Badgers Guide for March

 

The Badgers come into March after a very underwhelming end to the regular season. In addition to losing three of their last five games, Wisconsin was not able to qualify for the double bye in the Big Ten Tournament as well. 

Wisconsin goes into the Big Ten Tournament as the no. 5 seed and will take on the winner of Northwestern and Minnesota on Thursday. Currently the Badgers are predicted to be a no. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament, but a couple of victories in the Big Ten Tournament can easily jolt them to a no. 3 seed. 

All season the Badgers have been lead by John Tonje and John Blackwell. Tonje was recently named to the All Big Ten 1st team and Blackwell received an honorable mention as well. From last year, Blackwell has taken a huge leap and next season it will certainly be his team if he decides to not enter the transfer portal. 

The most recent debacle for the Badgers was their loss to Penn State. It was simple, all they had to do was win and they would clinch a double bye. Penn State, a team playing in their last game because they were unable to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament itself. 

A loss like that is certainly catastrophic to the Badgers in multiple ways, but in other ways it can be received as a much needed wake up call. For most of the season, the offense has been lights out but not as of late. This Badger team is not like old Badger teams with their ability to out shoot other teams. 

In the previous three games, Max Klesmit has been out with a lower body injury and in those three games the Badgers are 1-2. Despite his struggles offensively this season, I do believe Klesmit provides the Badgers with a huge boost. 

Being both a starter and a leader, Klesmit has impacted the Badgers in other ways despite his poor shooting. Klesmit's defense, on the other hand, has been a positive for Wisconsin. With Klesmit back in the lineup on Thursday, the Badgers will look a lot different and hopefully a lot better as well. 

In recent years, the Badgers have been unable to get it done in March. Their last Sweet 16 appearance was all the way back in 2017 despite being a high seed in previous years. This year they have to get over the hump. They have the DNA, they have the talent, what they need is the confidence to get there.