Wisconsin Basketball: 3 keys to the game against Xavier

Wisconsin has guard depth

One of the advantages Wisconsin has to being healthy is that their guard play is super deep. Last season the two biggest injuries came in the back court. Starting point guard D’Mitrik Trice and four-star freshman Kobe King both went down 10 games in. Granted they did both play against Xavier last year, but they have matured majorly since that game.

It may seem hard to believe that two guys who missed so much time can mature. But they did. It humbled them. It brought them closer together and made the team stronger. It taught the player not to take anything for granted. Because injuries make you miss time and that resulted in the Badgers missing the Tournament.

So Trice was able to knock down five three-pointers. I know it was to Coppin State, but I’ve had the feeling that Trice is capable of flirting with a 100-triple season. Brad Davison was the third guard to have surgery in the off-season, but he didn’t have to miss any time. He’s a warrior and has won a starting gig over Brevin Pritzl. King logged starters minutes last week. He had a solid eight point performance, along with four boards, a block and steal. I see him hovering around double-figures all season long.

I told you that Pritzl lost his starting job to Davison, but I don’t think he minds. It’s going to make the redshirt junior even better. He won’t have the pressure of being a starter which should do nice things to his stroke. Pritzl got into a groove at the end of last season and it’s carried over.

I’m going to tell you about Trevor Anderson now. I’m not sure how much he’ll be in the rotation, but he checked in quite early during the opener and played 10 minutes. He’s a transfer from UW-Green Bay. He failed to score a point, but he’s an extra body in the back court. It’s also worth noting that he was high school teammates with the Hauser brothers who play for Marquette.

The front court may still be in question, but Wisconsin sure has a flurry of guards. We didn’t even talk about Khalil Iverson. He’s more of a wing player. He goes six-foot-five, but doesn’t have an outside shot, plays a lot of guys near the basket and hauls in his share of rebounds. Wisconsin is going to be fine for bodies at the guard positions.