Wisconsin Badgers will play their second game of the season at Madison Square Garden tonight when they take on Florida Gators. Madison Square Garden is seen as the greatest basketball venue in all of basketball. It’s a little overdone, but there’s something always cool about playing at MSG with the crowd going nuts. Wisconsin hopes their shooting performance though is better than earlier this season. Badgers struggled mightily in the Garden versus Rutgers, and Gators are a far better team than a Big Ten bottom feeder.

Even though Wisconsin is 2-1 in their last three games at MSG, there are small sample size problems that pop up. In the game against Rutgers, Wisconsin shot 12 percent from three missing 22 of 25 attempts, and they only shot 33 percent from the field missing 40 total shots. In their loss versus Georgetown last season, the numbers are pretty close to the Rutgers one. Wisconsin went 31 percent from the field in that one, and only made 26 percent of their threes. Some may say these are two games, and we need more stats which is true yet it’s fair to point out that The Garden hasn’t been a friendly confines for the team. If Badgers struggle tonight, you shouldn’t be surprised, and when they get home, Marquette and Wisconsin should have a support group about MSG struggles.

The best way for Badgers to put any doubt about The Garden in the back of their heads is kick ass in the first half. If Wisconsin jumps out to a lead on Florida, they’re going to be in good position. Despite arena struggles, Wisconsin’s experience should pay off early as they’ll be loose while Florida will be tight as the youngsters playing in their first Sweet 16.

Charlie.