Wisconsin Basketball Must Lean on Strong Defense to Defeat No. 1 Arizona

The Wisconsin basketball program is rolling, winning six straight games with quality wins over Virginia, Marquette, and Michigan State. However, the most challenging matchup yet is on deck as the Badgers go on the road to take on No. 1 Arizona. 

UW has been playing some of their best defense of the year in the recent stretch, holding opponents to under 65 points in five of their last six games. Against one of the best offensive teams in the nation, defense will be crucial for the Badgers as they look to pull off another top-five upset. 

Wisconsin Basketball: Sound Defense Will Be Crucial Against No. 1 Arizona

This Arizona team scores a ton of points. The Wildcats are currently ranked third in the nation in points per game, with an average of 93.4. On top of that, Arizona is ranked second in point differential, standing at a whopping 30.9 points. 

Wisconsin will have the task of slowing down one of the most dynamic offenses in the country with a laundry list of scoring threats. Currently, Arizona has five players who are averaging 10+ points per game, with Caleb Love, Keshad Johnson, Kylan Boswell, Oumar Ballo, and Pelle Larson reaching those marks. Though UW has some solid scoring options, the Badgers just aren’t built to go bucket-for-bucket with a team as dynamic as Arizona. 

If Wisconsin comes away with a win in this one, it will be won on defense.

UW has put together a string of impressive defensive performances as of late. The Badgers limited Michigan State to just 23 first-half points on Tuesday. Before that, Wisconsin held Marquette to 33 first-half points, marking the lowest first-half point total for both squads this year. It’ll be much tougher to manage Arizona’s offense, as the Wildcats have logged 40 points in five out of seven games thus far. 

Arizona is dominant in the paint and from beyond the arc. The Wildcats are currently shooting 37.8 percent from three-point land on the year while also converting 56.4 percent of their two-point shots. The nation’s No. 1 team is shooting at nearly 10 percent above the league average on elbow three-point shots, hitting over 40 percent of their shot attempts on both wings, per CBB Analytics. 

Arizona will score big, so how will Wisconsin have to game plan against this lights-out offense?

How Will the Badgers Slow Arizona’s Dominant Offense?

The Wisconsin basketball program must prioritize slowing down the pace of play to stick around with Arizona. Last weekend, UW took on Marquette, a team known for its fast pace, and was able to slow it down just enough to keep the Badgers ahead. However, Arizona is a different animal, as the Wildcats currently rank No. 8 in the country in pace of play, per TeamRankings.

Of course, the Badgers will have to pick up their own pace — something that they did well against Marquette — but that presents its own challenge. Ultimately, UW can not fall far behind Arizona if they want to stay in this. Wisconsin did not trail at any point in their last two matchups, and while that will be much harder to do against one of the nation’s best defenses, staying in front or even with the Wildcats will be crucial.

On top of slowing the game down, Wisconsin will have to lean on its perimeter defense. Caleb Love, Kyland Boswell, and Pelle Larson are some of the best three-point shooters Arizona has to offer, and all three players have made an impact from range. Though UW has been rather promising defensively in the recent stretch, the three-point defense has been lacking. On the year, the Badgers are ranked 204th in the country in opponent three-point percentage, allowing 33.5 percent from beyond the arc. If UW is going to have a prayer of coming away with a win in this one, eliminating big three-point shots will be critical.

Final Thoughts

Wisconsin doesn’t have the offensive firepower to match up with Arizona, but their defense has been strong in the past few weeks, giving the Badgers a fighting chance against the No. 1 team in the nation. 

UW has some momentum going into this one after some strong wins. Going into this stretch, I thought picking up one win would be a success. Now, Wisconsin has the chance to make it a clean sweep against some strong teams.

The Wisconsin basketball program is currently 7-2 on the year and ranked as the No. 23 team in the nation.

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