Shooting with a big background like American Family Field will take some getting used to, according to former Badgers player Brian Butch.
"I think it's going to take some time to adjust, right?" former Badgers player and basketball analyst Brian Butch says. "And like every Big Ten tournament, (the) first game the scoring's down a little bit. I think it's going to take some time. Now I know they'll get out there. They'll prepare for it. But the backdrop is going to take some time, no question. And you look at Stanford, they're a really good team as well. They've added some shooting. They've got a guard that transferred in from Davidson. Normally you don't get a lot of transfers there at Stanford. But they have got a big-time shooter there. So the matchup's going to be really good."
Stanford is a good test for Wisconsin, and once again the Badgers were picked to finish low: 9th in the Big Ten after being picked 10th and winning the Big Ten regular-season title last season.
TMJ4's Lance Allan asks, "Is this a typical Greg Gard team in the sense that, they're picked 8th, 9th, maybe even 10th? They're going to finish higher than that, right?"
"I think so. You look at it again, it's the standard of what everybody brings. And you look at Chucky and what he's going to do. I think he's going to improve," Butch says. "Look at Tyler Wahl. One of the most efficient bigs around the rim. Now can he space the floor a little bit? We'll see what he did this offseason. And you look at big fella Steven Crowl. You know the ability to kind of anchor that middle. The Big Ten doesn't have the bigs like it has had in the past."
And in the Brew City Battle hype run-up, who had the better shot from the rafters? Brian or Jeff Levering?
Lance Allan asks, "Wasn't your shot better than Levering's from way up in the rafters?"
"It always was," Butch says. "I mean, the guy's got the advantage. Jeff has the advantage. He calls how many games there is a year. He knows where the wind comes from. Mine was a lot better!"
The Wisconsin women's basketball team hits Am Fam Field at 3:30 p.m. to face Kansas State before the Badgers men tip off at 6:30 p.m. against Stanford on Friday.
