Wisconsin Sports on the go with Trag

March 4: Hour 2 Badgers and WBC

• Tragen • Episode 369

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We move from WBC contenders to NFL quarterback resets, then dive into Wisconsin’s surge, Braden Carrington’s breakout, Miami of Ohio’s at-large case, and the Badgers’ Big Ten seeding math before previewing Maryland and the keys to avoid a trap

• USA, DR, Venezuela, Japan, and Netherlands as WBC teams to watch
• why several NFL teams need a quarterback reset
• the mellow yellow minute on Argentina’s top sports
• Carrington’s nine-threes spark and two-way value
• Miami of Ohio’s undefeated résumé vs at-large standards
• Wisconsin’s three-point volume, ball movement, and rotations
• Big Ten tiebreakers, paths from 3 to 7 seed
• Maryland preview with focus on Andre Mills and guard defense
• keys: protect the ball, win paint touches, control rebounds

Check out Christian’s work: thebadgerbacker.com
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Make sure you guys check him out. Shopping at the Bit on Podbean, Facebook, and YouTube


Kickoff, Sponsors, And Show Roadmap

SPEAKER_02

Welcome back into Wisconsin Sports on the Go with Trade. I'm your host, Trades, as we're coming back in here for hour number two of the show here tonight. Hope you guys are enjoying your Wednesday so far here. And this next segment of the show here, Kyle stopping by. We're gonna talk a little bit of World Baseball Classic. We're gonna talk a little NFL. This next segment is brought to you by JBC Screen Printing and Embroidery. They take pride in their work because your image is their business. Check them out there. JBC Screen Printing and Embroidery. So Kyle is here tonight. Kyle, how are we doing on this Wednesday?

SPEAKER_00

Oh, I'm good. Uh it seems like it's a it's a slower time, but world baseball classic. Got free agency, got NFL draft coming down the line. So in terms of like action, it seems like it's slow, but still plenty to watch, though. It's crazy.

SPEAKER_02

If you want games or like actual games, it's a slow time. If you like the outside stuff and like preparing for the season and all that kind of stuff, it's your time of year. It's definitely your time of year right now. So, Kyle, as always, we have to hit our favorite portion of the show here, and that is the mellow yellow minute, the trivia portion of the hour in our trivia portion of the show in honor of my grandpa. He loved trivia, he loved mellow yellow. We call it the mellow yellow minute. So Kyle has one minute to list off, and we have been doing the top five sports in different countries. And this week we are traveling to Argentina, where we will be doing the top five sports in Argentina. So Kyle loves to list them off five to one. So I'm gonna I'm gonna name the five sports in no particular order, and Kyle's gonna guess them five to one here. So we have basketball, tennis, field hockey, soccer, and rugby. So Kyle, one minute on the clock starting right now. What do you got for me? Five to one.

SPEAKER_00

Okay. So I feel like normally you gotta think of big athletes. I feel like I know number one. I feel like I always know number one. Five. Gotta be field hockey.

SPEAKER_02

Five is not field hockey. Five is not field hockey. It's in the it's in the ballpark, though. It's in the ballpark.

SPEAKER_00

Uh is it rugby.

SPEAKER_02

It is not rugby. Rugby is gonna surprise you. Rugby is gonna surprise you on this list.

SPEAKER_00

It's gotta be tennis then. Okay, no, it's not. It is tennis.

SPEAKER_02

That was in the realm. See, it's hitting the ball with a stick. So I figured, you know, that's in the realm of field hockey, and you know, I don't know. I'm just I just I'm just a host here. So, anyways, tennis comes in at number five. We have basketball, field hockey, rugby, and soccer left on the board.

SPEAKER_00

So then, based off of that, four has got to be field hockey.

SPEAKER_02

It is field hockey. Field hockey comes in at number four. So we have rugby, basketball, and football left, or well, soccer left on the board.

SPEAKER_00

Three. Is it rugby?

SPEAKER_02

It is not rugby.

SPEAKER_00

So three's gotta be basketball.

SPEAKER_02

It is basketball at number three. So you're down to two spots there, Kyle. We're clocking, we're down to ten seconds. Kyle, what do you got for me? Two and one, rugby or soccer?

SPEAKER_00

Rugby has to be two because soccer is absolutely one. Leonardo.

WBC Contenders And USA’s Middle Infield

SPEAKER_02

There you go. There we go. You got it. One second before the clock dings. Kyle gets it. Five to one. We have tennis, field hockey, basketball, rugby, and soccer. Other sports in Argentina. Notable mentions on the list. Polo, pato, pato? I don't even know. It's a some gameplay, high-speed game played on horseback. That's all I know. And volleyball. Doesn't fit in at all with the pato and polo, but it's it's in there. It's definitely what is what is pato? A game played on horseback that combines elements from polo and basketball. There we go. We have our homework. Figure out what pato is and go play it. I got some horses, Kyle. We'll play it in the backyard. I don't know if I got a room. That's what I'm saying. I haven't seen this game on the Ocho. So I I saw a game the other day I was watching. It's it was not an ESP and the Ocho. It's like roof ball where you throw the ball up on the roof and you watch. And I'm like, I remember throwing a ball up in a roof as a kid, but this is an actual sport that they play for points, and it's wild some of the things that you see out there. You there was pinball on the outro the other day. There's there's too many, too many kickball. I've watched kickball on there before. It's it gets wild when you watch me in the outro. I'd recommend it because you see a lot of things that you're like, I played that as a kid, and now there's adults playing it for sports. So yeah, it's definitely wild there. So, Kyle, we gotta talk about the world baseball classic coming up here. We got games coming up tonight as we're talking. There's one game happening tonight, and then we have some games starting up tomorrow. The USA, USA's team will play on Friday there. So, Kyle, I mean, just talking about the world baseball classic. Any teams that are sticking out to you right now, any rosters that stick out to you?

SPEAKER_00

Oh well, I think obviously you gotta go US. You know, you have Judge, Kyle Raleigh, got Skeens, Scoobyl. I mean, their whole roster obviously is well known. So they're they're obviously a roster to watch. I like Dominican Republic as well. They're another team loaded with MLB stars. They like this, this is their passionate sport. This is their livelihood. So you know they're gonna show out well. Third, I like Venezuela. I know a lot of people like Japan because of Shohei. You gotta remember Shohei's not pitching. I think Venezuela has a team that you know they may not have the highlight-worthy like 400 home 400-foot home runs or anything like that. They just have ball players like Churio and guys like that who are on there. I think they can you know give you headaches on the base paths. I think they're a team to watch. Like I said, Japan and then a sneaky team, the Netherlands, lineup-wise, all recognizable names, and they are usually really good middle infielders. And once again, they're they're loaded there. So I think those are teams to watch come the start of the world baseball classic.

