A team that could suprise people in the upcoming NCAA tourney is the Wisconsin Badgers. Their chief weapon is defense. Defense and free throws. Their two chief weapons are defense, free throws, and lack of turnovers. Their 3 chief weapons are defense, free throw advantage, and depth.
Defense- The badgers lead the big ten in opponents field goal percentage. Opponents make just 38.2% of their shots. They lead the nation in opponents PPG.
Free Throws- Bo Ryan, the badgers coach, prides himself on getting his guys to the line, and not fouling much. They make more FTs than their opponents attempt. They shoot 70 % from the line. Although it is boring (watching the games, "and now for somthing completly different- a free throw!) it is sucessful.
Depth- They have 3 guys at over 10 points per game (Butch, Hughes, Landry). They have another at 9.6 (Michael Flowers). They have a bunch of guys that get rebounds, including Brian Butch, Joe Krabbenhoft, and Greg Steimsma (hes a "naughty boy", 3 DUI arrests, but good).
All in all, I see the Badgers making a run during the big dance.
Maria Kirilenko
Bar Refaeli
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I don't know how much of a sleeper team they can be when they'll probably end up as at least a 3-seed. To me, the definition of a sleeper team is one seeds at least 5th or 6th in their region if not lower.
G.O.A.T. is back?
Scranton, PA
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I agree with GOAT...how can a team that won the Big 10 Regular season title be considered a sleeper? A sleeper team would be like Marquette for example - a team that finished in the middle to bottom of their conference that turns it on for the conference tourney and into the dance or a team like George Mason that comes out of nowhere.
rstowe
Newport News , VA
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i think they are a sleeper to make final four. No one is saying this, so that makes them a sleeper for it.
maddog7493- gone…
Freedom, NH
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Thank you!!!! The Badgers are the best!!!!! So is Marquette!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dyhard
Germantown, WI
Total Comments (77636)
Are we talking sleeper or cinderella? To me, those are two different entities. A sleeper is a team ranked, say in the 4 - 6 seed and although they have a decent team, they are not expected to make much noise. I don't think too many people are taking Wisconsin seriously. Yes, they won the Big Ten but that was not a huge accomplishment this year. I don't see them being seeded higher than a #4. Given that, they are a surprising team in the bigger landscape of the dance. So, I can see them as a sleeper and making it to the elite 8. As far as a cinderella, I think the team must have a double digit seeding to be considered cinderella. This is also a team that nobody expects to do anything other than be one-and-done but they go deep beating some top seeds along the way.
While I don't see Wisconsin in the final 4, I think they will make it, surprisingly, to the elite 8.
But, that's just my unsolicited opinion.
iB4e: Happy…
Austin, TX
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Sorry this blog didn't get much play.
iB4e: Happy…
Austin, TX
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iB4, I am talking sleeper, I dont think UW is eligible for Cinderella status. Are they?
maddog7493- gone…
Freedom, NH
Total Comments (50)
Sleeper yes, cinderella no. I think some of the other commentors consider sleeper and cinderella the same. I could have misunderstood though. Personally I think this year's cinderella will be Syracuse and Oklahoma will be my sleeper.
iB4e: Happy…
Austin, TX
Total Comments (8532)
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