Hoffman Estates, IL – The BYU Cougars will square off with the Wisconsin Badgers in the championship round of the Chicago Invitational at the Sears Centre Arena this evening.
BYU is currently riding a four-game winning streak in which it has dominated its opponents. The Cougars have won each of their last four games by 20 points or more and they have not indicated they are slowing down anytime soon. In its last outing, BYU dominated Nevada 76-55. The Cougars are a very strong defensive team as they have the ability to get opponents out of sync with their swarming defense. BYU forced Nevada into 19 turnovers and held them to just 37.5 percent shooting from the field. The Cougars have many options on the offensive end that keep defenses in a constant scramble. BYU previewed its offensive ability against Nevada as it shot 54.4 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from beyond the arc.
Wisconsin is 5-0 to start the year after running by Bradley 66-43 in its last outing. The Badgers are a rare team in that they have the ability to score against and defend anybody in the country. The Braves quickly learned that Wisconsin was the real deal as the Big Ten power jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The Badgers held Bradley to 34 percent shooting from the field and just 14.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Wisconsin forced the Braves into 17 turnovers and outrebounded the Braves 38-33.
Wisconsin has one of the best point guards in the country in Jordan Taylor. Although his numbers have been modest this year, Taylor is clearly one of the top players every time he steps on the court. Unfortunately for BYU, Taylor appeared to be more aggressive on the offensive end against Bradley as he scored a season-high 15 points and took a season high 16 shots. Although he struggled in the game going 5-for-16, Taylor has proven over his career he can get it going. Taylor has not had to score as much this year due to the surprising production out of Jared Berggren. The junior center finds a way to contribute every game. Ryan Evans had his best game of the season against Bradley with 15 points and eight rebounds.
The post Jimmer Fredette era at BYU is led by Noah Hartsock. The senior forward has nearly doubled his scoring average and has yet to have an off night. Hartsock scored 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting against Nevada. Brandon Davies provides inside toughness for the Cougars as he uses his 6-9 frame to score inside and clean the glass. Charles Abouo had shown the ability to do it all this year. Abouo is scoring, rebounding, and passing just as well as anyone. Abouo had a season-high 22 points against Nevada and will look to build on that performance as BYU tries to take down Wisconsin.
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