SPEAKER_02

I like it. I have no complaints with that list right there. There's a lot of good teams heading into this one. You know, you talked about middle infields, the U.S. team's middle infield with Bryce Tarang and Bobby Witt. That is a lot of ground that's going to be covered between those two guys. Oh man. Like just thinking about Bryce Tarang being paired up with Bobby Whipp Jr. When you look at Bryce Tarang with Joey Ortiz, that's a lot of ground being covered. Now you have a guy like Bobby Witt next to him. That's a lot of ground being covered right there. So I can't wait to watch that middle infield for the U.S. If they play it smart. I know you have Gunnar Henderson on that bench. Who else was the other? There's another infielder that I'm thinking of because Bregman's most likely going to be in there. You're going to have Bryce Harper at first base. I'm thinking there's Gunnar Henderson's in that infield, and there's somebody else who's in that infield for Team USA. And I can't, off the top of my head, I'm trying to think of who the heck it is, but I can't remember. Oh man, it's Gunnar Henderson, Bobby Witt, Bryce Tarang. There's another guy who I thought could kind of fit into the fold of that middle infield. Oh, that's gonna bite. That's gonna bite. I thought I Ernie Klement. Ernie Clement's also in there. So you have another guy who can kind of go around that infield there. But I think you have to go because middle infield wins games, and that's gonna be Bryce Tarang and Bobby Wood Jr. So if they do it right, if they play it right, those two will be the starting middle infield for Team USA here in the World Baseball Classic. So I'm excited. Friday night, got that coming up there. Bryce Turing, I believe, had a hit there against. They played the Giants in their exhibition game. And Bryce Turang had a hit in there. I think Aaron Judge. I who hit the home run? Alex Bregman had a home run in that game there. Uh Aaron Judge, when I had last look, was two for two. So I mean they had a fantastic game there. So can't wait to watch some Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. I mean, I can't wait to watch the whole thing because there is good games across the board, a lot of good rosters, a lot of good players. I can't wait to watch World Baseball Classic in general there. So can't wait. So, Kyle, let's flip to the NFL. We had a lit, we were gonna, we we were like, what can we talk about today? And I I wanted to know who Kyle thinks. Which NFL teams need fresh starts at the quarterback spot? So just looking across the league, Kyle. When I asked that question, who are the NFL teams when you think of them that could use fresh starts? That's quarterback spot, should I say?

SPEAKER_00

Right, right, exactly. Um, there's there's quite a few, actually. So Dolphins are one. We we know what Tua, the the health concerns, obviously the coaching change. You feel like there's gonna be a change there. I do think they need to reset the quarterback room. Whether it's Quinn Ewers or somebody else, they have to. The Jets, it's always been an issue with them. Drafting and developing top quarterback talent, they don't seemly uh they aren't seemingly able to get like top flight guys in free agency, but they coming off of the Justin Fields season, they need to reset their quarterback room. The Steelers, in a sense, that they brought in Mike McCarthy almost to woo Aaron Rodgers back, but I think they are another franchise that's struggled finding that quarterback since Big Ben left. Like they could definitely uh use the services of a young quarterback to kind of grow into that role. The Browns, with all the quarterbacks that they are paying, it's seemingly it's coming down to like Shador versus Deshaun Watson. I think as as an organization, they kind of just need to pull the plug on Deshaun Watson stuff. If he lingers for one more year, deal with it and then look post him as to who's gonna be the guy, whether they're committed to Shador or not. The Raiders who are telling us this by going basically to get Fernando Mendoza number one, they're gonna reset it from Geno Smith. Vikings, there's questions about J.J. McCarthy. I I think it's a little overblown because you took him knowing he wasn't a finished product, and now there's questions as to whether or not he's the guy. He wasn't the guy coming out of Michigan. You took him develop him, but I do think they're gonna probably bring in a vet to probably push him a little bit. The Falcons have a guy in Panix who's hurt and with history. I do think the Falcons have to seriously consider their quarterback room. The Rams have to look post-Safford. Stafford's not gonna be around forever, and then the Cardinals. Cardinals have told us they're gonna release Kyler Murray if they can't trade him. I can't see a team trading for him. So, what is their quarterback plans going forward with their new head coach? That's a good section of the league, but I think those are all situations that really need a hard looking at and making some decisions.

NFL Teams That Need QB Fresh Starts

SPEAKER_02

There's a lot of core, there's a lot of need for fresh starts, is what you're telling me right now. There's a lot of need for fresh start there at the quarterback spot. You know, you listed off some teams, it's like next season they're not looking necessarily for a new guy. Like you mentioned, the Rams with Stafford. It's like Stafford's gonna be here for next year, but you want to have that guy to give you that fresh start moving forward. And even a guy like Rogers, if you're gonna bring Rodgers back to Pittsburgh, get somebody if that's Will Howard that you think is gonna be the next guy. Okay, then you have to commit to Will Howard, like you said with the Browns, committing to Shador Sanders or finding the next guy. You have to commit if you're these teams. Like you look at the Vikings, it seems like they're half in, half out on JJ McCarthy, and then you find out it's like, oh, maybe Kevin O'Connell actually wanted to bring in Aaron Rodgers this whole time. It was just the GM that didn't want to bring in Aaron Rodgers. So then you're like, okay, were they ever really committed to JJ McCarthy or has he just kind of been there? So a lot of teams needing fresh starts there at the quarterback spot. Some definitely some big ones for sure with the two uh and especially Arizona, the Jets, like lots of good, lots of teams need fresh starts. So, Kyle, thank you as always for stopping by the show here tonight. Here, let the people know where to find you out there across social media.

SPEAKER_00

So if we go uh Podbean, Facebook, YouTube, Shopping at the Bit, easiest way to find me.

SPEAKER_02

Make sure you guys check him out. He has fantastic stuff there across all the social media platforms. He's talking about stuff like this. He's getting into the NBA, he's getting over to college basketball, college football, whatever's happening in the sporting world. Kyle's covering it at Shopping at the Bit. So make sure you guys check him out there. So when we come back from the break, Christian's gonna stop by. We're gonna talk some badgers. Get you ready for that game coming up tonight here against Maryland. We'll be right back here. I was kind of Wisconsin Sports on the go with Trage. I'm your host, Trage, as we're coming back in here on this Wednesday. And hey, this next segment, Christian stopping by. We're gonna talk a little badger hoops. This next segment is brought to you by Cassam Spice. Are you craving bold gourmet flavor without those MSGs, fillers, or excess salts? Meet Casa M Spice Company, the award-winning spice building, born in Texas. This stuff is fantastic. You can put it on anything. I put it on my ribs this last weekend. Wow. Wow. You will be known as the backyard master, the BBQ master, whatever you want to call it. You'll be known as that. It's not BBQ, though. It's Texas Spice. It is Texas Spice. Check them out there. Casa M Spice Company. So Christian is here tonight. Christian, how are we doing on this Wednesday?

SPEAKER_01

Good. We're good. We're uh we're we're getting by.

SPEAKER_02

How's the sleep regression going? Are we doing good with that? Are we getting better?

SPEAKER_01

Hit or miss, man. You know how it goes. Like it's uh, I don't know. He has a good night, and then all of those things like two bad nights. It's you know, parents.

SPEAKER_02

It's the fun of it. It's the fun of it. Yeah, it's it's like personalities change. It's like kind of like that. It's it's like that. What is that movie? What is that movie? The split where he's got like 21 personalities. That's what you got like, that's what you gotta chalk it down. Like kids just have a lot of personalities and you just gotta work through them all. So, anyways, before we get to the badgers, before we get to the badgers, I have two things I want to hit. First, we have to hit our Coss M. Spice bold player of the week. So, Christian, who do you have for me? Who is your Coss M Spice bold player of the week? Who gets that award this week?

SPEAKER_01

Well, I'll give you the easy one. I'm gonna go with Nick Boyd. I'll go with Nick Boyd. He's dude, I don't know where I don't know where John Blackwell is. Like, I don't know, but thank God we have one guard who just shows up day in and day out. Yes, he didn't go off quite like Harrington did, but he's just consistent, he's reliable, right? So it's I I gotta look up, I can't even remember what his stats are for, but he was pretty close to like 22 9 and 5.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I knew he was pretty good.

SPEAKER_01

Well, not in points wise, but was it the Oregon game? No, game before that. Didn't he like lead the team in all in points, rebounds, and assists? He had just had a heck of a game, and he almost had a triple-double. Yeah, so it's that kind of thing. I'd see he's just consistent, so I just wanted to keep I want to keep going, Nick Boyd here.

SPEAKER_02

I do, I like that one. It was it's a toss-up, right? He gave me the easy one, as he said, and that's gotta be Braden Carrington. Braden Carrington was absolutely fantastic against Washington, set a program record with those nine threes in that game there at 32 points. Brayden Carrington has been the underrated star of this team. Fantastic. We we talked about him coming into the year. We said this guy could be good, he could be something. He's gonna be a three-point shooter, and that's about it. He's turning into so well, like when you come off a game where you hit nine threes, you're like, this guy's just a three-point shooter. He's so much more than that. Yes, he hit nine threes. Yes, he's very good from behind the arc, but this guy is very good in many facets. We're gonna get into it talking about him later on here in the segment. But I mean, he has been nothing but fantastic, and he was he shot the lights out of the building this one. 32 points. Had he neither he had an opportunity for 10. He already set the record. He had an opportunity for 10. I 11. He was, I mean, right there. He he was pulling up shots later in the game there that probably he wouldn't have took. Well, I shouldn't say wouldn't have taken regular because he'll pull up from he'll pull up from 35 like it's nothing. It's just it's just painful. The heat check that he had that Blackwell came up the floor and just kind of flipped it to him, and he just turned and fired. I was like, Yeah, he's feeling it. Like the and the announcers, like they this was a blowout game that the announcers were having fun just because Braden Carrington couldn't miss, and that's why they were having fun with this game here, which is the way the badgers were shooting. So, I mean, all in all, the badger shot the ball well in this game, but Braden Carrington was definitely the star coming out in this one. So, one thing I want to hit before we get to the badgers. Bruce Pearl made a comment, and I know a lot of people, some people don't see eye to eye with Bruce Pearl. I thought he was a good coach, you know. Right now, as a media personality, I don't know so much about that, but he came out with this comment about Miami of Ohio. And Christian knows that I have this thing about Miami of Ohio where I just want them to lose. So he sends me a graphic every time they win and shows me that they moved to 28 and 0, 29 and 0. He makes sure that I know about it. So Miami of Ohio is still undefeated. Bruce Pearl said that they should not be an at-large bid just because of where they come from, the conference that they come from. They don't have technically don't know they don't have a quad one win. If you go by quad games, that's the metrics that everybody goes off of now. They don't have that big win on their resume. They have some quad two wins, they have a lot of quad three, they don't have that, they're undefeated in those, right? But they don't have that quad one win. So everybody's looking at them saying, do they deserve an at-large bid? And now we were talking about an at-large bid is just you're automatically in the tournament. That's what at-large means. It doesn't mean like six to one in the seeding line, it means you just automatically make the tournament and whatever seed you get. Right now, Joel Linardi has him as an 11 seed.

Transition To Badger Hoops And Sponsors

SPEAKER_01

So it's not like at-large means like you're potentially potentially lining up with Wisconsin if they get a six. So there you go.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I don't want that.

SPEAKER_01

But that's the thing. Like, Wisconsin could easily be the ones to knock them off, and then how that'd be like I would be okay with it, but there's so many people talking smoke.

SPEAKER_02

Well, yeah, but like so many people are talking on social media and they're like, Wisconsin could beat them, and I'm like, Don't say that. Just don't say that.

SPEAKER_01

Everyone deserved me that's what I can beat them. James Madison, what was that? Was that a 5-12 matchup we had that year? 5-12, yeah. Uh-huh. 5-12 like the worst draw.

SPEAKER_02

It's always the team that everybody's like, this team could go and run on an attorney, and then they're like, oh, they play the badgers. Great, they're great. There they are. There they are. We'll take them on. Don't worry, guys. So yeah, I don't want that matchup. But Christian, does Miami of Ohio deserve an at-large bid? Do they deserve one?

Bold Player Of The Week: Boyd And Carrington

SPEAKER_01

I mean, I think so. I'm at large. I don't know. I think if they don't win the conference tournament, we'll have to see what happens. But I just to me, I'm like, I think their storyline is also kind of a little like, okay, we get it, they're undefeated. They haven't, but they haven't played anyone. But at the same time, it's partially their fault because they should. I mean, they're a max school, right? But like they haven't even, don't you think normally other max schools would be scheduling like Wisconsin's played two max schools already? Like, why isn't Miami of Ohio scheduling any of those bigger conference opponents, right? They haven't played like anybody. So, like, no, I don't know. I feel like if they lose, even any, I don't know. I think it depends. If they how many, how many years do you see multiple max schools making it? Never. So, like, if they lose and they don't win their conference tournament and they have a super weak schedule, which is or their net ratings, which is what the committee goes off of, and like looks at their resume, they haven't necessarily beaten anyone worth anything. I don't. I kind of I guess I'm kind of with Bruce Pearl. I'm talking myself into it a little bit here. I think if you want to make the NCAA tournament, you gotta beat some decent competition. You can't just play your conference, your your mid-major conference, and then just a bunch of like other schools that aren't very good either.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, I've I've talked myself into both sides of it at this point. I've talked myself into both sides. You look back at like March Madness snubs over the year and like St. Mary's in 2018, they were 28 and 5. They were at number 24 in the nation, and they were left out of the tournament. You look at 2023's Rutgers, they were top 40 in the net rankings, they were left out of the tournament. Indiana State in 2024, they were left out of the tournament, along with teams like St. John's and Providence coming out of that. And then West Virginia, Boise State, and Indiana were all left out in 2025, and they all had late season surges to get there. So just a lot of, I mean, you look USC in 2018, they're 23 and 11. And they made it to the Pac-12 tournament final and were left out of the tournament. So there's been a lot of teams over the years been left out. I don't think Miami of Ohio will be left out because I don't think you can. They're undefeated if they stay undefeated.

SPEAKER_01

There's no way that's if they're undefeated and they win their conference and they get an automatic bid, right? But if they stumble in this last week or you know, in the conference tournament, really.

SPEAKER_02

If they do, they had to lose in the first round of the conference tournament. Like it couldn't be conference championship. Like, I think a conference if they faced off against Buffalo one more time, like I feel like Buffalo is a decent team.

SPEAKER_01

True, they are, and Daniel free fright takes having a huge season. But right, if but that's the thing, like like I like I just said, how often do you see two Mac teams make it? And yes, I know they're rents, but if they even if they would have lost one game, that one they lost really close last week, they wouldn't, they would have tumbled in the rankings, they wouldn't have even gotten a vote. So that's what I'm saying. Like, I get what Bruce Pearl's saying. Yes, right. I don't think he if they go undefeated, obviously they're gonna they deserve to be in the term, they're gonna be a term, they're gonna win their conference, their conference tournament, they get an automatic bid. But if they lose and they have this record and they are not automatic bids, should at should they get in as an at-large school? Like, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02

Bruce Pearl's just been saying what we've been all saying for years.

SPEAKER_01

Like, but it's I guess it's I I'm gonna say it's like the same vein as like college football. Yeah, like we all got like if you if you just schedule cupcake after cupcake in your non-conference, you know what I mean? Like, yeah, yeah, you're gonna have a good record, and if that's all that the committee cares about, then who no one's gonna schedule those big out-of-conference games anymore. So I don't know.

SPEAKER_02

It's a tough if you're well, I know the committee only does so much because they just punch it into a computer these days and just let it ride. But I mean, if you're the committee at this point, you're in a tough spot, right? Because if you let Miami, Ohio in, say they lose a couple games, you let them in. Well, now you're at the mercy of if another school does it. What do you do? And then I see what Bruce Pearl's saying because I've been saying it for years. You do you ever have the best 68 teams that make the field because you have your play-in games? Do you ever have the best ones? And that's why they're talking about expanding the tournament is to try to get your quote unquote best teams. Because as a lot of these coaches and that like to argue, the bottom of the Big Ten is still good. They just, you know, get beat up by the top cut out. The SEC, same thing. Like it's that hard coin that you have there where both sides you can understand with what they're saying, you get your automatic bids, and then after that, who's going to make it in? I don't know. It depends if there's a team that's equal, right? There's depends if there's a team out there who looks decent and they're at the on the bubble, and you're like, ah, should they make it, should they not? That's the only way they could be left off is if there's one of those two.

SPEAKER_01

So if you think about it this way, too, yeah. So if you want the best 68 teams in, but yes, with the all automatic qualifiers, do you really think if Miami of Ohio doesn't win their conference, so they would have to be at large bids, are they better than Ohio State or USC or Iowa? And I mean, I think Iowa's pretty solidly in, but you know, I mean, like any of Iowa's got a brutal last two skate two games here. Yep. I think they got Michigan and they got Illinois. I think that's what it is. I was looking at it. Yeah. So they could easily drop a little bit, and then if they lose in the first or second round of the Big Ten tournament, are they on the bubble? Are you gonna put Miami Ohio in over them or Ohio State in as at large bids? I think if you truly want the best tournament possible, yeah, you you go for the bigger schools, you go for the power conferences, not the mid-majors, but I don't know. Everyone wants to sit in the level, too.

Undefeated Debates: Miami Of Ohio’s At-Large Case

SPEAKER_02

That's the hard game that you're gonna play. Is that if you do say, okay, Miami, Ohio, you went 20 or probably 31 and one or whatever it is, and we left you off because you didn't play a good schedule, right? And then it comes down to that. Well, then you're saying, okay, all these small schools, you have to schedule big schools because otherwise you're not gonna make the tournament, which is understandable. You want them to have good games, good wins, play good teams. You can understand that from that side, but you can also understand from the other side where it's like maybe you have a school that teams are just like, we don't want to play that team. We we don't want to go play them because they might beat us, right? They might beat us. Now, that's a bad way to look at it from a good team perspective, or like not a good team, right? I don't want to say Miami Ohio is a good team. Like they are a good team. I don't want to knock on them and say they're not a good team. They're a good team, they have a lot of good pieces there. But you don't want to say, well, if Alabama's like, I don't want to play them because, well, they might beat us, right? And then Miami, Ohio is like, okay, well, we tried, right? And you have seen coaches that have tried to reach out to schools to play them and they just won't. So maybe, maybe Miami of Ohio was in that same boat. Maybe they tried to play teams and they just said, nah, we don't got room for you. We don't got room for you on our schedules, so it's just not gonna work out. I don't know, but at the same time, you can only work with what your schedule has. So we'll see. We'll just kind of see what happens with Miami of Ohio there. But Christian, let's jump over to the Badgers. Badgers got a big win, a much needed win. We went into that one, and the only thing we said in our preview of that game was they need this game. That's all we said. That's that's all you had to say about that game was they needed to come in. They needed to show that they were the better team, that they owned it, that they were needed, like that they needed this game. That's what they needed to show, that they needed this game more than Washington. They did that. Like, if you put this game next to the Oregon game and said, What was what was your uh perspective coming out of this one? I would have said in the Oregon game, they looked like they were uh, well, we're here, we're here. This might be happening. Washington, it looked like we need this game, we need to win this game. We're gonna put our foot down, gasput, and let it ride. They did that in this one. They held Washington at 21 points in the first half. They controlled it from there on out, 36 to 21 in that first half there. And then from then on, it was just a butt-kicking of you know how it goes, how it goes for this badger team here. They shot 46% for the field. Washington did shoot 46% from the field in this one too. But the difference was 17 threes in this one for the Badgers versus four for Washington. So definitely didn't bring that there. I'm on the three-point arc, but oh no, Christian. I mean, just coming off this game, what'd you like? What did you like coming off this game from what you saw?

SPEAKER_01

It's just, I mean, obviously, I like their shooting. I liked the offense. The ball moved. They I mean, they lit it up, especially Braden Carrington. It's just, I mean, what's their not take? I mean, I could I think their defense still could have given up 52 points in the second half, and I know some of that was in garbage time, but still not crazy about that. Um, but I mean, just the offense and especially bench scoring, it's super nice to have Braden Carrington come be hit between him and Rap. Like when they're making subs, I'm not especially worried about it. And we talked about this earlier this year, too. And oh, do we would you put rap back in? I think I think it's perfect the way it is. I think it was kind of a blessing in disguise that rap struggled early to put Beleuscus in there to be the starter, and then I think it like offensively it pairs nicely, right? Like when if rap was on the floor with those starters and stuff, like that kind of disminu diminishes his role offensively a little bit. But if he's in with the second unit or even just like the first half half of the first unit, you know, like instead of Beleuscus, and maybe you take out maybe you take out uh um Nolan Winter too, and so then you have like I don't know Nick Boyd and you have Austin Rapp. Like those are your top two options, and then maybe Carrington's in there too. Like those three are still solid, and two of the three are bench players. So I I really like I think guards kind of like he's really dialed in on the rotations, and I think they're kind of well, it's that's the thing. It's easy to say. I think they're kind of hitting their stride at the right time again, but they struggled at Oregon. But hopefully, we won't have any more West Coast games that we need to worry about. Chicago's nice and close to Madison for the Big Ten tournament, so I don't I'm not super worried about the travel anymore because they just have to go to Purdue and that's it. So I think I I really like their offense. I'm hoping that obviously that just keeps happening. Um I kind of talked about after the uh Oregon game. What was what did they shoot? 45 threes? 45, yeah. Program record, a program record. I'm like, okay, maybe we need to dial it back on the threes a little bit where they threw up 38 in this against Washington. So they're not slowing down. So I mean, I ate my words, I guess. I'm just like I'd like to see a little more, you know, a little less threes. And I guess they did see a few, some fewer threes, but overall, I just the offense looked awesome, especially Braden Carrington. Um, and like we talked about the you know, bold players of the game, Nick Boyd is just super steady and consistent. He always shows up, even if he has kind of a down first half. Like, you know he's gonna like okay, then he's gonna come, he's gonna show up the second half. So I just that's I guess that's what I really liked about it.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, 19 threes in the first half, 19 in the second half, because they were just pulling up their first half stats. There were six for 19 in the first half there. So they had a three-point explosion in the second half there because they had 17 on the game. So he hit 11 of them in that second half. And Brandon Carrington definitely led that charge with that one.

SPEAKER_01

Saying how many were Carrington?

SPEAKER_02

Right. Uh yeah, exactly. Uh, I was just thinking, you know, when you're talking about Bealowskis and keeping him in that starting role. I don't, you know, my problem with Bielowskis, and it was a problem that I had with Steven Crowell, is that they hesitate too much to shoot. And I know Bealowski sometimes it's like really far off or really on right. He's got he's got a shot that it's it's hit or miss, right? But when Bealowski is out there and he's not a threat at all and he's just looking to pass the basketball, he's not even looking at the rim, he's not even looking for attack, he's not looking to shoot. I have a problem with that. That's where when he's out at the three-point line, I have a problem because Austin Rapp, you know he's always looking to shoot. He'll look to pull it whenever. It doesn't matter if he's missed three in a row, he's gonna pull the fourth. Bielowskis, he gets in this mode where he doesn't even look. And if he's gonna be that way, I want him to stay in the post area. I don't want him on the outside because he's not doing any good for me on the outside there. Try to work the post and try to battle down there and get position and maybe get a ball down there. That's where I guess my biggest problem comes with Bielowski in a game like this. He had two threes, he was decent, did his job. Nothing crazy about his gameplay in this one, but did his job, and that's all you need from him. But I just want to see less hesitation, I guess, from Bielowskies is the big thing. I know he's young, I know he's growing into it. I know it's hard when you have guys like Nick Boyd and Carrington's having a game of his life, and you have Blackwell on the team and Nolan Winter. There's only so many basketballs go around. But also you want to have guys like Bielowskis and even a guy like Andrew Roddy still be that threat on the offensive end of the floor that they're still looking to shoot and looking to get theirs, even if they're maybe off, whatever. At least you're looking, so you're a threat out there. Otherwise, guys are just gonna back up, they're not gonna play defense on you, they're gonna be able to double guys easier. It's just gonna lead to more problems for guys like Nick Boyd, whoever, maybe off a ball screen and stuff like that. So that's where I guess I'm looking with Bielowskis. But I mean, you're 100% correct in this one here. The Badgers just offensively, the ball was moving and looked good. It was it was the Badgers of, well, they just lost the game, so now they're gonna start playing well again, right? You look at the Ohio State game, they didn't look great, came out against Iowa, looked great, looked bad against Oregon, came out against Washington, looked good. So hopefully this isn't a trend moving forward because in March you don't get a second chance. So hopefully, hopefully they start rolling off some wins here moving forward. But just all in all, a great game for the Badgers in this one here. Shot 100% from the free throw line. They only shot five free throws in this game. Five free throws. Five for five. Yeah, five for five. That's the stat I got up here. Five for five from the free throw line. Washington was 11 for 16, so definitely not much going on from the charity stripe in this one here. But all in all, I mean the Badgers look great in this game against Washington. The bounce back win that they needed. This was a game they should have had. Washington's been banged up. We're gonna talk about the Maryland game coming up. They are also banged up. One of their leading players has been out since, I believe, December there. So definitely been playing some banged up teams as of late. I mean, uh uh Shellstead was missing for Oregon there, and then you had, I can't remember the guard.

SPEAKER_01

Washington only, I think what did they say? Washington only had like seven scholarship players, right? So one team banged.

SPEAKER_02

I mean, they'd be a good team if they had their full team out there, right? So, I mean, even Oregon with Shellstead would look a lot better. So definitely dodge some bullets there. And now you have Maryland coming up next year. So when we come back from the break, we're gonna look ahead to Maryland. We're gonna talk about that game coming up tonight here after the show. We're gonna talk about that game. We have a bunch more to get into. We'll be right back here on Wisconsin Sports on the Go. Welcome back into Wisconsin Sports on the Go with Trage. I'm your host, Trage, as we're coming back in here on this Wednesday. And hey, this next segment of the show here is brought to you by Badger Tree Care. Do you got a tree that's become a problem? Call Trevor Barth at Badger Tree Care, your trusted insured tree service professional servant Clark and surrounding counties. He does fantastic work. Maybe it's it's now getting nice outside, right? Nicer weather, you're getting in the backyard, and you just found out that a tree fell down because you weren't looking because it was snow covered. You didn't know what was going on back there. Well, now you got this ugly tree laying in your backyard. Call Trevor Barth. He'll come over, he'll take care of that for you. Call him up there, Trevor Barth with Badger Tree Care. So Christian is sticking around. We're gonna talk about well, he's got an article that came out, so we're gonna get to that first, and then we're gonna look ahead of the Maryland game. So, Christian, the math behind Wisconsin's Big Ten tournament destiny. And if you guys haven't checked this out, we're gonna talk about kind of what was in there, but he broke it all down, talked about it all in there. So make sure you check it out. Search the badgerbacker.com. You can find it there, click into it, subscribe, subscribe to it. It's free. Free, people. Just remember that it's free. So, Christian, what is the math behind Wisconsin's Big Ten tournament destiny?

