Badgers are ready for the Battle 4 Atlantis
MADISON – More scoring options? Check.
More healthy guards? Check.
More lineup flexibility? Check.
More experience?
Check.
When Wisconsin’s players left for the Bahamas to participate in the 2018 Battle 4 Atlantis, they likely needed to bring extra luggage for their confidence.
“We were extremely confident,” sophomore guard Brad Davison said. “I think people still have that Wisconsin from last year in their minds.
“We’re not the same team as last year. We’re a very confident bunch. We never doubt our abilities.”
UW (3-0), which already has a road victory over Xavier on its résumé, opens the three-day tournament against Stanford (2-1) at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN. The Badgers will play either Florida or Oklahoma on the second day of the tournament Thursday (12:30 or 6 p.m.).
The Badgers finished 3-8 in road games and 1-3 in neutral-site games last season. Two of the road victories came in February – over Illinois and Northwestern – and the lone neutralsite victory came over Maryland in the Big Ten tournament.
Although it is too early to know how well a rebuilt Xavier team will fare in the Big East this season, the manner in which UW controlled the game and snapped the Musketeers’ 41-game home winning streak against nonconference foes left the players and coaches encouraged.
“Going into Xavier is tough,” sophomore forward Nate Reuvers said. “A road win like that gives you so much confidence. We didn’t win those games last year. This year we’re thinking we should beat everybody.
“There is no reason … we’re not going into a game thinking we’re going to lose.”
UW is at the very beginning of its regular-season schedule but the early returns are impressive and suggest a team that is much improved from the one that finished 15-18 last season.
Sophomore guard D’Mitrik Trice, who along with Kobe King missed the final 23 games last season because of injury, is shooting 65 percent from three-point range, 58.1 percent overall and averaging 18.3 points per game. Just as important, he has eight assists and only two turnovers in 88 minutes.
UW assistant Dean Oliver wants to see Trice use his quickness to become more disruptive on defense but otherwise is impressed.
“I think he is really understanding his role, off of ball-screens especially,” Oliver said, “finding roll guys ... reading the defense.
“He is getting more comfortable instead of having tunnel vision to the rim and trying to get to his pull-up jumper.
“He has just really improved with film and with experience.”
Brevin Pritzl (11.0 ppg) is shooting 42.9 percent from three-point range and Davison (11.7 ppg) is at 40.0 percent.
Reuvers showed in the victory over Xavier he can hold up on the defensive end. Xavier’s Tyrique Jones entered the night averaging 19.3 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. Reuvers, who gained 25 pounds in the offseason, helped limit Jones to four points and one rebound in 12 minutes. He is averaging 7.7 points per game and has a team-high seven blocks.
“He took Jones out of the game,” head coach Greg Gard said. “That was his assignment. That was his job.”
UW is shooting 42.4 percent from three-point range – without injured forward Aleem Ford, who shot a teamhigh 40.9 percent from three-point range last season. The team percentage will surely fall but UW shot just 33.5 percent from three-point range last season.
In addition, the Badgers have made more free throws (48) than their opponents have attempted (44) and have 49 assists and 22 turnovers. The top eight players are averaging between 5.0 points and 18.3 points per game. And on defense, the team is further along than they were at this point last season.
“We have strength in numbers,” Trice said. “We have a lot of shooters and people that can make plays. I think our assist numbers will go up because of that. We have a lot of guys who like to share the ball. And we’re focused on taking care of the ball a lot more.”
Last but not least, senior Ethan Happ has been spectacular.
He opened the season with a tripledouble and enters the Battle 4 Atlantis averaging 18.3 points, 12.0 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game.
“We have, in our opinion, the best player in the country,” Davison said. “And when you put pieces around the best player in the country and he is willing to drive in and kick, there is no reason not be confident because you’re getting good looks.”