BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas suggested late Sunday morning that Wisconsin was a good team and one that might benefit the most from getting outside of its conference and playing a fresh opponent in the NCAA tournament.
Bilas' comments came six hours before the release of the 2021 brackets which revealed that the Badgers were a 9-seed and would face North Carolina, the 8-seed in the South Region on Friday in West Lafayette, Ind. at 6:10 p.m. (CT) on CBS.
In an ironic twist, while stepping outside of the Big Ten, which placed a record nine teams in the Big Dance, punctuated by two 1-seeds and two 2-seeds, the Badgers will be stepping back into a Big Ten arena — Mackey Arena — where they last played Purdue two weeks ago (March 2).
Even though they lost to the Boilermakers, 73-69 — they pulled within one point with 2:30 left — it was considered to be a turnaround in their level of play and competitiveness, a thread that ran through their last four games, including a couple of close losses to Iowa and a win over Penn State.
"Starting with the game at Purdue, I thought we had more rhythm to us," UW coach Greg Gard said Sunday. "I just think that the quality of teams has been the biggest hurdle in having us play better. You can look in the mirror to some degree and we have to do that and continue to do that.
"But also, as I've watched us come down the schedule, checking the analytics, we're playing the third or fourth or seventh ranked team in the country and I'm not just talking AP polls …"
Basically, it's what Bilas was talking about: the need to get away from the Big Ten mine field.
Speaking to tendencies and the familiarity of conference opponents that builds over time, senior guard Brad Davison said, "You watch those teams, and those guys (opposing players) do the same things years and years. And you can kind of tell what's going on before you even see it happen.
"Just to see a new team, new offensive sets, new defensive schemes, I'm excited. I'm excited — yes, to get out of the league — but also for new opportunities and new challenges. UNC is going to be a great test and a great challenge.
"Obviously, that's one of the best programs in college basketball over the last … you know … forever. Obviously very well coached with coach Roy Williams. A lot of talent. Really athletic. They love to run up and down. Good defensively.
"I know they're usually really good at offensive rebounding — going and getting their misses. Love to play fast. So that's kind of the usual UNC protocol how they operate. I haven't gotten to see a whole lot yet. But, again, I'm looking forward to it. Watching somebody new."
Senior center Micah Potter was on the same page with Davison.
"It will be good to see someone different," said Potter, making sure that it didn't sound like he was diminishing the Tar Heels. On the contrary, he has the utmost respect for them. "Obviously, we'll still have our work cut out for us. But it will be fun to play against someone else.
"It will be a different scout (team preparation in practice). It will be someone that we're not too familiar with. But that will also make us have to work a little harder when it comes to preparing for the game. That's not to say that we don't prepare hard for Big Ten games.
"But because you've played those teams and played the same players for four years — or you've played a team multiple times in the same year — you kind of understand tendencies a little bit more compared to playing a different team in a different conference."
• • • •
After watching the Selection Show and testing with his Badger teammates, Potter began quarantining in his Indianapolis hotel room. After Facetiming with family in Ohio, he played video games on his X-box with old friends back home. Netflix, Hulu, Disney-Plus provided other options.
"I'm a huge Lord of the Rings fan, so I'm probably going to watch the series in this quarantine period," said Potter, who conceded his body clock hasn't adjusted to the Eastern Time Zone yet. The team got to Indy last Wednesday and he hasn't been able to fall asleep until the early morning hours.
While in his room Sunday, he tried to coordinate travel plans with his parents and his finance, Elle Van Grinsven, a volleyball player at Loyola (Chicago). All of her Missouri Valley Conference matches are on Sundays and Mondays. But he was hopeful that she might be able to drive to Friday's game.
Loyola will play Northern Iowa in Cedar Rapids next weekend.
"I'd love for her to be there," he said. "But she has her own sport to deal with."
