Wisconsin Hosts Valparaiso Prior to the Holiday
December 21, 2007 | Men's Basketball
The Wisconsin men's basketball team (8-2) welcomes the Valpo Crusaders to the Kohl Center Saturday night with tip set for 7:30 p.m. CT. The game will be shown live on the Big Ten Network and can also be heard on the Badger Radio Network, including 1310 AM in Madison.
The Badgers haven't played since beating Green Bay 70-52 on Dec. 15, while finishing up final exams all week. With school almost done, the team is excited to get back on the court and take a break from school over the semester break.
Read how Jason Bohannon balances his school work and basketball in the latest postid=440"> --> Men's Basketball Blog and watch Greg Stiemsma's interview on the Big Ten Network where he discusses Big Ten basketball along with some more 'personal' topics.
The Badgers and Crusaders have met twice before (1994 and 1995), with UW winning both match ups. Saturday's game will mark the third-straight game against a Horizon League team after the Badgers defeated Milwaukee and Green Bay last week. Wisconsin leads the Big Ten in both scoring defense and field goal percentage defense, limiting teams to only 52.5 points per game and 36.4 percent shooting.
UW's Bo Ryan and Valpo's Homer Drew are two of the 17 active Division I coaches with at least 500 career wins. Check out Wisconsin's Game Notes here and Valparaiso's here.
Junior Marcus Landry has been hot lately, scoring 27 points in the last two games and shooting 52 percent from the floor. He is one of four Badgers to average at least 9.0 points per game this year. The others include Trevon Hughes (15.2), Brian Butch (13.3) and Michael Flowers (9.1).
After Saturday's game, the Badgers will hit the road for their next two contests. After Christmas, Wisconsin will travel to Texas on Dec. 29 followed by opening the Big Ten season at Michigan on Jan. 2, 2008.
