The Wisconsin Badgers won the Big Ten Tournament today, beating Illinois. And they won the Big Ten regular season outright with a record of 28-4 - which leaves no debate on who the Big Ten champ is. These tournaments are stupid.The Badgers, ranked 8th in the nation by Associated Press, will meet Cal State Fullerton on March 20 in the Midwest Regional in Omaha. I haven't watch many games and what I've seen...I'm not overly impressed. Below is an assessment from Fox Sports:
How they got in: Big Ten champions
In a nutshell: In what might have been Bo Ryan's finest coaching job yet, Wisconsin went from being a preseason afterthought, at best a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten pick, to the regular season champion with no stars and absolutely no pizzazz. With a blend of suffocating defense and timely play, especially on the road, the Badgers did more than just rebuild, they came together to become a regular in the top 10. While this is a limited team, it doesn't screw up, is ultra-efficient offensively, and is as well-coached as any in the nation.
Strengths: Defense, defense, defense. The nation's leader throughout the year in scoring defense, allowing teams to average around 54 points per game, the Badgers don't let offenses get into any sort of a rhythm. More than anything else, they don't allow offensive rebounds and rarely put anyone on the line, ranking among the top five teams in the country in fewest fouls committed.
Weaknesses: There isn't even a hint of offensive explosion. Everything revolves around the defense, but when opponents start to get hot and start to ramp up the tempo, the Badgers have a hard time keeping up. It's no coincidence that they're 26-1 when holding opponents to under 70 points, and 0-3 when allowing more than 70. For good and bad, the offense spreads the wealth around and doesn't have a pure scorer.
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