsuits. Once again, it is one grand gray area where things need to be flushed out and talked out instead of being struck down immediately. 

While Coulter is acting like this is not an attempt at 'pay for play', it is hard not to see it as such. NCAA talked about opening its door to a discussion just a couple weeks ago, and it needs to continue in order to find the best way to appease both parties. Sportandfashion-news writer and contributor Andrew Kasmarek covered this topic for us last week presenting the 'Trust Fund theory' which I believe is one of the best models I have seen in a long time. It encompassed what everyone wants on both sides of the aisle. Compromises almost never happy, and still when paying players happens, there will be a section of people on both sides of the argument unhappy, that's how life works yet there is no need to be one-sided. 

The biggest hope for Northwestern's attempt to unionize is we see a better, well thought out discussion about payment of players along with medical coverage including concussion protection. If we continue down the path the NCAA is currently going, it is destined to fail and universities will start leaving in bunches to create their own hegemony. Because that's another thing in feudal times that happened when the king or queen's power was too much, a group of people broke away and started their own country. Would not be surprised to see this sooner rather than later unless NCAA acts differently.  

Charlie.