Now that it's nut-cutting time, there's even less room in Bo Ryan's world for mistakes. Expect him to have a short bench and a short leash during the postseason. The perfect case in point came at the outset of Wisconsin's Big Ten-clinching win at Northwestern on Saturday. Point guard Trevon Hughes committed a turnover against NU's 1-3-1 trapping defense within the game's first 10 seconds. Boom! Ryan sent in sixth man Jason Bohannon to replace Hughes. Moreover, seventh and eighth men Greg Stiemsma and Tim Jarmusz played a combined 6 minutes against the last-place Wildcats.
PLAYER ROTATION
Usual Starters -- F Marcus Landry, F Brian Butch, G Trevon Hughes, Michael Flowers, G Joe Krabbenhoft. Key Subs -- G Jason Bohannon, C Greg Stiemsma, G Tim Jarmusz.
GAME REVIEW
Wisconsin 57, Michigan State 42
Wisconsin 77, Penn State 41
Wisconsin 65, Northwestern 52
GAME PREVIEW
Vs. winner of Iowa/Michigan in Big Ten tournament quarterfinals, Friday, March 14
IN FOCUS
Under Bo Ryan, Wisconsin has a history of turning regular-season riches into Big Ten tournament rags. After sharing the 2002 Big Ten title with Ohio State, Indiana and Illinois, the top-seeded Badgers turned around and dropped their opener 58-56 to Iowa. Wisconsin earned the top seed again in 2003 after claiming the title outright, but again took a quarterfinal dive with a 58-50 loss to Ohio State.
Perhaps the Badgers were mere victims of teams on a mission -- both the 2002 Hawkeyes and 2003 Buckeyes made it to the tournament finals -- but losing in this year's quarterfinals could be more costly.
Not only could the Badgers lose a seed or two in the NCAA Tournament with an early dismissal in Indianapolis, they could surrender some of the confidence they've built up by winning seven in a row to close out the regular season.
ROSTER REPORT
--Sixth man Jason Bohannon set the school record for consecutive free throws during Wisconsin's win at Northwestern on Saturday.
Bohannon went 6 for 6 from the line against the Wildcats to run his streak to 39 straight. Former all-Big Ten guard Wes Matthews set the previous record of 35 all the way back in 1980.
--If senior guard Michael Flowers isn't named the Big Ten's defensive player of the year when regular-season awards are announced Monday, there'll be a mad mob in Madison. The 6-foot-2 Flowers locks on the opposition's best perimeter player and doesn't let go.
When the Badgers clinched the Big Ten title against Northwestern on Saturday, Flowers spent most of his day on the league's leading 3-point shooter, Craig Moore. He wound up with just 7 shot attempts (3 of them 3-pointers) and finished with 11 points.
Flowers also earned a game-high 4 steals to push his career total to 159. He needs six more to pass Devin Harris for fifth on Wisconsin's all-time steals chart.
--Based on his tentative and turnover-prone play against Northwestern's trapping 1-3-1 defense, freshman guard Tim Jarmusz might not be a big factor in the postseason. Jarmusz committed 3 turnovers in 3 first-half minutes on Saturday and played just 1 minute thereafter.
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