Mackey Arena seats 14,240, but capacity will be capped at 1,475 on Friday night. For the first time this season, the UW players got to play in front of some fans, instead of mostly cardboard cutouts, during Big Ten tournament games at Lucas Oil Stadium. Did it make that big of a difference?
"Oh, my goodness, yes," Potter said. "It makes it so much more fun, enjoyable and intense. For me, personally, and I know for other guys on the team as well, it really helps us … making us more engaged in the game. You enjoy the game even more having fans there.
"This whole season has felt very weird with how dead the games have been. Having fans there makes it feel more real. Like, 'Ok, we're in March Madness. This is how it's supposed to feel even though it's nowhere what it would be if there was no COVID.' It still gives you that feel."
Davison agreed whole-heartedly.
"Meant everything," he said of having a crowd however limited. "Those are the little moments and the little interactions that we take for granted to so often. I know I do … Being able to give my dad a salute in the stands and wave to my mom. Making eye contact during a timeout or free throw.
"Little things like that go a long way."
Playing in the Big Dance is no little thing, though, to anyone on the UW roster.
"Extremely special," said Davison who has appeared in only one NCAA tournament game, a first-round loss to Oregon in 2019. "I know personally and for a lot of the guys in that locker room, this is what you're growing up and you're dreaming about playing on the college stage.
"You're dreaming of playing in March and playing in March Madness and dreaming of that One Shining Moment video and everything that comes with playing in the NCAA tournament. Not having that opportunity last year has made this opportunity so much more special."
In 2018, Potter, a sophomore, came off the bench and played sparingly for No. 5 seed Ohio State in two NCAA games in the West Regional at Boise, Idaho — a win over No. 12 seed South Dakota State and a loss to No. 4 seed Gonzaga. Potter played eight minutes and made a 3-pointer against the Zags.
And he just naturally assumed that there would be many more Dances in his future.
"At that point, I wasn't expecting to leave Ohio State and it was definitely something I was expecting to do every year," he said. "Even in my freshman year, the year we didn't make it (at OSU), going into the year, I was fully expecting to make the NCAA tournament. Obviously, it didn't work out.
"But it was kind of the expectation that I had. That I was going to get multiple chances to play in the NCAA tournament. And, thankfully, because of this year, I'm going to have that second chance to make it multiple chances.
"Playing in the NCAA tournament is definitely special."
Potter knows that North Carolina has a lot of size on the frontline in 6-10 Armando Bacot and Garrison Brooks. And the Heels can also bring 6-10 Day'Ron Sharpe and 7-1 Walker Kessler off the bench. Nationally, they are among the leaders in offensive rebounding and second-chance points.
"All five have got to make sure we're rebounding," Potter said. "It's something we have to make sure we're focusing on. But, thankfully, we've had some pretty good teams and pretty good bigs to go up against throughout the regular season to kind of get ourselves ready and prepared for it.
"Luka (Garza). Kofi (Cockburn). Hunter Dickinson. Guys like that across the league who are really big bodies and can go get rebounds. I'm looking forward to the guards helping out the bigs. But also making sure the bigs are doing their job. Boxing out. Getting bodies in the way. Attacking the ball …"
Davison chimed in, "We've faced some of the best men every single night in the Big Ten, whether it's scoring or rebounding, so we definitely have some experience with that over the last few weeks. But that's on all five men … all five guys that are on the floor.
"The role for everyone is the same. You box out. You can't let your man get in there and then when the ball is up in the air — that's also what these games in March come down to — who comes up with those 50/50 balls? Who gains the most possessions? That's on everyone."
It was nearly 11 o'clock Sunday night (Eastern) and Potter confessed that he wasn't tired at all. "I'll probably end up putting on Netflix or movie to see if I can get myself tired," he said, admitting, "The quarantine period is not as bad as you think. I've got some stuff to keep me entertained."
The Badgers will test and quarantine again on Monday.
It's such a small price to pay, Potter said, to still be playing. Or playing at all after last year.
