The Basics:
🏀 Central Arkansas at Wisconsin Badgers
📺 None (BTN Plus)
📻 1310 AM in Madison
All-Time Series: n/a
Last Meeting: 1st ever meeting
Projected Starting Lineups:
Central Arkansas Bears
*all stats from 2015-16 season
G Jordan Howard – Jr. 5-11, 180 (20.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.8 agp)
G Mathieu Kamba – Jr. 6-5, 210 (10.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.3 apg)
F Derreck Brooks – Sr. 6-6, 185 (12.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.9 apg)
F Aaron Weidenaar – Fr. 6-5, 205 (N/A)
C Alber Christensson – Jr. 6-9, 225 (2.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 0.1 apg)
Wisconsin Badgers
G Bronson Koenig – Sr. 6-3, 190 (13.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.4 apg)
G Zak Showalter – Sr. 6-3, 185 (7.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.2 apg)
F Nigel Hayes – Sr. 6-8, 240 (15.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.0 apg)
F Vitto Brown – Sr. 6-8, 235 (9.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 0.8 apg)
C Ethan Happ – So. 6-10, 232 (12.4 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.3apg)
Biggest Matchup: Jordan Howard vs. Bronson Koenig
Guard play is key to winning in the Big Ten, and the Wisconsin Badgers have one of the best point guards in the country in Bronson Koenig. However, he is going to have to come out hot out of the gate this season to prove he deserves that kind of hype.
Koenig has a massive size advantage over Howard, but the UCA point guard is also one of the most shifty players the Badgers are going to see. At 5-11, Howard isn’t afraid to mix it up and he isn’t afraid to launch from deep either. He hit 42.8 percent of his three-point attempts last season, and keeping him in check is going to be a big responsibility for Koenig.
All offseason we heard about the gains made in explosiveness by the training Koenig did. This will be a great chance to show that defensively and for him to use that size and explosiveness to his advantage.
3 Numbers to Know:
— 37: That is the percentage UW allowed opponents to shoot from beyond the arc in 2015-16. It also happens to be the percentage that UCA shot from three-point range last year. Wisconsin’s three-point defense was just 12th in the Big Ten, and will be tested in a big way in this one. Getting teams to have to try and play inside is to the Badgers advantage.
— 71: That is the number of points needed by Bronson Koenig to reach the 1,000-point mark. It is highly unlikely that Koenig hits that plateau on Friday night, but it won’t be long before he becomes part of that elite club in UW basketball history. Just 42 players have hit that mark in the history of Badgers basketball, with Nigel Hayes already at the mark on this team.
— 400, 60, 30: Star forward Ethan Happ had at least 400 points, 60 steals and 30 blocks last season. That made him just the third freshman in the last 15 years to reach those three marks combined. He joined some really good company, with only Kevin Durant and DuJuan Blair also reaching those numbers.
Prediction: Wisconsin 88, Central Arkansas 52
Wisconsin will likely hold the experience advantage over most teams it faces in the 2016-17 season. That isn’t totally the case here, but the reality is that Central Arkansas isn’t that great of a team and doesn’t pose a huge threat to the Badgers.
No way we see a repeat of the shock defeat to Western Illinois to start last season. Look for UW to comfortably win this one and get a lot of good looks at various rotations in the second half. My only question is if the Badgers can top the 90-point mark. After all, opponents averaged 83.4 points per game against the Bears.
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