The No. 24 Wisconsin Badgers aim to secure their second win this week as the Northern Illinois Huskies visit the Kohl Center on Friday, November 7th. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network, and
the Badgers are 27.5-point favorites..
In Wisconsin’s season-opener on Monday, the Badgers pulled away from Campbell in the second half, 96-64. The final score was deceiving to a degree, as the Fighting Camels cut the Badgers’ lead to five with under nine minutes left in the game. John Blackwell was sensational for the Badgers with 31 points, one point away from tying his career-high.
What should Badger fans know about the Northern Illinois Huskies?
Opponent Preview
Coming off a woeful 6-25 season, few positives were expected this season for Northern Illinois. The Huskies were predicted to finish last out of thirteen teams in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Head coach Rashon Burno had to revamp his roster, bringing in 16 new players, including nine transfers and seven freshmen. The most notable transfer is former four-star forward JJ Taylor.
The Huskies are off to a 1-0 start after dispatching Louisiana-Monroe (ULM), 102-82. Jacksonville State transfer guard Jao Ituka, coming off the bench, led the Huskies with 19 points.
Northern Illinois started with four guards against ULM. Point guard Gianni Cobb, a 6-foot-0 transfer from Columbia, finished with 14 points and 10 assists against ULM. He is a strong point guard who is not afraid to drive into traffic and either finish at the rim or kick the ball out for a three-point attempt.
Transfer guard Makhai Valentine came to DeKalb after averaging 3.9 PPG in 12 games with Missouri State. In his first career collegiate start, Valentine had 16 points and eight rebounds, the most among the Huskies’ guards.
Daemar Kelly started 34 games at Saint Francis, where he averaged 8.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 1.7 APG. At the final guard spot is Taj Walters, a 6-foot-5 true freshman guard from the Bronx who played in the Overtime Elite league before coming to Northern Illinois.
In the frontcourt, look for the Huskies to go to freshman Gustav Winther. The 6-foot-10, 200-pound post player from Denmark had an impressive debut against ULM with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Score Prediction
We saw some great basketball from the Badgers in the second half, but we also saw some sloppy basketball. Wisconsin must take better care of the ball before taking on tougher competition.
On paper, this game appears to be a mismatch, as the Huskies are undersized compared to the Badgers. Against ULM, Northern Illinois shot 65.6 percent from the field in the second half. I have a hard time believing that will carry into their matchup against Wisconsin. Therefore, this Badgers team will take command of this game early, wether through some NIU runs, and cruises to a 2-0 start on the season.
Prediction: Wisconsin 93-69.
