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#1
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Formerlybis

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#1
Now that we both enjoyed consuming our own cupcakes prior to the main course, I thought I'd stop by. Our teams have crossed paths a couple of times over the last few years, and you folks are on TV a lot, but it's super-early in the new season, so I have to re-learn things.

Seems fairly obvious to me that your team is loaded, so the main opportunity from a UW perspective is that at least it's at home. This is the first (and probably best) of several big-name teams Wisconsin will face in the non-con (going to Providence next Tues, and then UVa, Marquette, and Arizona yet to come).

Last year was disappointing for UW - lost a lot of close games (won a lot of close games, too - we just play close games, period). Made it to the semis of the NIT, but it was one of UW's worst offensive teams in recent memory. So, having over 90% of the scoring back is ... well, at least they're experienced. Historically, when Wisconsin has an older team, they do pretty well. They did add probably 3 rotation players in portal/recruiting and lost 1, so they should be considerably deeper this year (assuming the newcomers assimilate - game one was encouraging, but...cupcake). They've been picked to finish 5th in the Big Ten.

Why I think TN wins this is because you're elite defensively and I just don't have confidence that this crew will have figured out their woes from last year this quickly.

Any questions for me?
 
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#3
#3
walkenvol said:
Yes, do you guys really like cheese as much as talked about?

On the serious note, what is the size of your post rotation?
Click to expand...
Crowl is the starting 5 - he's 7' but neither skinny nor beefy. This is year 4 for him, and he's average-strong now, maybe a bit above.
Wahl is the starting 4 at 6'9", and plays inside a lot on offense - this is year 5 for him. When he's healthy, he is probably the team's best overall player - he puts up a lot of stats.
Gilmore has been the primary sub for either of those guys at 6'7", but will probably be more in for Wahl this year. Big dropoff in talent, but he holds his own mainly defensively - not a big offensive threat.
Nolan Winter is a true frosh at 6'10" and looks like he'll be the main sub for Crowl this year - not a real banger yet, needs strength, but comes with reputation as a skilled shooter and rebounder.
 
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#4
#4
Formerlybis said:
Now that we both enjoyed consuming our own cupcakes prior to the main course, I thought I'd stop by. Our teams have crossed paths a couple of times over the last few years, and you folks are on TV a lot, but it's super-early in the new season, so I have to re-learn things.

Seems fairly obvious to me that your team is loaded, so the main opportunity from a UW perspective is that at least it's at home. This is the first (and probably best) of several big-name teams Wisconsin will face in the non-con (going to Providence next Tues, and then UVa, Marquette, and Arizona yet to come).

Last year was disappointing for UW - lost a lot of close games (won a lot of close games, too - we just play close games, period). Made it to the semis of the NIT, but it was one of UW's worst offensive teams in recent memory. So, having over 90% of the scoring back is ... well, at least they're experienced. Historically, when Wisconsin has an older team, they do pretty well. They did add probably 3 rotation players in portal/recruiting and lost 1, so they should be considerably deeper this year (assuming the newcomers assimilate - game one was encouraging, but...cupcake). They've been picked to finish 5th in the Big Ten.

Why I think TN wins this is because you're elite defensively and I just don't have confidence that this crew will have figured out their woes from last year this quickly.

Any questions for me?
Click to expand...
Welcome! Thank you for hosting our guys up there. As I post it's 6:00pm CST here in middle Tennessee, and still 74° outside. Wish we were hosting y'all?

Seriously, congratulations on keeping your guys and attracting some transfers. Speaks well of your program.
So, since you offered, I have 3 questions:
1) With all those close games, does that mean y'all played strong defense, but didn't score many points in transition?

2) Who is your best man-on-man defender, and what positions does he play?

3) Your screen name, Formerlybis, does that mean you used to work at the Bank for International Settlements? How's the basketball in Basel?

Thanks again, Fo' ...I'll hang up and listen.
 
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#5
#5
BruisedOrange said:
Welcome! Thank you for hosting our guys up there. As I post it's 6:00pm CST here in middle Tennessee, and still 74° outside. Wish we were hosting y'all?

Seriously, congratulations on keeping your guys and attracting some transfers. Speaks well of your program.
So, since you offered, I have 3 questions:
1) With all those close games, does that mean y'all played strong defense, but didn't score many points in transition?

2) Who is your best man-on-man defender, and what positions does he play?

3) Your screen name, Formerlybis, does that mean you used to work at the Bank for International Settlements? How's the basketball in Basel?

Thanks again, Fo' ...I'll hang up and listen.
Click to expand...
Bis is Badger in spartyland- I no longer live there. But, I have been to Basel during my Rhine River cruise….

I don’t know who the best defender is. They’re solid all around, playing man with a well established set of rules. It takes new players time to learn and execute the rules, so the newer players are likely to be the weaker links. Essegian is notoriously weak on D, but was very needed offensively last year.

Wisconsin doesn’t look to score in transition, at least historically. One of the slow pace teams like Virginia and Houston. Now, they just had a high possession game in the opener, so maybe that’s changing? I tend to think not.

The close game thing is weird. You had it right that the defense kept them in every game, and offense was bad. I think, though, they had a mental issue of not putting teams away when they had the chance.
 
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#6
#6
Formerlybis said:
Bis is Badger in spartyland- I no longer live there. But, I have been to Basel during my Rhine River cruise….

I don’t know who the best defender is. They’re solid all around, playing man with a well established set of rules. It takes new players time to learn and execute the rules, so the newer players are likely to be the weaker links. Essegian is notoriously weak on D, but was very needed offensively last year.

Wisconsin doesn’t look to score in transition, at least historically. One of the slow pace teams like Virginia and Houston. Now, they just had a high possession game in the opener, so maybe that’s changing? I tend to think not.

