I'm ready to move on after the Oklahoma game. Syracuse is another tough opponent. I'd expect a lot of outside shooting again over their 2-3 zone and the Carrier Dome is not exactly the most shooter friendly facility.
Syracuse weaknesses: Per usual with their zone they are very bad on the defensive glass (304) and they do not have anyone taller than 6' 9" on the roster. Badgers are 13th in offensive rebounding so this is a big advantage. Syracuse also turns it over a ton (307) but as is typical the Badgers do not force TO's at a high rate (265 in steals). Syracuse is not deep and they get almost no bench production. The Badgers, especially Nigel, draw fouls at a pretty high rate; getting Syracuse in foul trouble could be an effective strategy.
Syracuse strengths: They are shooting the 3 at 41% (35th) and get a large percentage of their points from 3 (41%). Gbinije and Lydon are tall wings both shooting over 50% from deep. Badgers opponents are shooting 45.1% from 3 on the year (345) so that is a huge strength against weakness factor. Other than defensive rebounding, Syracuse is very good defensively (22).
I think the key will be for the Badgers to find ways to get inside the zone anyway they can, crash the offensive glass, and draw fouls. If they can I think the Badgers can make this a good game.
Kenpom projects 68-63 Syracuse.
Syracuse weaknesses: Per usual with their zone they are very bad on the defensive glass (304) and they do not have anyone taller than 6' 9" on the roster. Badgers are 13th in offensive rebounding so this is a big advantage. Syracuse also turns it over a ton (307) but as is typical the Badgers do not force TO's at a high rate (265 in steals). Syracuse is not deep and they get almost no bench production. The Badgers, especially Nigel, draw fouls at a pretty high rate; getting Syracuse in foul trouble could be an effective strategy.
Syracuse strengths: They are shooting the 3 at 41% (35th) and get a large percentage of their points from 3 (41%). Gbinije and Lydon are tall wings both shooting over 50% from deep. Badgers opponents are shooting 45.1% from 3 on the year (345) so that is a huge strength against weakness factor. Other than defensive rebounding, Syracuse is very good defensively (22).
I think the key will be for the Badgers to find ways to get inside the zone anyway they can, crash the offensive glass, and draw fouls. If they can I think the Badgers can make this a good game.
Kenpom projects 68-63 Syracuse.
