Wisconsin Badgers: Three keys to beating Oregon

The Wisconsin Badgers drew the red-hot Oregon Ducks in round one of the tournament and if they hope to advance, these are the three keys to doing so.

March Madness is upon us. It is presumably the greatest four days in all of sports. It was an exciting day one of College Basketball’s March Madness tournament, full of blowouts, close games, and upsets. Day two is sure to be no different, and even a bit wilder.

The Wisconsin Badgers are set to take on Oregon in the round of 64. This is not the first time that Badgers will face Oregon. The two teams met up in the 2014 and 2015 NCAA tournaments, in route to their back-to-back final four appearances. Greg Gard was an assistant coach at that time to Bo Ryan, so he knows the Oregon basketball program well. Ethan Happ was red-shirted during that 2015 season, so he may even remember witnessing Frank Kaminsky dominate the Ducks.

However, a lot has changed since Kaminsky and Sam Dekker were leading the Badgers to victory against the Ducks.

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Wisconsin returns to the NCAA Tournament after missing it last year. Oregon was a top-15 team to start the season but dropped out of the top-25 by December. They battled injuries all year. But the Ducks are entering the tournament red-hot after winning four straight games to end the regular season, and then won four games in four days to win the Pac-12 title.

Wisconsin, on the other hand, has had an up-and-down season. They have been able to win in a variety of ways. Their offense has gone through some cold spells but this team runs through senior Ethan Happ. They lost in the Big Ten Tournament to eventual champion Michigan State but the Badgers earned themselves an at-large bid to the tournament after an overall successful season.

Keys to the Wisconsin Badgers Success

Defense
Khalil Iverson who is usually in charge of guarding the opposing team’s best offensive player will have to slow down Payton Pritchard. In the Pac-12 championship, Pritchard scored 20 points and has been the leader for this young Oregon team. Iverson and the rest of this Badgers team are going to need to bring the intensity and energy on the defensive side of the ball to match Oregon’s intensity. This game will be a defensive battle, and if Wisconsin is to win, it will be because of their defense.

Ethan Happ

The Wisconsin Badgers star is making his final tournament appearance. This is the time of year where your big stars put the team on their backs and carry them to victory. Happ is going to have to do just that for the Badgers to win. He must be a factor in the paint to open up the Badgers sharpshooters on the outside and loosen this tough Oregon defense.

During the first few months of the season, Happ showed us why he was on every All-American list. Later during the season, he seemed to disappear at times and got into foul trouble. For the Wisconsin Badgers to advance in the tournament they are going to need Ethan Happ to be the All-American he was at the beginning of the season.

Supporting Cast

Everyone in the arena and watching across Wisconsin knows that Ethan Happ is the focal point of this Badger offense. I would expect Oregon to double-team Happ often and collapsing the paint, forcing him to kick it out. That is when the shooters D’Mitkrik Trice, Brevin Pritzl, and Brad Davison are going to have to knock down their shots.

Nate Reuvers has also been a force not only on the defensive side of the court but also offensively when he needed to be. He scored 22 against Illinois and 18 against Maryland during the regular season, so he is capable of scoring and leading the offense. If Reuvers, Davison, Trice, and Pritzl add a scoring punch along with Happ, this Wisconsin Badgers team could be a dangerous team in the tournament.

Next. The experts predict how far the Badgers will go in the tournament. dark

Oregon is going to be a tough match-up for the Badgers, but they are more than capable of overcoming the Ducks and advancing. Go Badgers!

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