No. 2 Pitt at No. 7 Wisconsin Saturday
December 15, 2006 | Men's Basketball
The Kohl Center will play host to the first regular season basketball game in UW history between two top-10 teams Saturday as No. 2 Pitt (10-0) faces No. 7 Wisconsin (10-1). Dan Shulman and Dick Vitale will call the game live on ESPN. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m.
Only one other time have the Badgers been involved in a contest featuring two, top-10 teams in the Associated Press Poll. Ironically, it was against Pitt in the 2004 NCAA tournament.
The Badgers have two wins over second-ranked teams in their record book. Their most recent win came at home against Minnesota in 1997. The other was against Illinois in 1952.
Pitt is undefeated after 10 games for the fourth year in a row. The Panthers have won 21 consecutive non-conference games dating back to 2005, won 10 straight against the Big Ten and are 25-0 in games played in December under head coach Jamie Dixon.
Wisconsin, meanwhile, has matched its best start under head coach Bo Ryan. UW has won 11 in a row at the Kohl Center and is 80-5 at home in Ryan's tenure. Against Pitt, the Badgers are 8-2 in games played in Madison and lead the all-time series 10-7.
Something has to give.
A telltale sign of the outcome Saturday will be whether or not Wisconsin reaches 70 points. Pitt hasn't allowed an opponent to do so yet this season and is 78-14 in the last four seasons when its foe fails to score 70. On the other side, the Badgers are 79-5 under Ryan when they score 70 or more points. It's a coin toss when they don 't (43-45).
The Preseason Player of the Year for both the Big East and the Big Ten will share the court Saturday. Aaron Gray, a 7-foot senior center for Pitt, is averaging 16.6 points and 10.8 rebounds a contest. Alando Tucker, UW's senior forward, is the Big Ten 's leading scorer at 20.2 points per game.
Gray has four consecutive double-doubles heading into Saturday's game and has totaled seven this season. Tucker has seven 20-point outings this year and is averaging nearly 23 points in his last 10 games against ranked teams.
Wisconsin was 10-1 last season when it lost to Pitt by nine in Pittsburgh. Tucker scored 25 points, but was the only Badger to reach double figures. The Panthers got 22 points from then-senior Carl Krauser. Gray was held to five points and five rebounds. He picked up four fouls and was limited to 14 minutes.
Pitt has not played a ranked opponent this season, while Wisconsin won at No. 17 Marquette last weekend. UW represents Pitt's highest ranked non-conference road opponent since it played at No. 5 Massachusetts in 1994.
