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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin men's basketball team (25-9) received the No. 8 seed in the East Region and will face ninth-seeded Virginia Tech (22-10) in the opening round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
UWBadgers.com senior writer Mike Lucas takes a look ahead at the Hokies as the Badgers prepare for their 19th-consecutive trip to the The Big Dance, the fourth-longest active streak and the fifth-longest in the history of the NCAA tournament.
"HOW TOUGH ARE YOU?"
The last time Virginia Tech coach Brent Langdon "Buzz" Williams faced a Wisconsin team was in early December of 2013 in what was Williams' sixth and final season at Marquette. Sam Dekker scored 20 points and was one of five players in double-figures as the Badgers handed the Golden Eagles a 70-64 loss at the Kohl Center. It evened Williams' record to 3-3 against the UW. Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig came off the bench, saw limited minutes and combined to shoot just 2-of-8 from the field.
During his post-game comments, Williams lauded the Badgers for their toughness. "I think it always comes down to loose balls and first to the floor and 50-50 balls and offensive rebounds and offensive puts-backs and one — they get an offensive rebound, they score and you foul them. Those are the things I've been saying all week because it always will shake out to, 'How tough are you?'"
Following that season, his worst at Marquette (17-15) after five straight trips to the NCAA tournament, Williams sought a new challenge and accepted Virginia Tech's offer to revive a sagging program. As expected his first year in Blacksburg was a struggle. The Hokies went 11-22 (2-16 in the ACC). But Williams was putting the pieces in place, namely transfers Zach LeDay (South Florida) and Seth Allen (Maryland). Last year, VT turned it around (20-15, 10-8) and received an invitation to the NIT, the precursor to this season's team making it to the Big Dance for the first time since 2007.
Williams is known as a player's coach. He'd give them the shirt off his back. But they might decline it. Less than a month ago, during a 94-90 loss at Louisville, the 44-year-old Williams got so heated up that he sweat trough his purple dress shirt. It was so bad that in the second half, Williams donned an orange "VT" T-shirt drawing this response from Cardinals coach Rick Pitino, "I said to my assistant coaches, 'Is he wearing a T-shirt?' And they said, 'Yes.' I said, 'Why?' and they said, 'He's hot.' Not only is he a great coach but he's a great character.'"
DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN …
Trevon Hughes scored on an off-balanced 12-foot jumper with 0.9 seconds left to lift Wisconsin to a 74-72 win over Virginia Tech in the 2008 Big Ten/ACC Challenge at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg. The Badgers never trailed in their first and only meeting with the Hokies, who had gone 39-4 at home against non-conference opponents over five seasons. "The guy (Hughes) drove it right down our throats," said Seth Greenberg, then the VT coach, now an ESPN studio analyst for college basketball. "He made a good shot and we didn't stop the ball."
Greg Gard and Howard Moore were both Bo Ryan assistants.
"This win shows a lot about this team," said a UW senior, "and the heart we have."
That senior was Joe Krabbenhoft, now a Gard assistant.
Five days later, Marquette beat the Badgers, 61-58, at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. It was Buzz Williams' first taste of the in-state rivalry with Wisconsin. "I thought the last 16 minutes, it was Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali," Williams said. "I think Bo Ryan is a Hall of Fame coach."
Williams proved to be prescient. Ryan is going into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2017. "They have a distinct style of play that is extremely hard to prepare for," Williams said of the 2008 Badgers, who haven't changed much over the years. "They are really tough to match-up with. It changes how you have to play and how you have to prepare."
NOTE WORTH QUOTING
The Hokies love to launch from the 3-point line. They rank No. 13 nationally in shooting percentage (.403) from beyond the arc. The school record is 39.5 percent (1995-96). Since 2009, the University of Virginia has the best single-season mark from long distance in the ACC — shooting 40.3 percent last season. Virginia Tech made 17-of-26 (.645) at Louisville and 12-of-18 against Boston College (.667). The Hokies have made at least 10 triples in six of the last eight games.
BENCH STRENGTH
Virginia Tech's two leading scorers, the aforementioned transfers, LeDay (16.3 points) and Allen (13.4), are utilized off the bench. Each has started only five games. The 6-foot-7, 235-pound LeDay has scored in double-figures in 30 of 32 games and has six double-doubles. Last Wednesday, LeDay had 31 points (14-of-18 free throws) and 15 rebounds in the Hokies' 99-90 victory over Wake Forest in the ACC tournament. The 6-1, 190-pound Allen has scored in double-figures in 15 of the last 17 since returning from an injury. Allen has accounted for the game-winning basket in five ACC victories.
DON'T CALL ME JOSEY
Ty Outlaw broke the school record for 3-pointers in a game with eight (8-of-11) against Miami (Feb. 27). The 6-6, 220-pound Outlaw had five triples against Louisville (5-of-6) and Boston College (5-of-5). He was 4-of-7 from the arc in the Wake Forest win. Outlaw, who took a medical redshirt last season, is one of four Hokies with 50 or more 3-pointers. Topping the list are 6-5, 220-pound guard Justin Bibbs (65-of-153, .425) and 6-5, 205-pound Ahmed Hill (59-of-157, .376). Bibbs is the nephew of Hall of Fame defensive back Michael Haynes who starred for New England and the LA Raiders.
TO HAIL WITH MICHIGAN
Trailing by as many as 15 points in the first half, the Hokies rallied for a 73-70 win over Michigan in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They didn't take their first lead until 2:18 remained in the game. And while the Wolverines outscored Virginia Tech, 23-9, in points off turnovers, they were crushed at the free throw line. The Hokies were 19-of-21 compared to 4-of-7 for Michigan. LeDay was the leading scorer with 18. Justin Robinson had 11.
A HOLE TO FILL
The Hokies lost their fourth-leading scorer, Chris Clarke, to an ACL tear, in Virginia Tech's double-overtime 80-78 win over Virginia (Feb. 12). Clarke, a 6-6, 210-pound sophomore, was averaging 11 points and 7 rebounds, the second most to LeDay. In mid-December, Clarke had the first triple-double in school history with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists against the Citadel.
QUOTE WORTH NOTING
After Virginia Tech upset No. 5 Duke, 89-75, in the ACC opener, snapping a nine-game losing streak to the Blue Devils, Bibbs, one of six players in double-figures, boasted, "Our confidence is sky-high. I feel like we can play against anybody and with anybody."
