Nebraska Cornhuskers are one of the worst teams in the Big Ten. This doesn’t mean they will be that way for long with Fred Hoiberg coaching the team. But for now, Hoiberg needs to get talent to Lincoln to make them into a winner again. He had a strategy last night of packing the paint and letting Wisconsin shoot open threes. It was an interesting strategy considering Badgers aren’t a bad three-point shooting team. They’re fourth in the conference per KenPom. It did not work as Wisconsin sets the record for most threes in a game with 18. They use a big second half to beat Nebraska, 82-68.

Player of the Game: D’Mitrik Trice – One of the more important things from this game was D’Mitrik Trice breaking out of his slump. He had 11 points with three of four made threes last night. Trice also added nine rebounds and seven assists. This is the type of game that Wisconsin needs from Trice night in, night out. A little bit of outside shooting combined with good assist numbers would be gravy. That’s when the Badgers are at their very best.

Honorable Mention: Brad Davison – Wisconsin only led this game by one at halftime. Brad Davison made sure the lead would be out to 10 or 11 by the first media timeout. He could not miss early on in the second half and helped Wisconsin develop a cushion in this one. Davison finished with 14 points.

One Thing to Ponder: Could this spark the Badgers offense? – They face a complete juxtaposition of a team on Friday night where the offense will come at a premium. Will this be the game that jumpstarts the squad? Trice and Brevin Pritzl are both off to slow starts for this Big Ten season. If they can be at this level against better competition, Badgers become very difficult to beat.

Next up: Wisconsin heads to West Lafayette for a showdown with Purdue. Right now, the Boilermakers are the weirdest team in the Big Ten. They make no sense. Last night, they were pounded at home by Illinois after beating Michigan State at home by 29 points. Purdue needs a good resume win which beating Wisconsin would do. This will be a defensive struggle with two top defenses going up against each other.

Charlie.