Nebraska basketball is not known for much in college sports. People do not talk about Nebraska basketball and winning, it is just something does not work like lamb and tuna fish. But head coach Tim Miles has led on a renaissance this season with Nebraska making a push into the NCAA Tournament, but they needed a win against Wisconsin on Sunday night in what was perceived to be the Super Bowl of Nebraska basketball. Wisconsin could not handle the Huskers as they fell for the first time in nine games falling 77-68 in a game where Wisconsin was uncharacteristic in many ways missing free throws, turnovers and struggling to handle a transition offense plus should Badger fans push the panic button on Sam Dekker?Badgers were taken out of their game by Nebraska. This is not your older brother's Badger team where they slow it down and play for the last shot, but at the same time, this Wisconsin team does need some balance to their game. They are not going to run in transition and push the pace of the game. Even with their potent offense, they want to do it in a way that's Wisconsin basketball and nothing else. But Nebraska moved the needle, and it was evident it frustrated the Badgers in more ways than one.
Nebraska forced eleven turnovers on Wisconsin, their highest total since the win against Florida in the second game of the season. A blue chip way to beat the Badgers is getting them to turn the ball over. That rarely happens like an attractive woman talking to me at the bar. The majority of the turnovers came from Traevon Jackson and Nigel Hayes. For Jackson, that is something Badgers hope is a mere blip on the radar and nothing more, because if he becomes turnover happy in postseason play, it could be curtains for a deep run in March. Hayes is a younger player, and games like these will happen so there should not be much concern there.
The turnovers were not the only thing that hurt Wisconsin on Sunday evening. They missed 10 free throws going a little over 50 percent from the free throw line. When the Badgers suffered some of their defeats this season, it was more so due to the fact, they could not get to the free throw line versus missing free throws. Wisconsin is one of the better teams at shooting free throws coming in a tie for 25th at 73.2 percent so this is likely an aberration and nothing to worry about for the long term. Additionally, Hayes had the majority of misses for this team. This might be a concern. With his free throw shooting being at a dismal 59 percent, it is hard to make a case why Hayes should be out there late in games if the Badgers are either leading or trailing by a close margin.
Another concern might be the wear and tear of Sam Dekker, the Badgers best player. It seems like he truly needs a couple weeks off versus a couple days. We realize this is not happening, but Dekker does not play until Friday meaning he does get a little time to rest yet he continues to struggle in general. He only had nine points on six shots with only one attempt from three. This is his third straight game where he scored in single digits. In those three games, Dekker is shooting 26.7 percent from the field going 6/22. Additionally, he is only 1/7 from three. What does this mean? Is Dekker not getting the ball enough where he disengages a bit and disappears from the action? Or is Dekker not wanting to force shots at this point because he realizes the struggle bus he currently is on? Not sure, it could be a mix of the two, but if Wisconsin wants a deep run, Dekker needs to be better than the last three games of the season.
Even in the games where Wisconsin hit the rough patch, Dekker did not really have games like this one minus the Ohio State defeat where he only saw 19 minutes on the court. He needs to reestablish himself in Indianapolis as a go-to scorer. If that does not happen, Wisconsin can still win games but it is a lot harder on the four other starters along with the rest of the roster. For me, Dekker's output in the next couple games will be the most interesting part of Wisconsin.
Badgers likely ran into a buzzsaw in Lincoln with a team desperate for a win plus they saw others fall this weekend. Could it cost them a number one seed? Probably not. If Wisconsin rolls through the Big Ten Tournament beating the likes of Michigan State and Michigan to do it, they probably could be a one seed especially if other teams would happen to fall off the face of the map. The seeding probably will not matter as they will get the in-state advantage unless they lose their first Big Ten game to Minnesota or Penn State. This should be just a blip for the Badgers.
Charlie.
