Preview: Central Michigan at Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. — Suffering back-to-back losses to Nebraska and Villanova, Wisconsin (7-4) is back at it on Monday with a non-conference matchup versus Central Michigan (4-8). With Big Ten Conference play on the horizon, the Badgers should have a real sense of urgency to get things going in the right direction with just two non-conference games remaining. Badger Blitz previews and predicts Monday’s contest at the Kohl Center…
GAME INFO
Time: 7 p.m.
Where: Kohl Center (Madison, Wis.)
TV: Big Ten Network
TV CREW: Chris Vosters, Brian Butch
SERIES HISTORY: Wisconsin leads 3-2
LAST MEETING: Central Michigan won 80-66 in 1986.
VEGAS LINE: Wisconsin -31.5
NUMBERS TO KNOW
3: Wisconsin is 3-0 against Central Michigan in Madison.
4: The Badgers open up a four-game homestand on Monday.
6: Monday marks the sixth all-time meeting in the series.
17: UW has won 17 consecutive non-conference home games dating back to last season.
STARTING LINEUPS
CENTRAL MICHIGAN
G Phat Phat Brooks (6-2 So.) – 9.1 ppg, 3.7 apg
G Tamario Adley (6-1 Sr.) – 10.0 ppg, 3.6 apg
G Jaxson Whitaker (6-4 So.) – 6.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg
F Nick Mullen (6-10 Sr.) – 8.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg
C Nathan Claerbaut (7-0 Sr.) – 13.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg
WISCONSIN
G Nick Boyd (6-2 Sr.) – 20.1 ppg, 3.5 apg
G John Blackwell (6-4 Jr.) – 19.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg
G Andrew Rohde (6-6 Sr.) – 7.2 ppg, 2.7 apg
F Nolan Winter (7-0 Jr.) – 13.7 ppg, 9.5 rpg
F Aleksas Bieliauskas (6-10 Fr.) – 4.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg
WHAT TO WATCH
Can the Wisconsin reserves start to build up some confidence before Big Ten Conference play resumes?
The Badgers have a lot of issues to correct before January. One of those is their bench, which has been missing in action pretty much all season.
Moving sophomore forward Austin Rapp out of the starting lineup seemed to work at first, but now the Portland transfer is struggling with his confidence. In his last two games, Rapp is 3-of-12 shooting, including 1-of-8 from 3-point range. He was scoreless on Friday against Villanova in 15 minutes.
Sophomore guard Jack Janicki has had his share of struggles this season on both ends of the floor. Freshman center Will Garlock has been limited to spot minutes as of late, and he only played one against the Wildcats.
Braeden Carrington has been the most consistent of the group, but missed Friday’s loss due to injury.
PREDICTION
Bart Torvik gives Wisconsin a 98 percent chance of winning and predicts a 90-62 victory for the Badgers.
Wisconsin is 6-0 at home this season, winning its contests by an average of 24.2 ppg. Against mid-major foes, that average margin of victory balloons to 28.3 ppg.
Central Michigan has four wins this season. Two have come against non-Division 1 foes. The others, Coppin State and Appalachian State, both rank outside the KenPom top 240. The Chippewas and UW have two similar opponents. CMU fell to both Northern Illinois and Marquette, which were blowout wins for the Badgers. The Chippewas had one other game this season against a high-major opponent and were routed 107-65 by St. Louis.
This CMU team is abysmal defensively. The Chippewas enter Monday’s game ranked No. 343 in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency. Against a UW squad that’s probably going to want to take out some frustration following back-to-back losses, the Chippewas could have a big problem at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin 93 Central Michigan 64
