BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — During the Big Ten's annual basketball media days in October — staged for the first time in Washington, D.C., the site of the conference's post-season tournament — Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes listened intently to some of the head coaches who spoke at the event.
The one thing that he took away then is starting to make more sense now.
"A lot of the teams that have been shocking people," Hayes said, "their coaches were extremely confident in themselves. So, I'm not surprised by some of the wins. Looking around the league, it looks pretty wide open. Teams have beaten teams that may not have been expected to win." Everybody in the league has at least one loss after four Big Ten games.
That includes Michigan State (4-1), Maryland (3-1), Purdue (3-1) and Nebraska (3-1). Nobody expected the Terps to be in this crowd because of personnel losses from a year ago (four starters). Nobody expected the Huskers to be there, either, after a lackluster showing (6-6) during their non-conference games.
Maryland (15-2) and Minnesota (15-3) have the most overall wins. The Gophers would also fall into that surprise category, even though they have already lost the season series to the Spartans who rebounded from Saturday's loss to Penn State by crushing the Gophs, 65-47, Wednesday in East Lansing, Michigan.
After suffering its first Big Ten loss Sunday at Purdue, whose only league loss came at home to Minnesota, the Badgers return to action Thursday against Ohio State at the Kohl Center. The Buckeyes (10-6 overall) are still looking for their first conference win after losses to Illinois, Purdue and Minnesota.
Don't take them lightly. Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard isn't.
"I know how good Ohio State can be," Gard said.
Just put on the tape of the Ohio State/Virginia game in the Big Ten/ACC challenge.
The Buckeyes led by as many as 16 points in the first half while shooting 60 percent (15-25) compared to just 28 percent (8-28) by the Cavaliers. It wasn't until 1:58 remained that Virginia finally took the lead for good and escaped with a 63-61 victory on its home floor in late November. Ohio State had a chance to tie or win on the final possession, too.
The Buckeyes were in a similar position against Purdue last week in Columbus.
Rallying from a 10-point second half deficit, Trevor Thompson scored at the rim to tie the game, 75-all, with 15 seconds left. But Thompson couldn't complete the 3-point play. After missing his free throw, Caleb Swanigan made one of two at the other end to push the Boilermakers back into the lead.
JaQuan Lyle then missed a shot at the buzzer.
"They have a talented team," Gard reiterated of the Buckeyes. "And a lot of familiar names."
Start with Lyle, a 6-foot-5, 210 sophomore with 47 career starts. Last season, he scored a game-high 27 points in a 79-68 loss to the Badgers in Madison; the only meeting between the teams. His most productive outings have come on the road: 29 at Indiana (2016) and 26 at Illinois (Jan. 1).
In all games, Lyle is averaging 11.6 points; the same as Marc Loving, a senior from Toledo, Ohio, and another familiar name. The 6-8 Loving has 70 career starts and seven double-doubles. Loving is definitely no stranger to Hayes, another Toledo product, or Vitto Brown, a Bowling Green native.
In Big Ten games, Lyle is averaging 15.3 points; the same as Jae'Sean Tate, a 6-4, 230-pound junior. Tate has 60 career starts and eight double-doubles, three this season. He has also scored 20 or more points three times. He's one of the best rebounders in the nation, at 6-4 or under, averaging 6.1.
In all games, Ohio State's five starters are producing 10 or more points. Thompson is averaging 10.7 (to go along with 9.1 rebounds) and Kam Williams is averaging 10.3 points. Williams lead Ohio State in 3-point shooting (.403, 31-77). He had a season-high 23 points against Navy.
The Buckeyes' depth was impacted with the loss of Keita Bates-Diop who will have season-ending knee surgery. Bates-Diop, a 6-7 junior, was averaging 10 points/5 rebounds. Moreover, Daniel Giddens, A.J. Harris, Mickey Mitchell and Austin Grandstaff have all left the program over the last year.
At 0-3 in Big Ten play, though, they may be more dangerous than ever.
That was the case with a 1-4 Wisconsin team last season.
"I don't know if there's a dominant team that is going to run away with it," Gard said of the Big Ten race. "But I also won't count anybody out. Right now, anyway, it appears to be anybody's game. It's what makes this league exciting, it's why it leads the country in attendance every year.
"Now, maybe more so than ever, in the time I've been here, at least through the first 10 days or so of league play, you don't know what to expect. Before, you kind of had an idea, you could categorize teams. I don't know if we can categorize anybody yet. So far, the parity is pretty evident."
