The Badgers have now lost three conference games, at Ohio State, at Purdue and at Michigan State.  I would say the only game the Badgers were handled in was the Ohio State game.  The Badgers handily beat those three teams in Madison which could setup an interesting Big10 tournament.  Will the Badgers be the favorite?  I assume Michigan State will be but they still have a lot of meat left in their schedule. 

The Badgers continue to look like a much better prepared team for March.  The last I update I saw is the Badgers expect Leuer to be back in time for the Big10 tourney, hopefully he can get back a week or two before to knock off any rust.  If the Badgers can continue to improve without Leuer, than add Leuer to the mix before the tournaments start, they should be an extremely tough out.

I did not have a problem with the final shot, but I did not like the first shot by Hughes.  He was not having a great night, so he was the last person I want shooting a three with the game on the line.  I wished he would have went to the basket the first time which could have drawn the defense and left Nankivil open for another three.

The Badgers hung tough in a difficult place to play without one of their top three players, Jon Leuer.  This win could have been huge for NCAA seeding, but will still be in the “Good Loss” category when seeding discussions come up.  I would not be surprised if these teams meet again in the Big 10 tournament, the winner of that game will likely get the better seed.

The Badgers continue to prove they are better prepared for pressure defenses and teams that shoot the three.  Purdue and Duke are experts in this style of play  and in past years the Badgers had a lot of trouble with these teams, this year the Badgers are much better setup to handle it. 

In my mind  the biggest reason the Badgers are better prepared for the defensive pressure is the ability to pair Jordan Taylor with Hughes to handle ball-handling.  It is much tougher to guard too tough ball-handlers.  Add to that the ability of both Leuer and Nankivil’s ability to step out and shoot the three it forces defenses to choose what they want to take away, an easy drive by one of the guards or an open three by two capable big men. 

On the defensive end the Badgers are able to extend their defense further out than they have in the past due to the athleticism of Hughes, Taylor, and Evans/Wilson.

This team is much better prepared for these styles in March, these same styles that have knocked the Badgers out the last few years.