Men's Basketball
Buckeyes Hope to End Badger Dominance Tonight
By John Porentas
Ohio State and Wisconsin have met on the hardwood nine times in the last four years. The Badgers have won seven of those meetings.
The last time the Buckeyes were able to pull off a victory against Wisconsin was on March 14, 2003 in the Big Ten tournament, a 58-50 win. The last time the Buckeyes beat the Badgers in the regular season was on February 10, 2001, a 63-58 OSU win in Columbus.
In between those wins, the Badgers have pretty much pummeled the Buckeyes. They have won the last five meetings in a row dating back to the 2002-2003 season, the worst thumping in that streak a 78-48 pasting on February 14, 2004.
This season the Badgers took the game in Madison 72-66 on January 11, then followed up with a win in Columbus on February 27, 64-56. In the first meeting, Wisconsin forward Mike Wilkinson torched the Buckeyes for 29 points and 10 rebounds. The Buckeyes shot just 42% from the field in that game. In the second meeting, the Buckeyes did a little better on Wilkinson, limiting him to 14, but fellow forward Alando Tucker dropped in 19 to make up for Wilkinson's drop off.
The Badgers won this year's meetings by dominating on the baseline on the offensive end, then taking OSU's guards out of the game on the defensive end. In the second meeting, no OSU guard scored more than five points. If the Buckeyes are to have any chance against the Badgers, they have to get some scoring from Tony Stockman, Je'Kell Foster, Brandon Fuss-Cheatham and Jamar Butler on the offensive end. On the defensive end, OSU will have to control Wilkinson and Tucker.
The Badgers had a bye on the opening day of the Big Ten tournament by virtue of their No. 3 seed. The two teams will tip off in the fourth game of the day at 9:10 EST. The winner of that game will play the winner of the Iowa vs. Michigan State game on Saturday.
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