Busting Brackets
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Wisconsin Basketball: 2018-19 keys for the Badgers at home vs. Purdue

By Austin Walther

MADISON, WISCONSIN - DECEMBER 22: Ethan Happ #22 of the Wisconsin Badgers works against Devante Jackson #25 of the Grambling State Tigers during the second half at Kohl Center on December 22, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MADISON, WISCONSIN - DECEMBER 22: Ethan Happ #22 of the Wisconsin Badgers works against Devante Jackson #25 of the Grambling State Tigers during the second half at Kohl Center on December 22, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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MADISON, WISCONSIN – DECEMBER 13: Kobe King #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers dribbles the ball while being guarded by Chris Dubose #32 of the Savannah State Tigers in the first half at the Kohl Center on December 13, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MADISON, WISCONSIN – DECEMBER 13: Kobe King #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers dribbles the ball while being guarded by Chris Dubose #32 of the Savannah State Tigers in the first half at the Kohl Center on December 13, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

1. Wisconsin needs scoring from bench

Wisconsin’s bench has some potential to be really good. Brevin Pritzl started a few games last year, being inserted in and out of the lineup. Kobe King has made a start this year when Khalil Iverson went down with a leg injury. Aleem Ford is good for a three-pointer per night and is averaging three points per game. Charles Thomas is a senior and is itching to breakout. Tai Strickland has potential.

I figured Strickland was going to take over the Trevor Anderson role when the Green Bay transfer went down. Strickland would play about five minutes in every game. He played three minutes in the first game without Anderson. The freshman then played in 17 minutes against Savannah State and scored 14. He then only played in nine minutes in two games while missing the two losses.

Pritzl and King are the main pieces coming off the bench. They are playing that role because D’Mitrik Trice is a true point guard and Brad Davison came onto the scene in a big way last season. Pritzl was a four-star way back in 2015 and is a redshirt junior. King was a highly-recruited three-star last season, got hurt and received a redshirt as well. Both are Wisconsin kids who the Badgers were excited to get.

Aleem Ford is your prototypical wing player. He’s got size at six-foot-eight, but hardly plays near the basket. His shot backed him up last season, averaging just about one three-pointer per game. He missed the first three this season, was eased in during Battle 4 Atlantis and is now the third guy off the bench.

Even though there’s talk that Carsen Edwards does it all for Purdue, the Boilermakers do have a lot of guys they throw out there each game. There are four Boilermakers who made all 15 starts this season. Three other guys have been rotated in and out at the five. Regardless, they all potential to be reliable basketball players.

Pritzl is more of a three-point threat than King. Sasha Stefanovic plays almost 15 minutes per game and has a nice shot from distance. Eric Hunter Jr. isn’t so much and would be a nice match up for King. Freshman Aaron Wheeler stands six-foot-nine, 200 pounds, but plays with a bigger body. I saw him muscle 15 points against Maryland. He could be a mismatch for Aleem Ford in the paint so expect Thomas to see more minutes. We haven’t even talked about Matt Haarms or what Trevion Williams did last game, but they’re coming up in the next slide.

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