--If you're late to the Wisconsin party and don't know where the Badgers are going and where they've been, check out these historical stats as Bo Ryan's bunch heads into the final week of the regular season.
Since Ryan took over the Wisconsin job prior to the 2001-02 season, the Badgers have gone 82-30 in Big Ten games. That's a 73.2 percent success rate -- and that's the best in the league over the last seven seasons.
But that's not all. If Wisconsin can beat Penn State at home on Wednesday and Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., on Saturday, then it will have at least a share of its third Big Ten title in the last seven years. It also would be its third Big Ten title in the last 61 years.
"The main thing is we're worried about the next one, but we do realize what is out there," senior forward Brian Butch said in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "It was one of our goals when we started the season. We realize we've got a great opportunity."
To put Butch's words another way: Wisconsin is in the midst of an era that hasn't been this golden since before the Great Depression. And, yes, we know the Badgers won the 1941 NCAA title...but that was an eight-team tournament then.
Why is Wisconsin so good this year? Perhaps the home win over Michigan State last week answered that question.
Not only did the Badgers limit the Spartans to 42 points and 34.5 percent shooting, they committed exactly ONE turnover. If junior Joe Krabbenhoft hadn't allowed Drew Neitzel to steal the ball with 11:32 left in the first half, the Badgers would have been perfect.
--Wisconsin has regained its status as the nation's stingiest defensive team. Thanks to the Badgers' ability to hold Michigan State to 42 points -- and to Texas-Arlington's ability to shred Stephen F. Austin for a season-worst 75 points -- Wisconsin jumped over the Lumberjacks into the No. 1 spot.
The Badgers are allowing 54.9 points per game -- a number that could go down this week when Wisconsin faces Penn State (55 points in their first meeting) and Northwestern (50 points in their first meeting).
Stephen F. Austin ranks second with 55.1 points surrendered per game. Washington State (55.4 ppg) is the nation's only other team that seems to have a chance at the regular-season defensive crown.
--As Wisconsin hones its offense for the postseason, its opponents must teach its big men that they can't leave 6-foot-11 senior Brian Butch open on the perimeter. Butch drilled a career-high 4 3-pointers in the Badgers' win over Michigan State on Thursday.
After an ice-cold pre-conference showing, Butch is shooting 47.1 percent (16 of 34) from 3-point range in Big Ten play. The best thing about that? He ranks fourth on the team in Big Ten 3-pointers -- but he, Trevon Hughes, Michael Flowers and Jason Bohannon are within 8 3-pointers of each other.
That means Wisconsin's foes can't overplay one guy and sag off another.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"They seem to be freelancing more on their offense as opposed to last year when it was more structured and more predictable. I don't know if it was easier to defend (when they had Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor). But we seemed to have more success with it last year." Michigan State guard Drew Neitzel praising Wisconsin's balance in The Capital Times.
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