Blazers seek upset of second-ranked Badgers

Nov 26, 2014 - 4:44 PM Nassau, Bahamas (SportsNetwork.com) - The No. 2 team in the land takes the court in the Battle 4 Atlantis on Wednesday evening, as the Wisconsin Badgers square off against the UAB Blazers.

Both teams are playing their first game outside of their home arena, with the Badgers winning their first four, and the Blazers splitting their four.

Wisconsin has put forth one stifling defensive effort after another, in beating the likes of Northern Kentucky (62-31), Chattanooga (89-45), Green Bay (84-60) and Boise State (78-54).

UAB's victories have come against Young Harris (94-81) and Jackson State (58-50), while its losses were to ULM (74-65) and USF (73-71 OT).

This bout marks the first meeting between the Badgers and Blazers, and both teams will return to action on Thanksgiving to tangle with either Florida or Georgetown, depending on the outcomes of Wednesday's games.

Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky has been a beast here in the early going, averaging a double-double consisting of 19.3 points and 10.3 rpg, while Nigel Hayes is close to turning the trick as well with his 15.3 points and 9.8 caroms per contest. Additionally, Sam Dekker (14.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg) and Traevon Jackson (10.0 ppg, 3.5 apg) are both averaging double digits in the scoring column for a team that is netting 78.2 ppg behind a 52.6 percent shooting effort. Wisconsin's defensive effort, as it has been just about every year under head coach Bo Ryan, has been exceptional as foes are scoring only 47.5 ppg behind typical shooting outputs of .341 overall and .279 from 3-point range. Factor in a whopping +15 rebounding margin and it's easy to see why the Badgers have yet to be tested.

Kaminsky knocked down 11-of-13 field goal attempts in tallying 26 points to lead Wisconsin to its relatively easy win over Boise State last Saturday. Hayes added 15 points and Jackson had 11 for the Badgers, who converted 55.4 percent of their total shots, with 10 treys mixed in as well. The team committed only five turnovers, but did allow the Broncos to drain 7-of-11 3- point tries.

Despite losing as many games as it has won to this point, UAB is scoring 72 ppg while taking advantage of nearly 19 turnovers per outing from the opposition. Unfortunately, those same foes are hitting almost 40 percent of their 3-point attempts while also laying claim to a +4.7 rebounding differential. Despite coming off the bench, Tyler Madison paces the team's scoring effort, but with only 12.7 ppg. C.J. Washington (11.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and Robert Brown (10.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg) are the only starters averaging double figures, although Tosin Mehinti (9.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg) is close to joining them. Nick Norton has dished out 26 assists while coming up with 11 steals.

In UAB's recent win over Jackson State, Brown scored 12 points as the only player to reach double figures. The Blazers connected on only 35.3 percent of their field goal attempts, missing the mark on 16 of their 21 3-point tries, but allowed just one trey to the Tigers while goading them into a staggering 27 turnovers. UAB won the game despite suffering a 40-24 deficit on the glass, making up for that by outscoring JSU at the foul line, 17-7.