INSIDE MEN'S BASKETBALL
BY PATRICK HERB
@BadgerMBB
SCHEDULE (14-7, 5-3)
Last Week
Tuesday #13 Mich. State
Saturday #12 Minnesota
L, 47-49
W, 45-44
This Week
Jan. 29 at #11 Ohio State
L, 49-58
Feb. 3 at Illinois
2:30 p.m.
Coming Up
Feb. 6
Iowa
Feb. 9 #1 Michigan
Feb. 14 at #23 Minnesota
Feb. 17 #11 Ohio State
Brust one of Badgers'
most versatile options
Illinois native leads UW in multiple areas
A
s a sophomore, Ben
Brust cemented his
reputation as one of the Big
Ten's most lethal outside
shooters. The Hawthorne
Woods, Ill., native is using
his junior year to display
why he is one of the conference's most improved allaround players.
Brust is averaging 32.4
44 » VARSITY
JANUA RY 31, 2013
minutes per game this season as a starter, a 10-minute jump from his floor time
as the team's sixth man in
2011-12.
His increased minutes
have translated into improvements in his scoring
(7.3 to 10.3) and rebounding averages (2.2 to 5.5), as
well as a boost in his confi-
8 p.m.
11 a.m.
6 p.m.
Noon
dence defensively as a floor general.
He leads the Badgers in steals (21),
charges taken (7) and assists (61).
After posting a 26-to-26 assist-toturnover ratio in 2012, Brust has also
improved his decision-making and is
leading UW with a 2.54 (61-24) assist-to-turnover margin.
Following Wisconsin's 45-44 win
over Minnesota, head coach Bo Ryan
also took notice of Brust's increased
awareness on the defensive end.
Brust drew an offensive foul on Minnesota's Andre Hollins in the final
minute of the game, setting up Traevon Jackson for the eventual gamewinning shot with 2.1 seconds left.
"A lot of people concern themselves about making an offensive
play," Ryan said. "(Ben) made a play
that helped us get that ball game on
the left hand side. That was a huge
charge to draw."
On the horizon: Illinois
» The Badgers look for their fifth
straight victory over the Fighting
Illini, having won the last four by
an average of 12.7 points per game.
