#12 Wisconsin looking to make it 2-0 in B1G vs. Rutgers

Madison, WI ~ The #12 Wisconsin Badgers will take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights tonight at 7:00 PM at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin. The Badgers are hoping to continue their great start to the season by starting out 2-0 in Big Ten play, while Rutgers is looking to complete an infrequent conference road win.

Wisconsin comes in with all the confidence in the world, riding into tonight’s matchup with a big road win on Friday night to start their Big Ten season, over the then #14 Iowa Hawkeyes. Meanwhile, the Scarlet Knights are fresh off a 78-67 loss to the tenth ranked Michigan State Spartans. However, Rutgers is off to a start better than expected, as they are 5-2, and have beat Miami in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Wisconsin is also off to a better than expected start, proving they are back to their standards after an off year in 2017. Last Tuesday, the Badgers gritted out a win against North Carolina, before beating Iowa. And they placed second in the Battle 4 Atlantis, beating Stanford and Oklahoma. Before that, they beat a talented Xavier team on the road.  With already five  wins over Power 5 teams, Wisconsin has shown they can be competitive with anyone.

Ethan Happ, the star big man is not surprisingly the leader of the Badgers. But unlike last year, he has a supporting cast. D’Mitrik Trice is averaging for than 17 points per game, to go along with a handful of assists. Brad Davison provides the powering punch on defense, as drew an astonishing four charges against NC State.

As for Rutgers, they have played well so far, mostly because of junior Eugene Omoruyi, who is averaging about 15 points per game this season. Behind a now dominant three point shot Omoruyi, has been getting more looks.

If the Badgers come out fast and strong, it should be an easy win for Wisconsin, given their talent and the amount of games they have won so far this season. But if they play sloppy and commit turnover, Rutgers could grind their way through and make it a close game. However, the way the Badgers have played, it would be shocking to see them lose to a team like Rutgers.

BY Jacob Szczap

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *