Wisconsin Sports on the go with Trag

March 7: Badgers vs Purdue Preview, NFL New Year

• Tragen • Episode 370

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We trade storm chatter for a packed slate: WBC loyalties, Tatum’s comeback, NFL shock moves, then a full pivot to Wisconsin at Purdue. We break down seeding, Winter’s status, and why Mackey is the right test before March.

• WBC forcing fans to back rival stars in national colors
• Jason Tatum’s rapid Achilles return and mindset shift
• Ravens’ Max Crosby trade and AFC pecking order
• Browns’ cap reset and DJ Moore’s ripple effects
• Senior Night surge, Nolan Winter injury scare, day-to-day outlook
• Seed paths, why a six may be smarter than a five
• Three-point quality over quantity and defensive urgency
• Carrington’s shooting, Blackwell’s accountability, rotation tweaks
• Mackey Arena as March rehearsal: glass, poise, patience
• Key matchups: Boyd vs Braden Smith, closing on shooters, ending possessions

Make sure you guys check him out, Chomping at the Bit


Welcome, Weather Banter, Show Rundown

SPEAKER_01

This is Wisconsin Sports on the Go with Trade. Your place for all things Wisconsin Sports. Now, your host, Trade.

SPEAKER_02

How are we doing, everybody? And welcome into Wisconsin Sports on the Go with Trage. I'm your host, Trade, as we're coming in here on this Saturday. I hope you guys are enjoying your Saturday so far. Your weekend. Weather has been well, the rain's moving into the area, so you got some, it's wet weather right now. Goodness. Hopefully, if you're listening to the show outside of listening area, hopefully you didn't get any of that tornadic weather that they had right now. I saw some video from that. Goodness, do I really not want to see a tornado? Like I've always told myself I want to, like deep down. If you guys didn't know this, I'm a weird weather guy. Like I'm a weird weather guy. Like I watch all those YouTubers who are out there chasing storms and everything like that. And I watch the weather on YouTube. I'm a weird guy like that. But man oh man, I would not want to see one. Like I like do, but I don't. If it's really far off in the distance, going the opposite direction, I think I can handle it. If I didn't know, I think that, yeah. So, anyways, anyways, anyways, enough about me. Enough about me. We have a lot coming up today here on the show. We're gonna talk some badgers. A lot of badgers today here on the show as we prepare for that Purdue game coming up here at three o'clock today. But right away, there was some madness. There's madness happening around the NFL right now. There's madness happening in the NBA, there's madness happening in the uh in the world baseball classic. And I said to myself, I gotta get Kyle on here. We gotta talk about this today, on Saturday. So Kyle is here. Kyle, how are we doing on this Saturday?

SPEAKER_00

I'm good. You know, it's it's fun, it's getting warmer, at least in my part uh the country, and I got nothing to complain about. Sports are on. I'm I'm always happy.

Can You Root For Rival Players In WBC?

SPEAKER_02

Sports are on. So talking about the world baseball classic, because I I was having this thought, Kyle, and I want to hear what you think. So with the world baseball classic, you get a lot of players from a lot of different teams put together, right? You look at Team USA, you just think you have like Bobby Witt from the Royals, you have Aaron Judge from the Yankees. This is gonna speak to you with that one right there. You have teams that you normally dislike with a matching, right? I mean, PCA's on this team and he drives me nuts. Can you cheer for those guys? Like, can you put your fandom aside to cheer for a rival teams player who's technically on the team that you're cheering for now, but like not, right? Because he's still a Yankee, Aaron Judge. He's still a Yankee, but now he's on team USA. So you want to cheer. Can you do it? Can you put your fandom aside to cheer for that guy?

SPEAKER_00

I actually think you can. I think for a lot of, I think for a lot of people, the hatred is more so about the jersey that they're wearing. Like if Aaron Judge went to the Giants where which he was supposed to a couple of years ago, I wouldn't care. The fact that he's in that he's in New York wearing those pinstripes, I can't stand him. So the fact that he's not wearing pinstripes, then yeah, I can root for him as you know for Team USA.

SPEAKER_02

See, I don't know. PCA, I just don't like that guy. I don't know. It's just something it's the cub factor in it, but I just don't like that guy. I don't know. It just something about him just rubs me the wrong way. I have no idea. It's just I don't know. I just I thought about that today when I was watching. I saw PCA walk across the screen and I was like, I still don't like you. You're on Team USA. I'm supposed to like you, but I don't like you. I just I just can't do it. Like, I don't know. It's just no, it's something with them cubs, and then they go to the Cubs, and then just forever, I just dislike that guy. Like Anthony Rizzo. He left the Cubs, I still didn't like him. It was just because he wasn't part of the Cubs at one point that I just don't like him anymore. I don't I don't know. My fandom's different, Kyle. I just well, I have a thing where I just dislike most players, so that's my problem.

SPEAKER_03

That's my problem.

Jason Tatum’s Rapid Achilles Comeback

SPEAKER_02

So yeah, I mean everybody loves Showy Otani, so I just dislike him so that everybody just like comes after me. Like, I what was it? We're doing that baseball show that time, Kyle. And I think the qu it was one of our first shows we ever did, and I think the question was asked of who the best player was in baseball. And I think I gave a different answer than Showy Otani, and that comment section blew up so fast, just yelling at me that I didn't know what I was talking about. And I was like, I'm just trying to fire people up. I know I am right now, and I succeeded at it because it was awesome. But like, man, oh man, people just they get after you, they get after you. That's all I need to know with that one. So, Kyle, you were excited last night. Jason Tatum's back, right? Tore his Achilles, and you told me this before we got on. He tore his Achilles exactly 299 days ago from today, Saturday, but from the time that he stepped on the court yesterday, 298 days before. That is crazy. I mean, Kyle, just the advances in modern medicine to be able to get a guy who tore his Achilles, went in for surgery, got out of it, and now is back playing 27 minutes of basketball last night for the Celtics. I thought maybe when they say he was coming back, I thought, like, oh well, we'll see him for 15 minutes, 1520 if we're lucky, and then they'll just you know get him in there, get his feet wet, take him out. 27 minutes of basketball. I know it doesn't seem like a crazy amount, but for a guy who just tore his Achilles 298 days ago, that's a lot. I mean, it's crazy to think about that guy.

SPEAKER_00

No, absolutely. And I think a lot of people thought when he when he you know heard him he was coming back, it was like, Oh, you bring him off the bench, let him play a few minutes, whatever. Joe Mazula said no, he's gonna start. I think that was partly for the mentality of a guy like Jason Tatum, where you're like, Yeah, we're bringing you back, we're not gonna treat you any differently. We're gonna put you in the starting lineup, we're gonna let you you know work your way in with the offense. You've been sitting on the sideline, you know what these guys can do. You now help push them to a higher level. And he started off a little rusty, missed like his first seven shots, but then he gets a put back dunk and finishes the game six for ten from the field. He hit a couple of threes and stuff like that. So getting that game out of the way for a guy who you know chronicled his journey through a few series like on Peacock, where he talked about the minute it happened, his first thought was, Oh no, my career's over. You know, his mom talked about how he was miserable during rehab, and the team talked about physically he'll probably be fine. The mental part of an injury like that is where the biggest hurdle is. So I think for him, when he got that first basket, I think all of that uh doubt that might have been in between his his ears went away. And you saw him after that playing more so like himself, you know, free and easy, and he was just making plays out there. So to almost have a triple-double as well, and your first game back is crazy with 15, 12, and 7. So look, as a Celtics fan, excited to see him back. Not gonna lie, when he first stepped on the court, I was like, let's hope he doesn't push it too far. But um, yeah, imagine being second place in the East, bringing back a Jason Tatum for a stretch run where he'll actually be fresher than most guys in the East come playoff time. So uh look, it's it's remarkable. Like you said, modern medicine. You just can't beat it.

Blockbuster NFL Trades And Cap Chaos

SPEAKER_02

Like he was correct in saying when he thought his career was over a long time ago, his career would have been over. Yeah, and nowadays it's 209, it's not even a full year later, and here he is, explosive. Like you said, put back dunk doing all the things that Jason Tatum does, and like it's nothing happened. And that's just crazy to think about there. So, I mean, just awesome, awesome story with the whole thing with Jason Tatum coming back. I saw a couple clips of that, you know, him talking to the doctors, and he's like, I don't want to be a role player, I'm a starter, so how are we gonna make this work, right? And just talking about that, just that mentality to come back and still be the best and be at the top of this game. You love that. And like you said, they're already second place in the East, and this is like the trade deadline just got even better because you just got one of the best players in the NBA back in Jason Tatum. I know I probably am talking crazy because most people don't think Jason Tatum's that good. I've seen lists where it's like he's not even on there. He is that good, he's just really good at facilitating the basketball, too. So yeah, putting that into effect. So, Kyle, the craziness that happened yesterday. The trade between the Raiders and the Ravens, not really expected. Didn't see this one coming. I didn't believe it until Adam Schefter tweeted it, and I still didn't believe it because Adam Schefter earlier in the day told me Rashawn Gary was leaving the Packers, and then all of a sudden Rashawn Gary's coming back. So Adam Schefter doesn't know what he's talking about anymore. Let's just go with that. But Kyle, I mean, crazy trade, right? I mean, I did not see that one coming.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, I think I look, I feel like for the past couple of seasons, the Ravens have been operating almost out of desperation. You have Lamar Jackson, they went out and got Derrick Henry, you got Kyle Hamilton in this defense that a couple of years ago was like top five or whatever. Last year they took a step back. I think them going to get Max Crosby, they feel like they're fixing a big issue on their defensive line, which is getting after the quarterback. Which, yes, he does help that. They also have to get Matabike on the other side. They have to get him going. I know he missed time last season with an injury, but not too, I think it was a couple of years ago, they gave him a pretty sizable deal because he was coming off of a double-digit sack year and he hasn't really matched that since then. So if they can get those two firing on all cylinders on you know, bookending the defensive line, then yeah, quarterbacks will have a lot to worry about. I do need to see a little bit more from the Ravens this offseason because they have Tyler Linderbaum, who's their maybe their best offensive lineman, who's a free agent. I wonder, does this Max Crosby stuff? You know, how does that work into those negotiations? They've also talked about they want to negotiate a new deal for Lamar Jackson this offseason as well. And Lamar Jackson represents himself or his mom does, and I guess the timing on that of like Lamar on vacation, whatever, and working out, when is he gonna facility to discuss that? What does that do for their free agent plans? So for our first move, I get it. You get probably the best D end on the market, unless you're a Trey Hendrickson fan, but they still need to do more before I feel like they are probably the favorites in the AFC.

SPEAKER_02

Right, send two first-round picks, too, right? I mean, send two first-round picks over to the Raiders for them. Dallas Cowboys reportedly were willing to offer a first and a second round pick for Max Crosby. So they ended up going with the two first, of course, out of that one. So, I mean, if you went comparison, you could say that Micah Parsons trained, the only thing he was missing was a defensive tackle. That'd be the big thing they had in there. But the Packers had to restructure a deal. This deal was already in place. The Raiders were kind of trying to get out from underneath this deal because they made another one. Geno Smith is out the door now. He got cut, he got released by the Raiders. So they have some money being kind of tossed around there right now. I mean, out of all the moves that you've seen so far, I know the new league year hasn't technically started yet, but out of all the moves that you've seen, what's been the most surprising one? Is it the Crosby one or is there another one?

SPEAKER_00

Well, Crosby, I kind of knew was going to be gone from the Raiders. It was just whether uh just about which team he was gonna go to, so that wasn't too surprising. Um, I guess to be honest, it might be the Browns restructuring Deshaun Watson yet again and freeing up like 35 million in cap space because they're kind of stuck with him for one more year and then they can move off of him. So by freeing up that money, they can kind of position themselves post Deshaun Watson to hopefully be in a better position. Don't know who that quarterback's gonna be. Are they gonna kind of run with Shador? Do they bring in somebody else? I don't know, but at least the Deshaun Watson cloud is almost gone, and his impact this year is a little bit lessened by the restructuring.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I see that now. Watson, who did not play in 2025, was recovering from that Achilles tariff in the 2024, was set to have an 80.7 million dollar cap hit in 2026. That is gonna be the well, of course, it was large for the NFL. I don't think I've ever seen one that high. That is absolutely crazy. So I'd agree with you there. I mean, they that was a terrible deal to begin with, and now hopefully, finally, if you're the brown, if you're a brown fan out there, hopefully finally getting out from underneath that one. I would say the only other one that I guess surprised me, maybe. I don't know if it really even surprised me was DJ Moore getting traded out there. I I don't know if it surprised me as much because he looked at the end of his tenure with the Bears. You could say he looked like he was a little bit off, but still losing a weapon for Kale Williams. I mean, can you touch on that one quick, Kyle? Just losing DJ Moore now if you're the Bears. It's uh a presence on the field for Cale Williams that you're now losing.

SPEAKER_00

Right. So you I look they did it also in a market where the wide receiver group isn't strong. Like it's basically like Alec Pierce, Steph Diggs. I don't know if you know Steph Diggs is a guy that they would look at as kind of a mentor to a young wide receiver group like he was in New England this past season. Tyreek Hill, but with his baggage, do you want to kind of put that in that locker room? So they must have a plan. I'm not gonna lie, I kind of was a little surprised by DJ Moore, but uh I did think it was a possibility that he could be moved. So we'll have to see how they replace him.

DJ Moore Trade Ripple Effects

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, and a good weapon now for Josh Allen and the Bills. I mean, he definitely was in need of somebody out there, so yeah, definitely needed one. So good weapon for him out there now with the Bills. So, Kyle, I gotta run here. Let people know where to find you out there across social media.

SPEAKER_00

Facebook, YouTube, Podbean, chomping at the bit, easiest way to find me.

SPEAKER_02

Make sure you guys check him out. He's got fantastic stuff there across all social media platforms. There, he's talking about all these crazy trades that are happening. We got the new league year starting. He's gonna be tapping at all those, the NBA, everything. Make sure you check him out, Chomping at the Bit. So when we come back, Christian's gonna be here. We got to talk badgers. A lot of badger talk coming at you. We'll be right back here. I'll be back into Wisconsin before it's time to go with Trage. I'm your host, Trage, as we're coming back in here on this Saturday. Christian stopping by. We're gonna talk a little badgers here. Christian, how are we doing on this Saturday?

SPEAKER_04

Good. Ready? I'm ready for some uh Purdue game here. I'm ready to watch Wisconsin take them down.

SPEAKER_02

Ah, me too. Me too. A little travel to Mackey, get the win, and the season outright, ruin senior day for all them guys. Like it's what could be better? What could be better than ruining Fletcher Lawyer's Day? Like, that's a guy. I just feel like that's a guy who should be at Duke. Like, that's a guy who should be at Duke. Yeah, he just fits the Duke motto. Like, I just when I think of Duke, I think Fletcher Lawyer.

SPEAKER_04

Looks like a dude whose parents looks like a dude whose parents have like a trust fund set up for and everything already, and he will not have to necessarily work a day in his life.

SPEAKER_02

Probably the nicest guy in the world, and we just dislike.

SPEAKER_04

Well, I'm sure, but I just yeah, I just decided I'm not gonna be very nice about him because just does just something about him just rubs me the wrong way.

SPEAKER_02

I've never talked to him, never been in a room with him. Just his face just drives me absolutely bonkers. Anyways, we're gonna get to that Purdue game talking about that today. But we want to hit a little bit of the outside stuff with the Badgers coming off that win against Maryland on senior night. Exciting. Isaac Yard hits the big that people don't respect that three enough. He hit that flat footed over top of it. Like it wasn't like it was a community shoot, right?

SPEAKER_04

He like double clutched it too. Like it was like uh he like thought about it. He's like, forget it, I'm doing it, and he just you know.

Guest Plug And Segment Transition

SPEAKER_02

I think he had no code dude screaming behind him to hit it. Like, I think he didn't know.

SPEAKER_04

You know, as soon as that was going up, he was hitting that. It's just like after he missed that first one, you're like, you know, this is going up, and he's gonna nail this and it's gonna make it even better.

SPEAKER_02

Uh that might be the loudest I've ever heard the cold center. I I don't know. There there's been a lot of great moments and stuff, but that was like, wow, that was loud when that happened. My goodness. That and it was great. It was awesome to see him hit it. He got to come out the floor, see the emotion between him and Greg. The players, I mean, it was awesome seeing Greg have to like go grab Boyd and Black one, like stay off the court. Like, don't get us, don't get us a technical here.

SPEAKER_04

Like, stay off the court because they were like dance, they were dancing halfway down the baseline.

SPEAKER_02

Guards like, I'm gonna have to burn a timeout here just to keep from getting a technical foul.

SPEAKER_04

Like, it was gonna get crazy. I don't think I don't think I don't think he would have cared even a little bit if he had a technical there.

Badgers Senior Night Highs And Winter’s Injury Scare

SPEAKER_02

Not in a game like this. No, not in a game like this. It was like everything was going the right way at that point there. But at well, I shouldn't say everything was going the right way in this one here. We see the the key injury, and this kind of deflated the night. I you know, after this, no, okay, so Nolan Winter goes down with that ankle injury, he's in serious pain, gets helped off the floor, doesn't put weight on it, gets taken in the locker room. And there was like six minutes to go, seven minutes to go in the game. And I gotta tell you, I mean, I was I was just kind of just sitting, like relaxing during the game, excited, right? They were winning, they were knocking out shots, it was exciting. That last six minutes, I didn't really care what happened. I kind of I kept telling my wife, I'm like, because the announcers were like, Can you have a better night?

SPEAKER_04

I was like, Yeah, if Noan Winter walks out of the tunnel, like if he comes back in the release game, I remember you uh text, you were texting that the whole time, and it's like, yeah, I kind of put a big old bummer on the whole thing, didn't I?

SPEAKER_02

Uh I just wanted to see him just come out and just at least be by the bench. Like, that's all I wanted. Yeah, which is to see him out by the bench, maybe even at the edge of the tunnel, just watching. Like, I just wanted to see him. And it's not like you knew that it wasn't like bad, bad, right? But it was still, it was like, I just want to see him come out. I want to see him at the end of the at the end of the tunnel, something to make me feel a little bit better. Because, man, oh man, like you thought when I when that happened, I was like, oh man, Chucky Hepburn went down before the tournament. We've had injuries before the tournament, and everything kind of gets derailed. And it just felt like once again, oh man, here we go. We know when Winter's banged up. I mean, you were I mean, were you kind of in that same boat? It was like, oh man, here we go.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, pretty much. Of course, in a in a game where it's like, I think I was texting you, it was like Booby Miles in Friday Night Lights. Yep, like he's in, he's in in a meaningless game, and then he gets hurt, and then it's like, of course, like he didn't even have to be in there, and of course, he gets hurt. And I mean, when you look at the replay, it's like, okay, the dude just like rolled his angle, twisted angle, sprained it or something, right? But the fact that he like couldn't even get up and he was like visibly distraught. I'm just like, yeah, okay, I think this might be worse than we think it is, but right, I don't know, maybe it maybe it wasn't. Um, but just I was I don't know, just looking at okay, he's tweaked his ankle, but I'm like, worst case scenario, what if he like kind of broke it? Like he had a little fracture in there, or what if like he tore some stuff in there? Yeah, I mean no, I agree. Sounds sounds like he said, I mean, guards said even at his post-game at press comments, they think they avoided like the worst of it. And then the next day, John Rothstein on CBS came out and said that he's considered day-to-day. I'm like, okay, that's a lot better than it could have been. But I don't know. I still think they should play it safe because let's be honest, like, what does this game really mean? If if we win, we're a five-seed, so we still don't get that double by unless Illinois somehow loses to Maryland, which we don't know what the Badgers did to Maryland. I think Illinois' gonna beat them by 30. So, like, what's the difference between a five and a six seed? We still play on the on Thursday, I think. Yeah, we still play Thursday.

SPEAKER_02

We're not gonna I think it's the difference between Michigan State and oh man, who is the other one? Michigan State would be in there as the three right now.

SPEAKER_04

Are those ones set? So would it be Nebraska at two, or would it be although is Nebraska even two anymore right now? I haven't looked.

SPEAKER_02

I Nebraska should be still in there as the two. I think uh Illinois comes in at the four. Illinois the four, Michigan State's the three, of Nebraska the two, and then Michigan at the one. So I think it would be the difference right now between playing Michigan State, and then if you're the six, I think if you're the six, wouldn't you move on? You'd probably see the probably Illinois.

SPEAKER_04

If you're if you're six, you would move on to let's see, so one would play eight, two would play seven, six would play four, or one play eight, two would play seven. Three and four play five and six would play. So yeah, I think we'd if we were the six, we'd play Illinois. No. Ah, here we go. I think I got the it's either it's either I think it's the difference between either playing Michigan State or Illinois. Honestly, I think I'd rather play Michigan State. So maybe I would rather have the six.

SPEAKER_02

So the updated the updated bracket right now, because Nebraska did lose, so I think Michigan State jumped them. I think Michigan State jumped them in the rankings.

SPEAKER_04

The recruiting recruiters, too.

SPEAKER_02

They just lost to UCLA the other night there. I think they're gonna be around.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, they got smoked by like 20. That's right.

SPEAKER_02

I think that's what made them jump. So right now, okay.

SPEAKER_04

So then again, so then I so then I would rather play if there's a three seed, I'd rather be a six and play Nebraska. Right. Rather than be a five and play Illinois.

SPEAKER_02

So this would be This is according to Yahoo Sports. So the Badgers, as a sixth seed right now, would face the winner of Washington and Rutgers as it stands right now. And then whoever wins that game would end up playing number three Nebraska. So that's if they got the sixth seed. If they got the five seed, they would play Illinois. So they'd either they would play the winner of USC and Minnesota, and then they'd end up playing Illinois if they won that game. And then if you win that game, you end up playing Michigan. If you get in the bottom half, you play Nebraska, you'd end up playing Michigan State. I'd almost, if I want to make it to the Big Ten Championship, I'd rather see Michigan State. Yeah, I'd almost rather be the six.

Seeding Math And Resting Winter Debate

SPEAKER_04

So yeah, I mean, I'm I don't want to play Illinois and then Michigan. So I almost no. I don't want to lose. So guys, so back to the original argument. I don't necessarily want to lose to Purdue. Like, you never want to lose, but I'm like, so there, but there's a lot of play here. So with that in mind, like, okay, you don't mind getting the sixth seed. I think I'd actually prefer it. So why would you want to trot Nolan Winter out, even if he, because you know, him being competitor, like you said, John Blackwell even said if you can play, if he play a one foot or two foot, he's gonna want to play. I'm like, okay, but like, right, do we really want to risk his health making it worse, potentially injuring him worse, where he misses the entire NCAA? Like, if he even even if he misses the Big Ten tournament, I'm okay with it. It is what it is. I want him ready for the NCAA tournament. So, like, why would you trot him out there against Purdue when it's like if you lose, okay, you get Nebraska, then Michigan State, rather than Illinois and then Michigan. So right, if I don't know, we'll I I think if you're smart, you sit, you sit them, get Garlock some minutes, get him a little experience, even though it could probably get pretty rough for him. But it's gonna be him, Bele Alsace, and rap. And then to a point like we've talked about this too. Yeah, he win uh winter can hit threes, which is super helpful and everything, but like we don't really attack the middle that much. So, I mean, what if we do go with rap more and like be more of a threat outside? We can pull those bigs from Purdue out a little bit, let boy drive, pull the bigs out, shoot some threes, you know, do what Wisconsin basketball does now.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, no, I agree. I I'm with you that if if he's going into this game against Purdue and he's 80, I'm sitting him. If he gets a game in the Big Ten tournament, if you let him play a game in the Big Ten tournament, get his, you know, get right before the big dance. I'm good with that too. You don't want him to have too long of a layoff. So if you can get him back to 100, well, no guy's 100 when you hit the end of the season.

SPEAKER_04

We got to make sure he's ready for Miami of Ohio when they come in undefeated.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, because I yeah, we can't lose that game. I have too much, too much riding in that game against Miami and Ohio for Nolan Witzer to be banged up. So he needs to be 100% for that game. I agree with you. That is that's 100% the truth. He needs to be ready for Miami and Ohio. So if, yes, I'm agreeing it's if if your guard in this game, I'm overly cautious with Nolan Winter. I'm saying we're at the end of the year. It's not like we're middle of the year right now, like it was when uh Frank Kaminsky got he had his concussion, and then Trayvon Jackson got hurt, and then he was out for most of the year. But Frank Kaminsky had his concussion, is like, okay, yeah, that's middle of the season, not really detrimental. You're gonna get him back, he's gonna be fine, right? Nolan Winter, this could get worse, right? You don't know with that lower body stuff. Maybe he tweaks it again, maybe it makes it worse. So you don't want to have that. So if you can get him back to 100% or close to before the big dance, before even the Big Ten tournament, that's what you want. So I agree with you. I'm being a little cautious with no and winter is perfectly okay. Because you know, you're watching that last game against Maryland, and I kept yelling at you about this because you look at Bialowskis and he kept getting the switch, and they had David Colt guarding him, and David Colt's 5'11, and Bielowski is seven foot, and you could see half of his body over top of David Colt, and yet they couldn't find a way to get it into the post. And it was driving me bonkers because that was at the beginning of the game when Wisconsin wasn't able to hit shots, they weren't really falling at the beginning. And it's like, get it inside Bialowskis. Well, then Nolan Winter steps in, they're like, boom, there he is. So I think in a game like this, if you don't have Nolan Winter, now you can see Bielowskis start trusting the guy a little bit. Yes, he's young. I get he's a freshman. I've gotten in arguments with this with people where they're like, well, I because I want to see him be more of a scorer, look to score more. And people are like, Yeah, remember, he's a freshman. I don't care. I don't I see he can still look like he's a scorer out there, whether he's a freshman or something.

SPEAKER_04

But he's Beelealous is like a 20-year-old freshman, though. He's not, and he's played some professional, like European ball, which is like he's not like a freshman freshman. So yeah, I agree with you. I think he needs to be, and but I will say, I know guard earlier in the season when I sat in on one of his pressers was talked about it, and when he showed up here in August, he didn't know anybody, didn't know whatever. Like they f they they literally like found him. This sounds weird. Like they like he got into town, they literally like saw him walking down the street in Madison, he had no clue where he was going. So it's just like they like this. I understand, like, maybe it's it's taken him a while to get into it, but like at this point in the season, don't you think he should try to be a little more aggressive? We've seen him have games like he hit four for he went four for four in threes against was a Marquette. One of those games he showed he can do it. Yeah, so like I don't know. I think he kind of takes the back seat a lot. And I I think it's I guess this could be a good game between him and rap. This could be a good game for him to be a little more aggressive, just because obviously, if Nolan Winter's out, someone's gotta be, you know, something. It can't just be Nick Boyd, can't just be Carrington.

Three-Point Philosophy And Defense Identity

SPEAKER_02

I like like I don't like, but like the freshman excuse is understandable for mistakes, right? If you make a mistake, maybe take a bad shot, maybe make a bad pass. And it's like, yeah, he's young, he's learning, he's getting into the flow of things, he's gotta learn not to do that. The not being like looking like a score, hesitating to shoot, all that stuff. I don't really chalk that up to more or less being a freshman. I just count the hesitant. Stephen Crowell. I had problems with Steven Crow when he was hesitant to shoot. It just seemed like at times he just wanted to be a passer and he's wide open from three. And it's like, well, pull it, just look to pull it. Like, I'm okay if Miha Lowskis takes a couple shots. You were just mentioning he had that big game against Michigan where he was the reason why the Badgers came back and took the lead in the second half and looked good in the second half was Mi Hilowskis was knocking down shots. This guy can knock down shots, and that's it, should almost be good that you're saying that a freshman should take more shots because I'm not asking for him to be the leading leading scorer on the team. I'm not asking for him to be the best player on the team. I'm asking to make him look like he's a scorer so that they respect him on the floor. That they don't just see him as, oh, he's a passer. I'm not really gonna worry about him. He's just gonna be out here. And then he doesn't make him pay. I want him to make him pay for making him feel like he's just a passer. So that's kind of where I'm looking with Bielowskis there. But I did see, so this goes along with the, you know, don't be afraid to shoot. Greg Gard was talking to the media, and he said that he wasn't dissatisfied that the Badgers took 45 threes against Oregon. He thought they could have actually taken more, and he went on to talk about that. And he said there was a lot of times where they took a lot of contested force twos when they had wide open opportunities from three. And this is where I understand, I guess, with what he's saying, where he said he's not really concerned with the quantity of threes, just the quality. And I agree with that. I don't have a problem if they shoot threes. I don't have a problem with that. This is a good three-point shooting team. They prove that they're putting up historic numbers, shooting the three. I have no problem with them shooting the three. The problem is when it's early in the shot clock. The problem is when they don't work the ball and it's just an isolation step back three, those are the like John Blackwell just get a big guy on him, and instead of trying to take the big guy to the hoop or anything like that, he just does a get a signature step back three, try to shoot it over top of him. And sometimes it works out, sometimes it's like, well, why did you why'd you shoot that? So I kind of can see what Greg Gard is saying there, but Christian, if they're gonna if they're gonna embody that MO, if that's what they want to be, and this is what we know. This is a team that live and is a live and die by the three. I want to see something here for the rest of the year. I want to see him turn up the defensive intensity. I want to see them live and die by the three and turn it up on the defensive end. Try to create some fast break opportunities, some kick-outs for three on the fast break, whatever it is. Turn up like we were just talking about Braden Carrington the other day. He's a three and D guy, right? I this whole team is a three and D. That's what I want to see. Defensively, turn up the intensity so you can create those opportunities for you, going the other way to make things happen. I mean, are you kind of in that same boat right now as if you're the Badgers? You got to turn it up defensively here, especially heading into the Big Ten tournament, heading into March, because you they're living and dying by the three. It's not changing. That's not changing, but you got to turn it up on the defensive end.

SPEAKER_04

Absolutely. It's they're not like you said, they're not gonna change. This is what they've been all year. It's been frustrating for us at some point because, like, in games where they're not hitting the threes, it's like, dude, just attack, get down, get down the paint, get downhill, attack the hoop, and just make something else happen. Then they just don't do it. So at this point, we just have to accept who they are. Yep. But I'll also say, like, defense has not been up to Wisconsin standards this year, not even close. But I mean, but again, that comes with that philosophy shift with the within the offense. You want to get up and go, you don't want to sit and play half-court offense, you don't want to like you know, lull them to sleep and then work for a good shot late in the shot clock and then play really, really hard defense. That's just not who they are anymore. Bull Ryan is not is not the head coach. So, but I definitely so there's a lot to be desired within this with this defense. I think they could definitely play better defensively, I think, without necessarily sacrificing a whole lot of offense. But right, I think and I think they give up a decent amount of offensive boards because they're looking to run rather than crashing defensive boards. They're kind of depending on guys like Nolan Winter, Beeley Eliscus, Rap, you know, whoever it is, to get the rebound. Meanwhile, you know you got John Blackwell. You absolutely know you have Nick Boyd leaking out looking to attack to him and get those fast break points. Do you see Wisconsin outscored Maryland 25-0 in fast break points? Isn't that wild? It's like that just shows like that's that's what they're trying to that's what they're trying to do. So, like, defense is not see. This is the thing. I think Connor Assegian would have absolutely excelled within this offense with the badgers. I just think he was he was just a he was a year or two too early with the badgers.

SPEAKER_02

I said the same thing. I said the same thing.

SPEAKER_04

They play absolutely too like because he got benched his freshman year when he was having a really good year. Was it a sophomore year? I can't remember. He got benched one of the years because his defense just wasn't good enough. And Gardens, like he can't can't put you on the floor. You're a lie, you're a huge liability defensively, no matter what you give us offensively. So but I think the season would have been really good this year with the badges at least.

SPEAKER_02

But oh man, because he is. I mean, Austin Rap's gotten a ton better on the defensive end. Like he's gotten really it's impressive to see what Austin Rap has done within season to get better, but we compared him right away to Conrad Assesian and saying he's a three-point threat with no defense, and then he kind of turned it up defensively, so I don't want to hate on Austin Rapp anymore because I mean I love what he's kind of he transformed himself into defensively. But yeah, 100% agree with you is that he would Conrad Season would excel inside of this true.

SPEAKER_04

But I but but I also say like, but I think maybe Braden Carrington is a better example of that too, but he actually plays defense too.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, right, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Carrington, I think, is a lot better than what a season would have been anyway, because just especially looking at how he shoots threes anyway, shooting 40% on the season, right?

SPEAKER_02

So 42 point something because he's almost to the Big Ten lead. I think the Big Ten leader is 43.

SPEAKER_04

That's insane. And but and he actually plays defense too. So it's right. I mean, but I I don't think a season would have been terrible either. But so I think you you keep leaning into it. Um, and Carrington he fits on this team so well because that's exactly what he was. He's he is a three and D player, he plays hard on defense, and then he hunts for shots, hunts for shots beyond the arc. When I honestly am racking my brain right now. When's the last time we've watched Braden Carrington attack the hoop? Can you think of anything? I'm blanking off the top of my head.

SPEAKER_02

You should attack. He'll get downhill every once in a while. He'll get, I mean, he's not like that's his game, but he'll get downhill every once in a while there.

SPEAKER_04

Maybe I'm just like you know, recency bias here. I think like every time I see him, he's just like coming off screens or just moving constantly, like looking like Steph Curry out there trying to just get open for a three, but that might just recency bias there.

SPEAKER_02

Recency bias with the whole thing. I think John, I think if I'm right, uh before we hit the break, here we're gonna come back and we're gonna talk about Purdue. I think John Mobley's the one who leads the Big Ten in three point percentage.

SPEAKER_04

And I think because Yeah, and he probably because he killed the Badgers that one day when he probably shot 100%.

SPEAKER_02

This is true. Well, I'm I'm going through the list. Oh, wait, no, that wasn't him, was it? No, because Mobley wasn't there. Mobley didn't play. Someone else killed us, someone else killed us. They had Mobley when we won, but when they lost, Mobley was out, and somehow they beat the Badgers. I have no idea. So, anyways, when we come back from the break, we're gonna talk about this Purdue matchup we have coming up today here. Can't wait for that one. We're gonna get to it. We'll be right back here. I'm Wisconsin back into Wisconsin Sports on the Go with Trage. I'm your host, Trage, as we're coming back in here on this Saturday. Christian's sticking around. We're gonna talk a little Badgers Purdue. But Christian and I were talking earlier, and I want to know this. So there is a certain store out there that I just despise. I don't know why I just despise this place, and that is Target. Target is not my friend. When I have to go there, I get sad. I get upset. There's just many hours spent in aisles upon aisles, and there's just nothing that interests me inside of Target. So, Christian, I want to know because you told me that you love Target. Is there a store? Is there a store that you just you just despise like you never want to go there?

SPEAKER_04

Oh man, you put me on the spot. I gotta think about it. Um, I'm sure there is. Oh boy. I don't know, probably like home goods or anything like that with my wife, because I just don't really I don't really want to wander around and like look at like home decor and stuff like that. That doesn't interest me. If I'm looking at home stuff, I want to go to like home, I want to go to like Home Depot. Yeah.

Quick Detour: Stores We Love And Hate

SPEAKER_02

That's true. They have a lot of nice plywood there, a lot of nice stuff there. Yeah, I agree. I agree with that. I agree with that. I like Menards. I'm a big Menards guy. Fleet Farm. I like Fleet Farm. We can get in the Fleet Farm everyone's while Walmart's got everything. Walmart has everything, so we can't have this hating on Walmart. There's a lot of toys there, a lot of good stuff. You can't hate on Walmart. Hobby Lobby. That drives me nuts. Hobby Lobby's another one like home goods, just drives me absolute bonkers. But yeah, Target. I don't know why. I just it just I just despise Target. I do. I well, I shouldn't say that. I liked her tuna selection. They have a nice tuna selection for my lunch, but outside of that, outside of the tuna, I just I was not a fan. Just not a fan. I didn't get a pillow from there once. The pillow was the pillow was good. It was nice, it's nice though. I still got it. I still got it.

SPEAKER_04

See, you keep talking about everything you everything you get there, you like. Everything you get there, you like.

Why Mackey Is Perfect Prep For March

SPEAKER_02

I don't know. It doesn't mean I like going there. I just I online order is fine. I like sitting in the parking lot and waiting for it, all right? It's just I think it's just uh just the dread of having to walk in. Why not? You know what it is, you know what it is. And I maybe maybe she's not listening right now, but my wife, when she takes me in there, we always gotta wait at Starbucks. And I swear that Starbucks is like 20, 30 minutes of our entire trip is waiting at that Starbucks to get that clock. Really? Oh man. I mean, it just well feels like it. It's probably only five minutes, but for me, it's like forever. It's like forever waiting for it. Man, oh man. So, anyways, anyways, let's get back to the badges. Let's get back to the badge. We got badge talking. We got badge talk, we got good things happening today. Three o'clock, badgers taking out Purdue from Mackey, man, oh man, on CBS. It's gonna be a big one. That's a big one right there. And I think, Christian, and I want to hear what you think. I think playing at Mackie is the perfect thing leading into the Big Ten tournament and leading into the big dance. Because when you go to Mackie, how do you respond to the adversity? You're on the road, it's senior day. There's gonna be a lot of fans, a lot of hollering, a lot of hoopla, right? Everybody's getting excited. It's senior day. This is gonna be a jacked-up crowd. How do you handle that adversity? I mean, it's gonna be rocking. Like I said, it's gonna be rocking in there. Purdue is gonna bring it. How do you respond to that adversity? How do you respond to Purdue bringing that smoke at you? How do you respond? I think playing at Mackie is just going to make this team that much better moving forward because you're gonna learn those little things. Like last season, when you went to Salt Lake City and in the tournament and had to play BYU, you were on it. It was a road game, but it was a road game for just you, not BYU, because their entire everybody was there from BYU, and then only a certain amount of Badger fans got there because it was basically a home game for BYU in Salt Lake City. So it just felt like you were on the road, you were facing the adversity. I just think a game like this is perfect leading into the Big Ten tournament, leading into the Big Dance. What are your thoughts, Christian?

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we all know Mackie is gonna be a super hostile environment. It's all it's going to be, it's not easy to play there. It's like harder than going to Northwestern. Well, here's my question: What do you think is harder to do? Play against a team like Purdue at Mackie with uh like a super raucous environment. Or do you think it's harder to go on the road and play like in a just a completely dead environment?

SPEAKER_02

Well, that okay, are you asking normal season or this season's badger team? Because those are two different answers. This season's badger team, but maybe just in general. Maybe just in general. In general, I would say the raucous crowd would probably get you to bring the energy too because you're gonna get fired up because they're fired up. I mean, you get the PA announcer going, you get the you know, the band going, you get excited, you get your your heart to race and you're just pumped up. But when you go into that quiet environment, you just it's you gotta bring your own energy. It's hard, right? We're talking like COVID year when there was no fans involved. It was hard. You had to bring your own energy. It really tested what teams were. I just said this year versus normal season because this year, the Badgers, when they play a bad team, they just it doesn't even matter what the environment's like, they're still gonna find a way to lose it. And then when they play a like Michigan in Ann Arbor on the road, Michigan's undefeated, they just find a way to win it. So, I mean, this season, I or most seasons, I would say, yeah, you're right. The the raucous crowd is the one you want to play.

SPEAKER_04

But yeah, I guess I I'm with you. It's I think this is a really good opportunity for them. I think it's like a nice, like like we talked about, this isn't this game's not gonna make or break your season. Yeah, it'd be nice to jump up a seed just for the the you know fact of jumping up a seed, but like now that we kind of talked about if it does fall that way, I'd almost still rather be a six. But I think it'd be it's a good environment to kind of like get ready for the NCAA turn. Um, I mean, obviously they're all gonna be neutral, neutral stadium, neutral courts and stuff, except unless you like happen to play, you know, on you know, in a region that's closer to your opponent, kind of like what we've done in the past. But I just I don't know. I think obviously it it's it's helpful. You you get to play a really good team, you get to play them on the road, you get adversity, you kind of like you know, iron sharpens iron kind of thing we've talked about before. It's I think it's good for them. I think it's ending the season at Purdue is gonna be a good thing for them, hopefully to prep them and get them ready for the NCAA tournament so we don't see another first weekend exit.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, no, I 100% agree. And you know, you just said like iron sharp is iron, right? You talk about the matchups that you have going into this game, and these let's get right into it. Some of the matchups heading into this one, the guard matchup between Braden Smith and Nick Boyd. That's a big one, right? Because Braden Smith, really good, really good and can force silly fouls. So Nick Boyd, he needs to be smart in this game here. He's got to stay out of fall trouble, do the little things right. I mean, you're are you kind of seeing that same thing?

Key Matchups: Braden Smith vs Nick Boyd

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, I mean, I'm still sick of playing Braden Smith. He's like our new Aaron Kraft, like it feels like the dude's been around forever, right? So, like, luckily, the last time we have to play him. So, but like he's he's just so good and he does so many things. He can beat you offensively, but like he's really good at just finding the open guy. Like, I don't know how many times I've watched him drive, and I know what he's gonna do because I've seen him do it a hundred times, but I'm constantly looking around for when I'm gonna like I don't even see the guy he's gonna pass it to, and he still just makes this pass to a guy I have no idea, like I didn't think he'd even like attempt it, and yet he just puts it like on the money, he's just so hard to guard.

SPEAKER_02

100%. I I had more to say that I had a I had like a cough coming on, so I was like, I gotta quick throw this off to Christian here before I start coughing in the mic, and I was like struggling to get to the end there. So, yeah, the guard matchup is gonna be fantastic in this one. There's another guy that I'm looking at here, and that is John Blackwell. He was limited in that first in that first matchup they had. He sat from the 854 mark in the first half there until the end of the first half with foul trouble. He needs to play smart in this game here because you have a team at Purdue that's going to get after you a little bit, and they're a smart team. Matt Painter knows what he can do, right? And they know that John Blackwell will be aggressive and he's gonna look to get downhill. And you got guys like Fletcher Lawyer who like to throw the body around a little bit and kind of he's ready for the NBA. He likes to, you know, try to sell it, right? And that so Fletcher Lawyer is gonna be that kind of guy. They have guys in this team that'll be like that. So John Blackwell has to be smart in a game like this. He spoke on what's been happening as of late, and I love that he did. He was held himself accountable. He said he's been frustrated as of late, and that's led to a lot of his up and downs this season. He's been frustrated with his play, and he needs to keep his head up, you know, especially leading into tournament play, everything like that. But I love that he held himself accountable, that he was frustrated, and that's what's been going on with him. He's looked out of it. We've talked about it for weeks. We said he's just looked out of it, he hasn't looked like himself, and he held up to that. And then in this last game against Merrill, he looked like he was back to himself. And that was a lot to do with Nick Boyd. That was a lot to do with Greg Guard and the coaching staff. Just kind of talking with him, working through it, saying, Hey, it's fine. We'll carry it. So, I mean, if you do you want to touch in on any of that?

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, I mean, that's I was gonna say it too. We've talked about like he almost seemed like I don't ever want to throw a kid under the bus and be like, Oh, he's uninterested, you know. But there's it just seemed like not the John Blackwell we were used to seeing. Like he just would disappear and it would almost feel like it would just fall on Nick Boyd or uh Austin Rapp or uh Braden Carrington to take kind of take the game over and be that second scoring threat behind Boyd. Or if God forbid Boyd's having a not perfect game, all of a sudden now who's gonna take it up because Blackwell just apparently either he's having a bad game or he just doesn't just he's just hasn't been playing. So I think it's good he's been kind of he holds himself accountable. I think that's just shows the character of the you know the kind of kid he is. Um but it's like it feels like we've had a lot of that this season, hasn't it? Like he's been very up and down when he's on, he's all kind he's an all-conference player. But when it's like he's not, it's like, man, where is this guy? What's going on with him?

Blackwell’s Accountability And Role

SPEAKER_02

And it it does go with him. You see his excitement, you see him in the game and excited and kind of kind of playing within what's happening, right? And showing the emotion, and that's when John Blackwell's at his best. And you saw that against Maryland. He was excited, he was in the game, he was in tune to the game, and I think that's a big difference for him. So I love that he had like you, like we were saying, that he held himself accountable and that he's telling himself, hey, I'm gonna keep my head up, I'm gonna keep moving forward. We got tournament play coming up. I gotta stay in tune of the games, I gotta keep myself there. So we love to see that. If winter is limited, you're gonna see a lot of the bigs of you know, rap, beal, you're gonna see garlic in there. They're gonna have to play really well, especially on the defensive end of the floor, because you have two guys in Ren and Clough who are gonna be able to get after it in this one here, and you gotta find a way. I'm not really looking more, I guess, on the offensive end of the floor. I'm looking controlling the boards. You gotta be able to control the boards, limit offensive rebounds. Don't give this Purdue team second chances because second chances in a game like this in Mackey are gonna spell trouble. So I'm looking at Garlic Rap and Beal. They have to come up big in this game, especially on the defensive end and on the boards in a game like this. Purdue has been hit or missed as of late. I mean, as of late, they've the game against Northwestern the other night there, they almost ended up blowing that one. They've had some tough games as of late. They got, I believe they beat who was the beat Nebraska in this stretch of games. Yep. But along the way, I mean they lost to the game.

SPEAKER_04

Wasn't that with like wasn't that when that guy slipped on the water? Yes, yes, you remember that.

SPEAKER_02

They've been struggling as a I mean, what is it, three of their last or two of they're two and three in their last five? Uh Purdue is two and two and three in their last five. So they've been struggling going into this game here. So they've been hit or miss, but don't don't overlook it. Because when you have guard versus painter, when you have Wisconsin versus Purdue, it always sets up for a big matchup. That's just how it goes. They played a lot of great games, a lot of classic matchups. We all remember a few years back for the conference when Chucky Hepburn banked in the three. We all remember that. We've seen a lot of big time matchups versus these with these teams. So this is gonna be another one of those games here. So let's go to players to look out for in this game. So if you had to give me some players to look out for, who are you looking at?

SPEAKER_04

Um Wisconsin or Purdue. Who do you want?

SPEAKER_02

Uh let's go, let's go Purdue. Let's go Purdue right away. If you're looking at Purdue, who are you looking out for in this game?

SPEAKER_04

I think obviously the big one you're looking at is uh Braden Smith, and we kind of hit on him already. He's literally he everything offensively runs through him. He is the facilitator of the offense, but again, like I said, he can still make you pay on offense. But um I think he's he's your classic, you know, pass first guy. He wants to make he wants to make an easy shot for someone else. Um, and I think so he's obviously the number one guy that they have to worry about. Um, Fletcher Lawyer, I feel like has been having kind of a down season. Maybe it's just my I don't know. Maybe I guess I haven't really watched a whole lot of Purdue or I haven't like read up on Fletcher Lawyer's season, but I feel like he hasn't really been doing as much damage as he has in the past, but it always seems like he kind of comes out against the Badgers and has a good game, doesn't he? Oh, yeah. So like so I I called him the Badger Killer in the preview that's coming out, or that came out this morning, I should say. So he's I I obviously gotta watch him, especially with Braden Smith doing what he does. He's gonna find Fletcher Lawyer open for some threes. So the badgers gotta make sure that they close out on him or just run him off the line, make him do something else other than shoot threes. Um, then obviously the other big guy is Kaufman Wren. He's you know preseason all Big Ten. Um, I don't know. Another guy that I'm like, yeah, he's a good player, but yeah, I think he but I think he could absolutely do some damage today if we don't have one or if Winter's not playing. So that's I think kind of that's the those are the three I would look out for the most is Braden Smith, Fletcher Lawyer, and Kaufman Ren. But and then for Wisconsin, I got obviously Nick Boyd. You want to watch him, he's gonna be involved. I want to see Blackwell do something. I want to see this. If there's ever a game to take over, this has to be it, right? Um get like just get get something going into the heading into postseason, get some momentum here. Um, and then obviously Carrington. I think he's he's been on a on a tear lately. And like we've talked about before, too. I love that he comes off the bench and he is like when he comes in, I'm not worried about like that. Oh shoot, like here comes the bench, like you're not gonna get any bench points. We just gotta get, you know, hopefully there's at least a couple starters on the floor that can do something. But he's just I don't know. I I love watching him play, so I think he's gonna he's one of those guys where I want to watch, and I think he's gonna keep his heater rolling and he's gonna let it fly to let it fly uh at Mackie today.

Frontcourt Battle And Controlling The Glass

SPEAKER_02

I completely agree. I had the same guys written down for my key players in this one here. Uh Job Blackwell, I agree with you. On the offensive end, be aggressive in a game like this. Get to that, get downhill, get to that mid-range shot because when he can get to the mid-range, he is deadly from that mid-range area. So I'd love to see him get downhill, get himself to his spot there. He's a good three-point shooter. He's good at the rim, but he's really good for the mid-range. So I'd love to see him get there. Nick Boyd and on Braden Smith defensively in this game. You can never eliminate Braden Smith. But when you watch against Northwestern, Braden Smith had a rough game. You got you get him in some trouble, you get him, you kind of bottle him up there and force everybody else to try and be the guys in those games. That's where you're looking in this one. So you can't eliminate him, but do what you can to limit him in a game like this. Limit his effect in a game like this. And that happens with everybody else, too. Cutting off those passing lanes, everything else. So that's where I'm kind of looking with Nick Boyd in a game like this. Rap and Beal and maybe Winter, right? Talked about it earlier. Getting on those bigs, I and especially defensively and cleaning the glass. Those are gonna be big keys for me, but that's gonna happen with those big guys there. So, Christian, keys to the game. What do you got for me?

SPEAKER_04

I like we talked about we're not gonna change the badgers. So, keys to the game, we gotta work for good threes. I don't just take the first one you see, but like, yeah, we're gonna shoot threes, but also I think they gotta be able to get out and run. Um, Purdue's rel is actually really good at like limiting that, and I think it helps that they have guys that can get offensive boards and stuff, so like teams can't necessarily get out and run, but that's what the Padgers like to do. If we can get out and run on Purdue, I think they got a pretty good shot at beating them, but I think it's a lot easier said than done.

SPEAKER_02

I agree 100% in a game like this here. Patience, patience will be key in a game like this, waiting for those good shots, hunting those good shots in a game like this. I completely agree with you there. So, Christian, I gotta run here. Let the people know where to find you out there across social media.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, as always, you can find me at Christian Borne, and you can check out all my work at the badgerbacker or badgerbacker.com.

SPEAKER_02

Make sure you check them out. Any any new stuff coming out? What do we got coming out here?

SPEAKER_04

Uh, you know, just trying to I don't know, it's hard, just trying to keep up with the recruiting stuff. That's all starting to take off a little bit here with uh official visit seasons coming up. So got a couple especially in-state guys loaded up. Hopefully they can bring them in, but trying to trying to keep track of all that stuff.

Players To Watch On Both Sides

SPEAKER_02

Oh, it's a mess right now. We're gonna be talking about some of them recruits coming up on Wednesday. So make sure you guys check it out. Christian's gonna be back Wednesday. We're gonna recap this game, look ahead to the Big Ten tournament, also talk about that recruiting news there in football. So when we come back from the break, we're gonna wrap it up here, give our last keys for today's Wisconsin-Purdue game, and then get you out of here. We'll be right back in Wisconsin. I'm your host, Trage, and we're coming back in here on this Saturday. As we wrap it up here, I want to hit my keys for today's Badgers versus Purdue matchup, the rematch from January there. Purdue came to Madison, beat up on the Badgers. Now, time to repay that, right? Time to repay it down in Mackey on senior day. So you got those kind of implications in there. You gotta love the atmosphere you're walking into. I gotta hit my keys. So my keys for this one here. Offensive glass. You gotta limit what Purdue is able to do in this game here. Grab some for yourself in this one here, right? Grab some offensive rebounds. But if you're the badgers' bigs, right? You're looking at Bielowski, so you're looking at Rap. If Winter plays, you gotta look at those guys in this one here and say, you guys have to be a force on the interior. Clean up the glass. Don't allow second chance buckets for Purdue. Defensive intensity. That goes along with the glass there. Defensive intensity, you got to turn it up in a game like this. You got to force some turnovers, force some fast break opportunities for yourself in this one here. But if you're the Badgers, cutting off those lanes, whatever you can do in a game like this is gonna be huge on the road. So feed into the atmosphere there. Get jacked up, force some turnovers, play tough defense, play gritty defense in this one, get on the floor, diving around. That's what you're looking for in a game like this. So the intensity in this one has to be good. You're gonna shoot threes. We know that. This team's a three-point shooting team. We know that. So you're gonna shoot some threes, but it's about hunting the good ones in a game like this here. Be patient. Move the ball side to side, not just one side of the floor, side to side, both sides of the court, work the ball around, knock down some threes in a game like this, but hunting good shots is gonna be a big thing for the badges here. Smart passes. You know, with Braden Smith, Braden Smith is the best at forcing you to throw a bad pass and then picking it off. That's what he does. He's like a free safety out there. Braden Smith runs the floor really well, and he's like a free safety. Taking care of the basketball is gonna be uh big in a game like this. And also, I'm looking at your response to runs in a game like this. Purdue is gonna put on runs. You're gonna get punched in the mouth. How do you respond? That's what you're looking for in a game like this. Embrace the atmosphere, use it as a fire. Big things. Big game today for the Badgers. So embrace the atmosphere you're walking into in Mackie. Good things ahead. So Badgers Purdue coming up at three o'clock today. Can't wait to watch that one. Big game there next Wednesday on the show. Of course, Christian's gonna be back. We're gonna recap that game from today, Purdue game. We're gonna look ahead to the Big Ten tournament. We're gonna have Kyle on talking about everything happening in the world national. Well, we got World Baseball Classic happening, everything happening in the National Sporting News. We're gonna get to that. Whisco Fanatics guys stopping by next Wednesday and also Ummer. So make sure you check us out next Wednesday from 5 to 7, right here on 92 3. So, with that, that's about all I have for today. I hope you guys enjoy the rest of your Saturday and the rest of your weekend. But until I talk to you guys again next Wednesday, see ya!