After a week long absence, the Minnesota Timberwolves are finally back in action tonight at the Target Center taking on the Philadelphia 76ers and their All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday. The teams met in December in Philadelphia. with the Wolves building an early 13-point lead at the end of the first and they never looked back, blasting the 76ers 105-88.
In the first meeting, seven players scored in double figures for the Wolves, led by Alexey Shved's 17 and Josh Howard's 16. For Philadelphia, Evan Turner scored 19 points, but took 20 shots to score those 19 points and Holiday had 13 points and nine assists.
The key matchup in tonight's game is the point guard battle between Holiday and Ricky Rubio. The Spanish sophomore did not play in the first game between the two teams. Kevin Love, however, did play for the Wolves, but was largely ineffective, scoring just six points on 2-of-10 shooting.
Rubio has heated up recently, averaging 16.5 points and 8.5 assists over the past four games while shooting 43 percent from the field. Last outing against Utah, he came one rebound shy of his first career triple-double.
Holiday, a 2013 All-Star selection, is averaging 19 points and 8.9 assists per game on the season. In his last outing, a 94-92 loss in Milwaukee, Holiday finished with 16 points and 12 assists. Neutralizing Holiday is a must. If Minnesota can hold Holiday in check like it did in the first meeting, Minnesota has a great chance of completing the season sweep.
Secondly, the Wolves must get production from Shved. In Minnesota's wins, Shved is averaging 11.7 points and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 45 percent from the field and 26 percent from behind the 3-point line. In the losses, he is scoring 9.7 points and dishing out just 3.9 assists per game while shooting just 34 percent from the field and 27 percent from behind the 3-point line. Getting Shved going is a must if Minnesota wants to make a run at the playoffs.
And finally, feed Nikola Pekovic the ball. This could be a key every night, but especially tonight. Spencer Hawes is not strong enough to handle Pekovic down low. Pound the ball inside, get Hawes into foul trouble. With Andrew Bynum still sidelined, the Wolves need to test the depth of Philadelphia's front court.
Minnesota needs to protect the home court. The Wolves have dropped their last four home games and eight of their last nine at the Target Center. For a team with aspirations of reaching the playoffs, losing home games at this rate is unacceptable.
PREDICTION: Timberwolves 95, 76ers 91
Wisconsin, on the other hand, dominated Ohio State in its last outing from the opening tip. The Badgers scored 18 consecutive points in the first half and kept the foot on the gas, routing the Buckeyes 71-49. When Wisconsin's 11-game stretch started, it played nine of 11 against ranked foes. Illinois and Minnesota did not stay in the top 25, but they are certainly no pushovers. Wisconsin finished that 11 game stretch 7-4, including two wins over top five teams. Tonight is a new task, facing the under-manned Northwestern Wildcats
Traveling to Evanston is never an easy task as Wisconsin has had its share of struggles at Welsh-Ryan Arena, but the Wildcats are coming into tonight's test under-manned. The Wildcats are 10th in the Big Ten at 4-9 in the Big Ten, but when they get hot from deep, anything can happen.
Northwestern is without senior forward Drew Crawford, who was third team All-Big Ten a year ago, as well as leading rebounder Jared Swopshire, who was lost for the season with a right knee injury in a Feb. 9 loss to Iowa. That does not even include junior JerShonn Cobb, who was suspended due to violations of team policy. Two others, freshmen Sanjay Lumpkin and Chier Ajou, are also out for the season.
But as the Badgers know, when Wisconsin does not shoot well, it is a grinder. Wisconsin just shoots 42 percent from the field as a team, which is 211th in the country. Wisconsin should win easily, but that is why they play the game.
First off, Wisconsin needs to let Ben Brust loose. He needs to look for his shot. He has done a nice job of that the past five games. In those games, Brust has scored an average of nearly 16 points per game on 47 percent shooting from the floor and 38 percent from 3-point land. In Brust we trust!
Secondly, defend the 3-pointer. Northwestern shoots more than 22 3-pointers a game. If Northwestern does not make its 3s, then this one will be ugly for the home team. But if the Wildcats are on, this game will go down to the wire. Luckily for Wisconsin, the Badgers are defending the 3-point shot as well as anyone in the country, allowing teams to shoot less than 30 percent from behind the 3-point line.
Finally, Ryan Evans needs to play within himself. I could write this every game. Evans had a great showing against Ohio State (along with the rest of the team), going 4-for-7 for nine points. Evans needs to realize that he is not one of the scorers on this team. He can shoot the mid-range, which is what he did last game. Six of Wisconsin's eight losses have come in games where Evans shot it at least 10 times. Evans can shoot mid-range, rebound and defend. If he does those three things, Wisconsin is in good shape. He can even throw in the occasional highlight reel slam like he did against Ohio State.
Wisconsin cannot overlook Northwestern. Wisconsin has two more home games after the Wildcats, but this is not one Wisconsin should lose. I predict Wisconsin will defend the 3-pointer and walk out of Evanston a relatively easy winner.
PREDICTION: Wisconsin 63, Northwestern 45
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