Wisconsin Basketball: 3 keys to the game against Xavier
Wisconsin is returning from a week off
By the time Wisconsin plays against Xavier on early Tuesday evening, they will be coming off a whole week off. The Badgers got all excited for the season opener. The Kohl Center was rocking for Copping State, they won by over 20 points and then it was back to waiting. It could be a good thing or it may not be one.
It’s early in the season. Wisconsin hasn’t developed a groove yet. It’s not like this is the long-standing tradition of not scheduling a game during finals week. But on the other hand, almost everyone else gets to have had two games in already and Wisconsin hasn’t.
Obviously, there are teams with just one game under their belt one week in. Michigan State needed over a week to recover from what Kansas did to them. And for that game in the Champions classic, the Spartans don’t even get a Gavitt tipoff game.
It’s not like this break to get guys healthy. I mean there might be something wrong with Alex Illikainen, but who knows. Aleem Ford is out no matter what. So this is the healthiest the guys are going to be all season. It is nice to have a few days off, travel to Pennsylvania and spend some time out there. That’s better than just going out there, playing in a basketball game and leaving.
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Greg Gard is going to have this team up and ready to play. Wisconsin has literally waited almost an entire year to be in this situation. They have everyone (for the most part) healthy and up to par on the way the team operates. They lost by 10 to Xavier at home last season. This extra break will give them time to breakdown some film, make the needed adjustments and come out ready to play.