The close game thing is weird. You had it right that the defense kept them in every game, and offense was bad. I think, though, they had a mental issue of not putting teams away when they had the chance.
Click to expand...
Y’all pounded Tennessee in our last meeting in Knoxville. That Wisconsin team had tons of experience and some really good players. I hope this game has some more pace to it than our last game, even though good defense is fun to watch. I think it will be a fun game to watch.
 
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#8
#8
Formerlybis said:
Now that we both enjoyed consuming our own cupcakes prior to the main course, I thought I'd stop by. Our teams have crossed paths a couple of times over the last few years, and you folks are on TV a lot, but it's super-early in the new season, so I have to re-learn things.

Seems fairly obvious to me that your team is loaded, so the main opportunity from a UW perspective is that at least it's at home. This is the first (and probably best) of several big-name teams Wisconsin will face in the non-con (going to Providence next Tues, and then UVa, Marquette, and Arizona yet to come).

Last year was disappointing for UW - lost a lot of close games (won a lot of close games, too - we just play close games, period). Made it to the semis of the NIT, but it was one of UW's worst offensive teams in recent memory. So, having over 90% of the scoring back is ... well, at least they're experienced. Historically, when Wisconsin has an older team, they do pretty well. They did add probably 3 rotation players in portal/recruiting and lost 1, so they should be considerably deeper this year (assuming the newcomers assimilate - game one was encouraging, but...cupcake). They've been picked to finish 5th in the Big Ten.

Why I think TN wins this is because you're elite defensively and I just don't have confidence that this crew will have figured out their woes from last year this quickly.

Any questions for me?
Click to expand...


The Kohl Center is one of the most raucous environments in the Big 10 to play in.
 
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#10
#10
Appears to me that we are going to have problems with their size in the post.
Our best bet is to wear their post players down and have our second team
players outplay their 2nd team players. Depth will be key here, hopefully
giving Vols the edge in a close game. Hoping Awaka and Philips comes through for us.

Something in neighborhood of 82-78 Vols. JMO as usual.
 
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#13
#13
Volfan1000 said:
The Kohl Center is one of the most raucous environments in the Big 10 to play in.
Click to expand...
That’s more legend than reality. There are several environments I’d put ahead of the KC in the league. Tennessee is a big time visitor, though, and I’d hope the crowd is amped up at least a little bit more than usual. It’s just too early in the season to have gotten in the swing of things.

What you may not know is the KC also is the men’s hockey arena - the floor for hoops goes on top of the ice. Hockey is away this weekend, so no worries about changeovers. That sometimes messes with being able to practice on the KC floor for visiting teams.
 
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#17
#17
Sounds like we had the same offenses last year... Ours should be improved though since we added two great scorers in Dalton Knecht and Jordan Gainey. What has me worried about this game is the fact that our starting pg Zakai Zeigler is coming back from an ACL injury that happened in March. I'm afraid that a combination of turnovers and an off shooting night might have us looking at our first loss this year. We really need ZZ playing 20+ minutes for me to feel better about the turnovers, but I'm not sure if he's ready for those type of minutes yet. We need his elite defense to guard Chucky Hepburn.

Good luck though! Sounds like both teams have returned some very veteran heavy teams.
 
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#18
#18
Volfan1000 said:
I just looked up the series history and Wisconsin leads 2-0 with this being the first game in the series at Wisconsin.
Click to expand...
I watched us beat Wisconsin at home back in the late 90's. Wisconsin had been to the Final 4 the previous year so there was a lot of hype. I believe they beat us in the return game.
 
#19
#19
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#20
#20
Kinger said:
I am driving up from Chicago suburbs on Friday after work for the game. Any parking suggestions?
Click to expand...
Not really. It's pretty typical with ramps within a few blocks, and the nearer ones fill up quicker. Take off earlier from work and spend some time on State St. to get the full experience - from the lower part of State, it's less than a 10 minute walk to the KC.
Stoked said:
We need his elite defense to guard Chucky Hepburn.
Click to expand...
That's a good call. Unchecked Chucky can go off.
ColinS said:
I watched us beat Wisconsin at home back in the late 90's. Wisconsin had been to the Final 4 the previous year so there was a lot of hype. I believe they beat us in the return game.
Click to expand...
Wisconsin went to the F4 in 2000, then '14 and '15. That 2000 team was a 8 seed, I think. Could that game been in the 2000-01 season?
 
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#22
#22
Formerlybis said:
Now that we both enjoyed consuming our own cupcakes prior to the main course, I thought I'd stop by. Our teams have crossed paths a couple of times over the last few years, and you folks are on TV a lot, but it's super-early in the new season, so I have to re-learn things.

Seems fairly obvious to me that your team is loaded, so the main opportunity from a UW perspective is that at least it's at home. This is the first (and probably best) of several big-name teams Wisconsin will face in the non-con (going to Providence next Tues, and then UVa, Marquette, and Arizona yet to come).

Last year was disappointing for UW - lost a lot of close games (won a lot of close games, too - we just play close games, period). Made it to the semis of the NIT, but it was one of UW's worst offensive teams in recent memory. So, having over 90% of the scoring back is ... well, at least they're experienced. Historically, when Wisconsin has an older team, they do pretty well. They did add probably 3 rotation players in portal/recruiting and lost 1, so they should be considerably deeper this year (assuming the newcomers assimilate - game one was encouraging, but...cupcake). They've been picked to finish 5th in the Big Ten.

Why I think TN wins this is because you're elite defensively and I just don't have confidence that this crew will have figured out their woes from last year this quickly.

Any questions for me?
Click to expand...

I love the state of Wisconsin. My girlfriend has a place in Fontana on Lake Geneva. We were up there every weekend in the summer. Also spent a great weekend in Sheboygan too
 
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