On the Stove Top: Links Edition (1/22)

- We know Wisconsin's schedule has been incredibly easy to start Big Ten play, but you take what you are given. Starting 5-0 (likely 6-0 after tonight's game) has given the Badgers an average projected tournament seed of three, according to the Bracket Matrix.

- As UW continues to look at adding a wing player to its 2008 recruiting class, the Capital Times shoots us an update on Isiah Nunn, a late-bloomer from Moline, IL that the Badgers are very interested in.

The lack of a player like Nunn on the current roster makes it easy to get excited about him donning the red and white. However, spending a fifth scholarship on an '08 freshman has me worried about what kind of talent Wisconsin might let slip away in 2009, when plenty of kids within a few hours drive from Madison have Top 100 talent (see recruiting sidebar).

That complaint has been voiced a million times over on message boards, but this one silver lining is usually glossed over: in a program where Bo Ryan values senior leadership and four years of development on and off the court, think about what he could do with a talented five-man class. The years of 2010-2012 could be national championship-caliber with Taylor, Wilson, Berggren, Markolf and an athlete like Nunn in the same class.

- Back to starting 5-0 ... upon further review, it is not so unheard of to have five different players lead the team with 20 or more points in consecutive games. In fact, in the Big East, Providence and Seton Hall both have done it this year. As Rob Schultz notes at the end of his piece about Nunn, though, neither of those teams accomplished the feat during the conference portion of their schedule.

- Can Jason Bohannon or Joe Krabbenhoft pull a Leuer to continue the trend tonight at home against Michigan? The Wolverines may not be at full strength.

Badgers Bow Out

It is a sad day. We will never see Alando Tucker play in a Wisconsin uniform again.

Tucker couldn't put UW on his back this time. Falling behind by double-digits in the first half yet again is not a good idea against an underrated UNLV team with a chip on its shoulder. How can the Badgers come out so flat yet again? Is Bo Ryan partly to blame? Someone brought up a good point on the Badgermaniac message board about Bo's pattern of starting his upperclassmen: if Jason Chappell is so worthless, doesn't it benefit the team to avoid early deficits by playing your better players right away? The good news is that Chappell's scholarship is now free for the first time in five years.

Once again, Tucker's supporting cast seemed hesitant to feed him the ball in the post. That is an unfathomable outcome considering the team's current makeup and low 3-pt shooting percentage. With Krabbenhoft missing bunny after bunny and going "small" to match-up with the UNLV better, it is surprising the Badgers took a lead at all in this one.

Moving forward, Flowers has got to stay on the floor next year. Admittedly, I did not research this at all, but he seemed to be in constant foul trouble as the season wore on. I was glad to see him take it to the hoop a few times versus the Rebels, but he had turnovers on two horrendous passes that basically reversed the good karma. Until I decide otherwise, Flowers and our yet-to-be-determined offensive post presence are the two biggest keys to the 2007-08 season.

Three more observations:
(1) Landry finally executed another baseline spin move. Unfortunately, it did not result in a basket.
(2) Near the time UW took the lead in the second half, there was a pass ahead to Tucker that was basically a 2-on-1 with Landry. No alley-oop toss to Landry. No pass at all. Tucker pulled the ball back out. Indicative of how passive the team played for most of the day.
(3) In terms of our recent NCAA tournament losses, this one approaches both the SW Missouri State loss and the Georgia State loss. Being the first #1 or #2 seed to lose looks terrible nationally. If we thought we did not get enough respect before, look out. The season was not suppose to end this way for a team ranked No. 1 in AP poll only a few weeks ago.

At least 'Do seems like a great person. He will move on. I wish Tucker the best in life and hope we can follow him at the next level.