SPEAKER_01

Well, I just I don't know. I wanted something out there, so like I don't know, maybe I'm just weird like this, but I've always wanted to know like what are all the scenarios that can play out, especially the last week, you know, especially now like the the standings are absolutely just like a log jam. Um, the badgers could, depending on how these last two game go games go, the badgers could get anywhere from the three seed or drop all the way down to the seven seed. So just based on these two games, there's a big wide range. So it's kind of wanted to break it down for people who are interested in it. Um, so I don't know if you want me to go like down into detail in this, or what are you thinking?

Wisconsin’s Bounce-Back Win And Shot Profile

SPEAKER_02

If you want to break it down, we can. Oh, is it we we don't even have to break down your article? We can just talk about it. We can just talk about where we want to. Because we were kind of discussing it.

SPEAKER_01

It's gonna get too it's gonna get too nitty-gritty if we do that. No, I can tell you about it, so right, exactly.

SPEAKER_02

You know that we'll just quick hit it. We'll just quick hit it. So we kind of you and me were texting back and forth, and I would I said that if Michigan State, I believe Michigan State has to play Michigan yet on the schedule.

SPEAKER_01

They have to play West, and then they have uh someone else.

SPEAKER_02

Somebody else was good right before that, and I'm I'm blanking on who it was. It was it Illinois. No, they just played Illinois. No.

SPEAKER_01

No, I don't think it was anyone too difficult. Um, I think Michigan was their must have been the Ohio State game.

SPEAKER_02

It must have been just Ohio State. I said that they needed Ohio State to win, and then Michigan, they had later on the schedule that would have dropped two losses, would have came down to the badgers, then the badgers could have jumped them. And you came back and you said, Well, do you really want to get into that top four? Do you really want to be a top four seed? What does that do for you? So I guess, Christian, I mean, just hearing that from you, what are your thoughts on where I mean, you want to see the badgers get a top four seed, or do you think it really matters at this point where the badgers end up?

SPEAKER_01

I think if they can, you want to be at three. Because then I in my head, I want to avoid Illinois and I want to avoid well, I I don't know. I'd like to avoid Michigan State too, but I really want to avoid Michigan. The Badgers obviously already beat them once. How hard is that going to be to beat them again, right? Um, the team in the top four, I'm like not quite as scared of is Nebraska. I mean, maybe that's just me. I mean, but I just feel like, yeah, they were hot for a really long time, but they've kind of been stumbling a little bit. Um, but then again, Michigan, they just lost one of their, I mean, he has eight points a game. One of their players tore his ACL, so he's out. So maybe Michigan isn't as quite as daunting as you know, right. But so I just figured if you can get three, so then in the semifinals, you're gonna play the two seed rather than the one, if you were the four seed, right? Right. Um, I think I'd rather get three, but that would involve Illinois losing at least one, Michigan State losing two, and the Badgers winning out. I mean, because then if they went out, because technically we're tied with Purdue right now for fifth, but Purdue has the tiebreaker over us. But if we beat them on Saturday, we would split the season series. But the sec so if you like the head-to-head is tied, I this is what I love, and it benefits the Badgers so much. This is like I call it like their golden tiebreaker, where it benefits them. After you go head to head, if it's a tie, it goes the second tiebreaker is who has the best record against the number one team in the conference. And Wisconsin is the only team that's beaten Michigan. So we have the tiebreaker over Illinois because we're one and oh against them. We are one and oh against Michigan State. If we split with Purdue, Purdue did not beat Purdue, has not beaten Michigan, and either is UCLA if they come into this too, because we're one game ahead of them. So if they if they went out and we split, we'll technically be tied with them, but we also have the tiebreaker over them. But so we have we have we own the tiebreakers over everybody, uh assuming we beat Purdue except Nebraska. That's the only team we do not have a tiebreaker over. So I was kind of just going through and looking at like the what if, you know, if we go. So I did, you know, just the scenario. If the badgers go two and oh, they could be the three seed, they could or could have come up, jump up to if they go two, they could go to fives as low as five. They could be anywhere from three to five, so depending on what happens with Illinois and Michigan State. So um I don't know if I want five either, but so I think so. But if they lose out, I mean obviously that would suck. Losing to Michigan or losing to Maryland would be would be a huge hit on the resume. But also if they drop down to seven, I guess that would be who'd we play the winner of? It would be the 1015 game, which right now, as it sits, is Indiana and Nebraska. I wouldn't mind another I wouldn't mind another shot at Indiana after that controversial ending. Um or no Indiana Northwestern. So then after and then assuming they beat that, then they would move on to the number two seed, I think. If I looked at the if I looked at the bracket correctly, so then again, that would be Nebraska. So I think really I'm just boiling it down to I wouldn't mind playing Nebraska again when it comes down until we can get to the championship and then play either Illinois, Michigan State, or Michigan.

SPEAKER_02

Regardless, the way that I look at it, and this is kind of when when you told me, well, does it really matter where they get ranked? When when I or where they get seeded, when I heard that and I thought about it, I said to myself, no, because the problem is they beat Michigan, they beat Michigan State, they beat Illinois, they beat well, they hypothetically could beat Purdue yet. So I at the end of the day, they beat these good teams, and it's hard to beat them again, right? Outside of Nebraska, it's hard to beat a team twice. And especially when there's experience as Brad Underwood, Tom Mizzle. I don't, I'm not a huge Dusty Mae fan, but Dusty May in Michigan, that's a really good team. So you're gonna have to face them again. It's hard to beat them twice. I mean, only Duke and Wisconsin have done it this season so far here, and that took a really good effort from Duke. So, I mean, you it's gonna be a gauntlet either way. So it doesn't really I know there's a lot of people out there who are like, ah, the Badgers need these last two games because they need to get in that top four. I don't know if they need to get in the top four just because I mean I want them to win the last two games. That'd be nice.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, yeah. I think they need to beat Maryland. Yes, strictly for call strictly for the NCAA seeding. Um, I don't think a loss to Purdue is gonna kill is really gonna hurt them at all.

SPEAKER_02

I'm assuming it's senior, I'm assuming it's senior day for Purdue.

SPEAKER_01

I would senior or not Purdue. Oh for Purdue, yep. But yeah, for Purdue tonight against Maryland. So yeah.

