Who will be the key players on either side in the big game Friday?
The Wisconsin Badgers hope to capture a top-10 victory early in the season as they take on the Arizona Wildcats this Friday.
Arizona has started the season 2-0 and is one of the favorites to win the National Championship. Head coach Tommy Lloyd and his Wildcats squad won the regular season title in the Pac-12 last year and advanced all the way to the Sweet Sixteen where they lost a nail-biter game to Clemson.
This is only the second time a top-10 team has come to Madison in the non-conference slate recently, with the first being Tennessee who came to town last season.
Here are two Badgers and Wildcats to look out for in this contest.
Wisconsin: John Tonje
John Tonje has taken the country by storm with his hot start at Wisconsin. Tonje is averaging 17.7 points per game and grabbing a little over five rebounds per game. He’s been the star of the Badgers offense so far and will look to continue his excellence against Arizona.
Tonje’s strength has been his ability to use his physicality to create space both on the perimeter and in the paint. Expect him to continue his physical play Friday by attacking Arizona’s guards in the paint and finding ways to get open beyond the arc so he can take a fair amount of three-pointers as well.
Wisconsin: Max Klesmit
Max Klesmit was one point shy of his career-high when he scored 26 points against Montana State last Thursday. Klesmit didn’t have the best season opener as he only shot 1-7 from beyond the arc, but he has caught fire since then, shooting 8-17 since Wisconsin’s game against Holy Cross.
Klesmit helped the Badgers capture a big-time win over Marquette at home last season because he got hot early and made some huge threes to lead Wisconsin to victory.
Expect him to continue to have the green light in this game and try to get as many three-point shots up as possible to give the Badgers a good chance to pull off the top-10 upset.
Arizona: Caleb Love
Caleb Love is a name that all college basketball fans are familiar with. He rose to prominence during his time with the North Carolina Tar Heels, but continued to be in the spotlight as he transferred to Arizona two off-seasons ago.
Caleb Love and Arizona were a two-seed in the NCAA tournament last year and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before falling short to Clemson. Love and the ‘Cats are looking to make a deeper run in his final year of eligibility.
Love is averaging a respectable 13.5 points per game this season, with 3.5 rebounds and assists to go along with it. Love is known for not passing up any three-point opportunities, so expect him to be active beyond the arc this Friday night.
The Badgers need to play good defense against him early to limit his damage and keep him cold. When Love gets cold, Arizona has struggled in the past so that could be a possible road to victory for Wisconsin.
Arizona: Jaden Bradley
Jaden Bradley was a key piece of the Wildcats team last year and has started off even better this season. Bradley is averaging 11 points per game and 3.5 assists per game. Bradley is both a solid facilitator and scorer, so the Badgers need to watch out for him.
I expect head coach Greg Gard to put Kamari McGee and John Blackwell up against him defensively. Bradley is one of Arizona’s X-factors, so limiting his efficiency and usage will be huge for Wisconsin.
I see this game coming down to the wire, but I ultimately see the Arizona Wildcats pulling away in the last minute in what is a close game that showcases Wisconsin’s ceiling for the season.
Final Prediction: 85-78 Arizona