Clash of Leagues Pits UW against FSU
November 28, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Michigan and N.C. State starred in the opening game of the 2006 ACC/Big Ten Challenge last night in Raleigh, N.C. The Wolfpack won 74-67. Ten more teams ' five from each league ' take the spotlight tonight including the Badgers, who host Florida State at 6:30 p.m. in the Kohl Center.
Both Wisconsin and Florida State will be trying to hand the other just its second loss this season. The Seminoles (4-1) lost to No. 3 Pittsburgh Friday after reeling off four consecutive wins at home. The Badgers (5-1) are 12th in the A.P. Poll after losing to Missouri State in their first game away from Madison before rebounding against Auburn Saturday.
These two teams met for the first time in 1961 and haven't played since. Wisconsin won that game 64-63 courtesy of a Don Heardon jumper in the closing seconds.
But looking at the history of the Challenge, it's been Florida State and the ACC who have relished in success. The ACC has won all seven Challenges dating back to 1999, and Florida State is the third-most winningest team in the competition with a 5-2 mark. Only Duke (7-0) and Wake Forest (6-1) can boast a better record.
Wisconsin has played six of its seven Challenge games against Wake Forest and Maryland and faced Georgia Tech in 2001. The Badgers' last win in the series came at home against Maryland in 2004. UW has won seven consecutive games at the Kohl Center dating back to last season and is 76-5 at home over the past five seasons.
Tonight's game pits a pair of preseason All-American forwards in Florida State 's Al Thornton and Wisconsin's Alando Tucker. Thornton brings 16 points and nearly six boards per game to the court. Tucker is the Big Ten's leading scorer at 20.2 points per game. He's shooting over 50 percent from the floor this season.
As has been the case for most of the season, Wisconsin will be the taller team. With three guards in the starting lineup, the Seminoles' rely on 6'8' Thornton and 6'9' Uche Echefu down low.
Florida State has been compared in many ways to the Auburn team Wisconsin faced Saturday. In fact the Seminoles' point guard, Toney Douglas, transferred in from Auburn last season. He's averaged nearly 11 points and four assists this season for coach Leonard Hamilton, who is undefeated (4-0) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
The added height and depth that Wisconsin has used this season has helped the Badgers shoot 62 more free throws than their opponents. UW is outscoring its opponents by over 100 points in the paint (230-122) and has exactly twice as many points from its bench (130-65).
Joe Krabbenhoft, Marcus Landry and first-year Jason Bohannon are each contributing over 15 minutes and four points off the bench for coach Bo Ryan.
Krabbenhoft is averaging 6.2 points per game and has been the Badgers' leading rebounder in half his team's games. Bohannon went 97 minutes into his collegiate career without committing a turnover. He has 12 assists against just one turnover in six games ' 113 minutes ' this season.
