Badgers Balanced in Bloomington

Jon Leuer returned to Wisconsin's starting lineup Thursday night and helped lead the No. 17 Badgers to an impressive 78-46 dismantling of Indiana.

Wisconsin, which rose to No. 4 in the Pomeroy ratings, was the model of efficiency in Bloomington. As you might imagine, the team's 70.4 defensive efficiency was it's best of the Big Ten season as they held the Hoosiers to 35.3 effective field goal percentage (eFG%). Meanwhile, Keaton Nankivil (6-of-7 FGs) and company posted their second-highest eFG% mark (62.3) in conference play.

All five starters scored in double figures, led by Trevon Hughes' nice shooting (17 pts): Nankivil scored 14, Leuer and Jordan Taylor both had 13 and Jason Bohannon scored 11. Wisconsin shot 8-of-11 on 3-pointers (72.7%). [box score]

With Leuer replacing Tim Jarmusz, Wisconsin now puts an imposing three-guard lineup on the floor to start games, one which may rival any starting five in the Big Ten (yes, even the Ohio State). Each of these players has experienced their ups and downs during the year. Bohannon started the year in a bad shooting slump and Nankivil disappeared when Big Ten play began. Leuer is of course trying to return from injury. Hughes has not seemed as mentally engaged as he was the first half of the year and forced many bad shots in the last few games. Taylor has struggled uncharacteristically with turnovers lately.

The key going forward will be getting all five to contribute against higher caliber competition. Bohannon blossomed with Leuer out and is still shooting the lights out now that he is more aggressive finding shots. Nankivil is more assertive too. Leuer looks closer to 100% after a few tune-ups. But remember that the young Hoosiers turned the ball over 18 times and played uninspired defense all night.

At least for one night, the whole team seemed to put it together. As the first two off Bo Ryan's bench, Ryan Evans showed off his rebounding ability and Rob Wilson displayed his scorer's mentality once again. In fact, Wilson has asserted himself as the team's second best offensive threat in the post. He's decisive, and even then, knows when to stop his move and pass out if he can't get the look he wants.

So if Hughes and Taylor can can clean up the decision-making issues of recent games, you might see an entire starting lineup firing on all cylinders at just the right time.

Future Starting Lineup

After the recent verbal from George Marshall, you can start to see what a Wisconsin starting lineup might look like in 2013 if you squint really hard. It just so happens that the five players signed or committed in the next two classes appear to fill up each of the five positions on the floor.

That means there is nothing stopping me from making wild assertions about who these high schoolers will end up playing like in college for the Badgers. So imagine with me for a moment the following starting five:

PG - Jordan Taylor (Marshall)
SG - Jake Kelley (Gasser)
SF - Kevin Coble (Dukan)
PF - Marcus Landry (Hodges)
C - Greg Stiemsma (Anderson)

It's an optimistic scenario that didn't take much time at all to come up with. That lineup is not too shabby -- a typical Bo Ryan team perhaps. Inevitably one or two guys will exceed expectations while one or two others fail to make the desired impact.

I struggled the most with the Marshall and Dukan comparisons. Taylor is bigger and stronger than Marshall, but Marshall has a strong reputation as a leader with a high basketball IQ, so I though JT applied. Size-wise, Travon Davis is a closer fit.

: : :

Removed the following prospects from the recruiting sidebar:
: : : Class of 2011
G Marquel Curtis, Minneapolis MN [+]
F Marvin Singleton, Minneapolis MN [e]
F Trevor Jorgenson, LaCrosse WI

Media's Preseason Picks Are In

Wisconsin's Marcus Landry was named to the Big Ten's preseason all-conference team by the media this weekend, joining Manny Harris, Raymar Morgan, E'Twaun Moore and preseason POY selection Robbie Hummel.

It appears that Landry's Most Outstanding Player award from last season's Big Ten Tournament has helped distinguish him from the three other heralded upperclassmen returnees in Madison. Landry himself agreed. I am interested to see if the Goggled One can rise to the occasion.

Meanwhile, the media projects UW to finish third in conference play this season, behind Purdue and Michigan State. All three teams should be very solid this season, while the young'ns at Ohio State and Minnesota will determine whether the Big Ten begins its return to glory this season or next.

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The people have spoken. The majority of Hoops Marinara readers prefer Keaton Nankivil over Jon Leuer to start for the Badgers. Nankivil earned 51% of the vote, compared to 35% for Leuer. Nankivil has been getting a lot of attention lately as the one who will fill Brian Butch's shoes initally as the fifth starter. Even Bo Ryan had a few encouraging words about Nankivil in his Wisconsin media day press conference [video] last week.

It will certainly be a group effort, however, including both a more fit (sober?) Kevin Gullikson and J.P. Gavinski -- like it or not. I would not be surprised to see Leuer end up with more minutes played than Nankivil either, as long as Jon can keep his back healthy.

Halftime, Game 1

After a sluggish start, Bucky zoomed back to carry a 38-32 lead into the break against Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne (IPFW). The school name is a mouthful and the team is poor, but it has a fantastic nickname (Mastodons). Trevon Hughes played the entire first half and scored 14 of UW's last 22 points to reverse a 27-16 deficit.

Hughes needed to get into a rhythm with his shot before Wisconsin could get back into this game. Pops is more of a scorer than a shooter obviously so I wouldn't be surprised if this is the norm. Taking a look at the halftime statistics at the break, you see some expected things, like the foul situation (UW 3, IPFW 11) and 3-point shooting (UW 14%, IPFW 42%). The pleasant surprise is free-throw shooting, where the Badgers are 11-13 (85%) in the first half. This should be an area in which this year's team is superior to last year's team, if only because of the Tucker effect.

Even though I'm forced to listen to this one over the radio (*sigh*), the energy and playmaking that Michael Flowers brings is again evident. I fully expected Flowers to step back in to the starting lineup -- mostly because Bo Ryan starts his seniors -- but it doesn't look like that is a given. The Badgers trotted out the same five that began both exhibition games.

Lepay and Lucas are toeing the company line and mildly giddy about Flowers coming off the bench. As I've mentioned before in this space, there have been rumors connecting Flowers' earlier absence from the team as much to his spot/position in the lineup than any medical issue. His cryptic comments to the media (check the odd quote in the seventh paragraph) did not dispel any such thoughts either. But if Flowers was upset about Hughes and Krabbenhoft getting the starting nods over his head, he should rest assured that he'll be on the floor as much as anyone this year. It's worth noting that the crunch time lineup so far this game has been Hughes, Flowers, Bohannon, Landry and Butch. Krabbenhoft has two fouls while Stiemsma and Gullickson have provided remaining minutes up front.

Wisconsin should cruise in the second half. I can't wait for Keaton Nankivil to check in to the game.

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- Addedum: Well, Leuer beat Nankivil to the floor and Tim Jarmusz did not play. All signs point to him redshirting this season. That would leave the team with a three-man class graduating in 2011 and the following year's senior class possibly five guys strong.
- Bo's postgame comments reinforced that Flowers might continue to come off the bench, saying "it doesn't matter" who starts.
- Hughes is simply the best player on the team and one of the most talented players to come through the program in some time. The stat line he put up tonight was sick: 25-5-5-6-1, with only one foul and two turnovers in 35 minutes. He is our sophomore point guard folks. Think about that ...
(By the way my standard line goes pts-rebs-assts-stls-blks)