Nick Brazzoni, the sports editor at the Badger Herald, speaks with The Daily Iowan.
The Daily Iowan: Wisconsin has obviously been on a hot streak lately; if there was one key for the Hawkeyes to beat the Badgers, what would it be?
Nick Brazzoni: I would say keep the ball out of the paint. Because, while they had that little three-game skid, they hit 36 3s, against Michigan State and against Illinois. It showed that this team isn’t exactly a great 3-point shooting team.
They can get hot, but they’re not consistent from behind the arc, and they’re best when they can get the ball inside, and sometimes they can kick it out and get open shots that way. But this team is best when they do work on the inside with Nigel Hayes attacking and getting to the free-throw line, Ethan Happ doing what he does best, from block to block. So if Iowa can make Wisconsin shoot from the outside, especially on the road, that will help immensely for it.
DI: You just touched on Happ and Hayes; what makes those two so effective?
Brazzoni: Well, for Happ, it’s pretty unbelievable, because teams know he’s not going to shoot. They know he’s not confident enough in his jump shot yet to shoot from the outside. I think it’s his offensive awareness, where he just knows where to put his body, which direction to spin, which direction to move, how to get to the rim. Even if you play perfect defense, it’s almost impossible to stop. He always seems to be one step ahead of his defender.
For Hayes it’s a variety of things. He can do many things. Its his mid-range jumper, once he gets that going, he usually likes to shoot a couple at the start of the game, kind of keep his defender honest, and once he does that, he can back any defender down into the post.
Once he does that, he can get to the free-throw line anytime he wants to. That will to do that is sometimes missing from him; I don’t know what that’s all about, but just sometimes mentally, he just doesn’t look there. When he’s there, he’s able to get to the free-throw line 10 to 15 times a game and keep his defender honest with that jump shot when it’s going down.
DI: For whatever reason, Wisconsin seems to be a thorn in Iowa’s side. Is that something that it does differently? Is that something with Iowa?
Brazzoni: To be honest, I don’t think so. I think both programs are very similar on how their teams are structured. They don’t rely always on an overwhelming amount of athleticism, they both play fundamental basketball. I think they’re both just well aware of the style of play they have.
It looks like Iowa’s taken on the style of offensive Wisconsin’s played over the last few years with a fast pace. You have prolific scorers like Uthoff, and then guys you can just rely on. Get them the ball, and get out of the way. Similar coaching style, similar playing style, and maybe that’s why Wisconsin has a hand on them. I don’t know, but it seems like the teams are very similar in how they approach the game.
