• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

UW’s guarded plans: Badgers may use smaller lineup

MADISON — Though there are no guarantees how much Wisconsin will use a three-guard offense, the early returns were promising.

The Badgers played most of the final 16 minutes of their loss to Illinois on Saturday with guards Jason Bohannon, Trevon Hughes and Jordan Taylor and scored 25 points in the 22 possessions they were on the floor together. That’s an average of a respectable 1.14 points per possession.

On defense, UW held the Illini to 0.91 points per possession, which beat the goal of one point per possession even though Illinois shot 50 percent overall.

Could this be just what the Badgers need to shake out of a two-week drought in which they have shot below 40 percent in three of the last four games?

Resolving the issues that led to Wisconsin’s four-game losing streak isn’t that simple, but the three-guard lineup, which was used extensively for the first time last weekend, gives the Badgers another option.

“I think it gives us obviously more ball-handling, a quicker lineup,” associate head coach Greg Gard said. “But also (the lineup) was due in large part to we just wanted the guys who showed the most toughness and most grit out there. If we can put the five that are showing the most together, that is what we do.”

Wisconsin (12-7, 3-4 Big Ten) will need plenty of grit tonight.

The Badgers play host to No. 16 Purdue (15-4, 4-2) at 8 p.m. in a matchup of teams that have gone in opposite directions since their first meeting on Jan. 11. UW has lost three more times since its 13-point loss to the Boilermakers, but Purdue has won twice more and is one loss out of first place.

The Boilermakers have done it with an aggressive, hard-nosed style that would make former coach Gene Keady proud, but they’ve also done it by often playing a three-guard offense that presents difficulties for opponents because of every guard’s ability to attack with the dribble.

That brings us back to the Badgers’ backcourt.

Taylor’s emergence gives UW some much-needed flexibility. If Hughes isn’t playing well, the team can turn to Taylor. If Bohannon is having problems guarding his man, pair Taylor with Hughes and you’ve got a couple of good defenders.

Or if you have a team that sometimes plays small, as Purdue does, the three-guard set could be in order. In that case, Taylor would run the point and Hughes and Bohannon could fill in at shooting guard or small forward.

“But it wouldn’t really matter because the 2 and 3 are pretty interchangeable a lot of times because you’re on opposite sides of the floor and it’s the same action,” Bohannon said.

How much of the lineup will see the floor tonight is uncertain. If past games are an indication, Joe Krabbenhoft will be the primary defender on Purdue guard E’Twaun Moore, who averages 14 points per game.

That would usually leave room for two other guards on the floor at the same time.

However, if there is foul trouble or Bohannon struggles, Taylor is someone the Badgers feel comfortable playing.

In the first meeting, he played just 6 minutes. He figures to get more time this game, especially against a team as athletic as the Boilermakers.

“He doesn’t make mistakes, or very few mistakes, and he’s very physical,” Gard said. “Physically, he’s not your true freshman. He’s able to take some contact and not get bumped off and not get pushed around and make things defensively go where he wants them to go.”