After regular-season title, Badgers turn focus to Big Ten tourney
MADISON, Wis. -- The way Josh Gasser sees it, Wisconsin has entered Big Ten tournament play the past several seasons reaching for something it hadn't attained. Yes, the Badgers have consistently finished in the top four during Gasser's time here. But without a regular-season championship, an even grater emphasis was placed on winning the league tournament.
Each time, the Badgers have fallen short.
This year, Wisconsin will open the Big Ten tournament at 11 a.m. CT Friday as the No. 1 seed after capturing the regular-season crown for the first time since 2008. But count Gasser among those who insist winning the regular-season championship won't change the team's focus on capturing the tournament title one bit.
"We want to go down as one of the best teams to ever come through here," Gasser said. "And the more trophies you can have on your side, that's nice to have. We want to win it all. We want to win everything we can win. Just because we won the regular season title doesn't mean we're going to value the tournament any less. So I'm excited for it."
Wisconsin will play the winner of the No. 8 Illinois/No. 9 Michigan game, and the Badgers are considered heavy favorites to win the tournament title after zipping through regular-season play with a 16-2 conference record -- two games better than second-place Maryland. Yet even after dominating for large stretches of league play, Badgers players say there is plenty to play for in the conference tournament.
Wisconsin has an opportunity to move up and snatch a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament if the Badgers win their three tournament games and another team falters. Most prognosticators list Kentucky, Virginia, Duke and Villanova on the top seed line, though a Villanova loss could catapult Wisconsin.
However, it's also quite possible that Wisconsin's seed line is set regardless of the Big Ten tournament outcome. UW is projected as a No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region -- the same bracket as Kentucky.
Badgers forward Nigel Hayes said he hadn't forgotten last year's Big Ten tournament, in which Wisconsin lost to Michigan State, 83-75, in a semifinal game.
"I think we all remember how bad Michigan State beat us up in that game," Hayes said. "It was pretty embarrassing, got really out of hand. And we're all competitive. We don't want to lose. We're already still mad about the three losses (overall) that we have this year. We're not going to try and go to a tournament, especially the next game in the Big Ten tournament, saying, 'Well, we don't necessarily need to win just because we've already won it.'
"We're going to go in there and try to win every game because our mindset now is that you're not guaranteed any more games. It's one and done, so we've got to treat the rest of the season like that."
It remains to be seen how much a quality performance in the Big Ten tournament can serve as a springboard for Wisconsin into the NCAA tournament. When Wisconsin reached the Big Ten tournament championship two years ago, the Badgers promptly lost to Ole Miss in the opening round of NCAA tournament play for the first time in Bo Ryan's tenure. Last year's team, which Michigan State bruised in the tournament semifinal, reached Ryan's first Final Four.
Being a No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament guarantees nothing when it comes to advancing in the conference tournament. Wisconsin earned the top seed under Ryan in 2002 and 2003 and lost its first game in the quarterfinal round both seasons. In 2008, however, Ryan's team won the outright regular-season title and the conference tournament title but lost in the Sweet 16 to Stephen Curry's Davidson team.
For now, the NCAA tournament expectations can wait. Wisconsin players have their sights set on earning one more trophy. And they say they need little incentive to perform well.
"You always want to win," Badgers center Frank Kaminsky said. "We came close my sophomore year. Last year we had an opportunity and we let it slip through the cracks. We know this year that we're the No. 1 seed and we're the favorite to win the whole thing. We've just got to go out there and play how we know how to play. That'll help us come tournament time."
Game prep: Ryan said Wisconsin would spend one day this week preparing for Illinois and another day game-planning to face Michigan in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinal. On Thursday, the Badgers will then go through a scout practice against the winning team. Illinois and Michigan play at 11 a.m. CT Thursday, which is the first game of the second round.
"That's how we've always done it," Ryan said. "We've been fortunate enough to play on Friday, so we've been able to do that."
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