Big Ten Seeding Math And Tiebreakers

SPEAKER_02

So I mean you're gonna have Brayden Smith, Trey Kaufman Ren, and Fletcher Lawyer all celebrating senior day. So that's gonna be a tough environment and a really tough game to win. So if they do win that game, awesome. Yeah, I mean, if they win it Mackie, awesome. Like I take it at the end of the day, but I mean it's gonna be it's gonna be a really tough, hostile road environment to go into. So if they lose that game, it's not the end of the world. If they drop out of the top four, it's not the end of the world. They can still run the gauntlet in the Big Ten tournament and make it there. And it starts tonight here, Christian, against this Maryland team. Maryland coming into this one, not having the best of seasons so far right now. But I thought Greg Guard said it right when he said it doesn't matter what Buzz Williams has got going on here. He's always gonna have a team that's gonna bring it. And that is what the Badgers need to come into this game thinking is that Buzz Williams is going to have a team in Maryland that's going to bring it in this game here. They're 11 and 18. I see the record, I know the record, but guess what? Oregon was pretty bad when the Badgers played them too. And guess what happened out there? So you have your senior day if you're the Badgers. You need to come into this one, you need to set the tone early, you need to make it happen. And I'm looking at this is my big hitter for this game, Christian. Is when if you just look at the outside, looking at Maryland, you're gonna see the leading scores, and you're gonna say to yourself, okay, their leading, technically their leading scorer for the year is Pharrell Payne, but he's out for the season, I'm pretty sure, because he's been out since December. So he's only played 10 games this year. Then it goes to David Colt, right? But Andre Mills has been fantastic for this team as of late. The guard there, the freshman, he has been nothing but fantastic against Northwestern. He had 39 points against Washington, he had 21, he had 19 against Nebraska, he had 15 against Rutgers. He has paced this team along the way, and that's where the Badgers need to start tonight. It starts with Blackwell, it starts with Roadie, it starts with Carrington off the bench there, getting on whoever, I don't know who's gonna end up guarding him, right? That's why I'm listing off three different guys who could potentially be there. Maybe it ends up being Nick Boyd at times, too, right? He's only a 6'4 guard, so maybe Nick Boyd might get switched out. I'm pretty sure Colt. Colt is a, I believe he's like 5'11, so I just figured Nick Boyd would end up with that matchup. And then I figured Blackwell would probably end up with this matchup here against uh against Andre Mills. But this is the guy to watch out for. As of late here, he's been hot. This is a team that's been struggling. He's been pacing him. This is the guy I'm watching. So defensively for the Badgers, it starts with those three guys getting after him in this one here because he has been fantastic from the three-point arc. He was 66% against Northwestern there. He shot 50% against Washington, 33% against Nebraska, and Rutgers, 30% there. So Skype can shoot it from the outside. He can also get downhill and he can make you pay in the paint there. So I'm looking at those three guys to slow down Andre Mills because if you can slow him down, the rest of his team, they have a decent team. Like, I a lot of people look at records and they're like, this is a terrible team. The Badgers should be able to stop them, right? And I believe that they should be able to control this game. But when you let a team who is playing for nothing have a little bit of light, just give them a little bit of light, they're gonna take advantage of that just like Oregon did. So in a game like this, the Badgers have to slow down one of the better guards as of late here in the Big Ten, and that is Andre Mills. So, Christian, I mean, when you look at this game right now, who what are you kind of looking at? What are you looking at here, Badgers Maryland?

SPEAKER_01

I think that's it. It's the Badgers have had God, this is the goes back to the Oregon game. The Badgers have had this bad habit, it feels like, of like we've talked about playing with their food, right? They should win this game. They are they should be heavy favorites to win this game. They're at home, it's senior night. Um they don't they it's not they don't have anything to play for, so and but that's the thing. Maryland really doesn't have anything to play for. Uh so which which team's gonna show up? I wrote something like after the Oregon game, the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Like, what is it, Dr. Jekyll gonna show up or is it gonna be Mr. Hyde? Is it gonna be the team that's that's hot and plays with intensity and moves the ball? Or is it gonna be the team that just kind of comes out thinking that there it's gonna be a walk in the park and they can just kind of you know those coast their way to a win and get or are they already looking ahead to Purdue? Is this a trap game, right? So that's that's really what I I want to know is who's gonna bring the intensity. We know pretty well. Show up tonight rap game. No one winters is gonna say, you know what, I'm I've been doing and has been doing a whole lot lately, maybe I'll drop. I I'm very curious to see which team's gonna show up and how they come out. As a team. Are they going to be flat or are they going to come out on fire?

SPEAKER_02

Right. No, I completely agree. And it's taking care of the basketball, right? In that sense, it's taking care of the basketball if you're in Wisconsin because you are the better team, right? So taking care of the basketball, taking care of your own. Don't let the mistakes are going to kill you in a game like this. You will, like I said before, you allow them that little bit of light and they're going to take advantage of that. So those costly turnovers, those those roady passes where you're like, oh man, why? Why? Why'd you force that? It didn't have to happen. Make the easy pass, do the little things right in this game, and you should be able to roll it. That's where you kind of start with this team is making doing the easy things first, right? Taking advantage of what they give you. And then after that, making things happen. And working the shot clock. Don't rush shots. Don't get crazy with it in a game like this. Get inside, do those little things, control the painted area. If you got Nolan Winter in there, you got B. Elowskis, work it down low. Try some things in this game here, right? We've talked about all season. They live and die by the three. That's who they are. They they live and die by the three. That's who they are. They're not going to change now. It's too late in the season to change it up. But, but I feel like you can make tweaks. And I feel like you can work with that a little bit. And you can maybe work it into the middle a little bit, work on setting some things up and trying to get cutters, trying to get drivers, because they they do do that well. They do cut the lane well and they find those open guys. And that's some things that we've seen along the way. So tweaking that in a game like this before you head off to Mackie and play Purdue, before you get in that Big Ten tournament, those are little things in a game like this where you want to see the Badgers take advantage of against this team like Maryland. So just talking about some of the players heading into this game. We talked about Braden Carrington a little bit earlier. And we had I had him on as my Casa M Spice Bold player of the week because he was absolutely fantastic at Washington. But what a lot of people, and I said it, don't realize about Braden Carrington's game is that it's not just a three-point guy. He's not just a three-point guy. Yes, that's where he makes his highlight real. And yes, that's where he's been very good for the Badgers off the bench. But Carrington is really good at setting guys up. He's really good at getting downhill and getting his own at the rim there, too. And Carrington also at the defensive end of the floor, one of your more consistent defenders coming off the bench. Definitely one of your more consistent defenders. He's able to switch. I would say one through three. I would say one through three on the court there. I don't know if he's matched up with many other teams' fours at this point here. The badges usually are rolling with the two big lineups, so he doesn't really have to work into that. And if anything, that's gonna be Roadie's job, is to switch onto a four. So you're not gonna see Carrington working there. But he can switch one through three. He's really good at that. He's tough nosed and he can get after some rebounds too. I mean, and and just hearing the story of Carrington where he had to take that mental break from the game, right? Where it just broke. He was broke from playing basketball. And well, Minnesota will do that to you, but he was broken down while playing basketball there. And what how he's just kind of found happiness again, right? I who is was it Nick Olsen that wrote that story? Was it Nick Olson that wrote it? I don't know.

SPEAKER_01

No, it was uh I think it was it was McIntyre.

SPEAKER_02

Was it McCleary that wrote that?

SPEAKER_01

There was somebody, I think it was McCleary.

SPEAKER_02

I think it was McCleary too. I think it was too now that I now that we say it. But they wrote an article about it.

SPEAKER_01

It was Timmerpool. I think it was Timmerpool Zine. One of those two. Okay.

SPEAKER_02

Okay. Well, one of those two is getting credit for this. We just shouted out three guys there, so go check out all their stuff. They're fantastic badger reporters there. But one of them wrote a story out there about uh about Carrington and just finding happiness once again in Wisconsin. And you are seeing it when he plays. You can just see it when he plays. He radiates off guys. It's like Nick Boyd. When he starts, you know, playing well and he gets everybody into it. It's the same way with Carrington. Carrington's got that he's got that infectious energy that once he starts hitting shots, everybody starts to get into that mode and everybody starts to feel it. And he just loved it. So, I mean, Christian, I mean, you kind of seen that same thing from Carrington here. He's not just a three-point shooter, he does so many little things for this badger team that everybody overlooks.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, exactly. And I think that's why he fits into this team and he does exactly what Guard is looking for. We've talked before about how Greg Guard is. I mean, granted, he it's almost by necessity, he's pretty picky about what players he brings in because he doesn't have the most money in the world in his budget to go out and just buy players. I think he broke the bank to go get Boyd. Um, and obviously that's paid off really well. They broke the bank to keep and they to keep Blackwell and Winter home. Um, so I mean that only leaves so much money left, and I think you gotta be pretty selective on who you bring in that fits the culture, and I think that's what Carrington is. It also helped he wanted to come to Wisconsin because he hated Minnesota, so yeah, that's super helpful. But um, I think he just he does everything that Wisconsin is looking for well right now. I mean, he takes care of the ball relatively well, he obviously can shoot, but he can do he's an underrated. Well, I don't even say he's an underrated defender. I think he just you don't think about his defense so much anymore because he's been such an offensive threat. But going into the season, that's what I was kind of like told, and what I've heard was like he's gonna be he's a pretty solid defender. He's gonna be a three and D guy, and that's exactly what he is. So, I mean, he's been as advertised for better for the Badgers this year.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, no, I I love when Guard said that we brought in Roadie and we thought he was gonna be an offensive first guy and defense second, and then we brought in we brought in uh Carrington and we thought he was gonna be defense first and offense second, and it turns out they're the opposite, but it's worked out, right? And that's that's I mean, you said it exactly right, is when you think about Carrington, you don't think about his defense. When you think about Roadie, you don't think about his offense, but both guys have the ability to do the opposite and do it well. Christian just had to show me that Miami of Ohio security, you know. Yeah, to make sure that I saw the graphic there across the camera feed. I know we're on the radio, but he made sure I could see it across the camera feed there. So, Christian, as we wrap it up here, quick hitters for tonight's game. What do you want to see? Who's who's got to show up for you for the badgers? Who's got to be that guy?

Maryland Preview: Guard Play And Trap Risks

SPEAKER_01

Blackwell. He needs to get back into a rhythm. If we don't have Blackwell going into the conference tournament, we're they're not the badgers are not gonna go anywhere. Nick Boyd's awesome, but what makes them so good is that it can be Boyd or Blackwell that can go off on any given night, and lately it's had to be Boyd, and then either Rap or uh Carrington because Blackwell's been almost non-existent. I know he was the leading scorer against Roregon, but I mean, it was pretty futile at that point. So I think I want to see Blackwell come out. I want to see him take a game over, and I want to see the Badgers just roll over Maryland like they should.

SPEAKER_02

You need one of those games heading into Purdue. You need one of those games, just a feel-good game to just set it up. Just set up that matchup with Purdue. I want to see a guy in Nolan Winter have himself a big game. That's where I'm kind of looking. He's been having, I mean, his last five, 10 against Michigan State, 10 against Ohio State, 18 against Iowa, seven against Oregon, where he got banged up a little bit, and then those 13 points against Washington. I want to see him keeping that double-double range there. He's been fantastic this season. Just, I want to see the Bigs control the inside. That's where I'm looking. I want to see the Bigs control the inside in this game and just become that dominant force that I think, not a dominant force, right? But become a become a presence on the inside, right? You're gonna need an interior presence when you head into the conference tournament, when you head into the big dance, you're gonna need inside presence. That's where I'm looking at Nolan Winter in this game to be that tone setter for the Badgers. So big end coming up tonight here, Badgers, Maryland from the Cole Center. Seven o'clock start, right as we wrap up here. That'll be starting here on 923. So, Christian, thank you as always for stopping by the show here tonight. Let the people know where to find you also across social media.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, as always, you can follow me at Christian Borman on Twitter, but then also check out all my work at The Badger Backer.

SPEAKER_02

Make sure you guys check him out. He's break, he's gonna break down this game for you. He's gonna have that preview for you guys, as you guys are hearing the preview here. He's got a preview over there, too. So if you want to read that quick. Otherwise, he'll have to recap over there. So make sure you check it out, thebadgerbacker.com. So when we come back from the break, we're gonna wrap it up. We're gonna get over to the badger game. I'm gonna be watching, of course. We'll be right back here. I'll scotch in the Wisconsin Sports on the Go with Trage. I'm your host, Trage. So we're wrapping it up here on this Wednesday. And this last little portion of the show here is brought to you by Sport and Spine Clinic of Greenwood, Wisconsin, expert traditional physical therapy and structural integration programming, call for flexible scheduling and evaluations. Just call Chad down there at Sport and Spine Clinic of Greenwood. He'll get you right, doing whatever you're doing, feeling better than ever. So we talked about a lot today on the show. Got to the Packers, got a little bucks in there, Brewers, Badgers, of course. We got to it all here today. If you missed any portion of the show here, listen next day across all the podcast platforms out there. I'll have it uploaded for you guys. Take a listen over there. Like, subscribe. Follow across all the social media platforms if you can. So, next up here on 92-3, you got the Badger game coming up here. That's why I had to play jump around going into this because I'm excited. Badgers coming up tonight against Maryland. I always get it, it doesn't even matter who they're playing. I always get hyped to watch the Badgers take on anybody. So Badgers coming up next, taking out Maryland. Quick hitters, Badgers defensively, got a lock in a game like this. You got to look at Mills in this one here. Andre Mills for Maryland, been really good as of late here for him, as I hit in that last segment. He's been really good as of late, so it's gonna be on the Badgers to slow him down in a game like this. Control the little things in this one. Points in the paint, rebounding, and also turnovers. Don't beat yourself in a game like this. Take care of business, win this one, going away, and then look ahead to Mackie coming up on Saturday. Don't look ahead, right? I don't want to say look ahead. Don't look ahead. Focus on this game, beat Maryland, and then take on Purdue coming up on Saturday. So, with that, that's about all we have for today. I hope you guys enjoy the rest of your Wednesday and the rest of your week. But until we talk again on Saturday, see ya!