by The Capital Times

"A lot of people play zone to try to speed you up and try to get you out of things you normally don't do,'' said Landry, the senior forward for the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team that is opening the Big Ten Conference season against the Wolverines at Crisler Arena. "One of our main focuses is to stay calm and really move the ball around and take care of it.'' Associate head coach Greg Gard said preparing to play against Michigan's zone is difficult, because it's not a common defense.

"The better way to play against a zone is to make them guess where you are coming from and not have a pattern,'' said Gard, who added it's best for players to move away from the ball, overload areas and get in positions where two defenders have to make decisions between three offensive players.

"And with any zone you want to try to attack the paint as much as you can, and you still have to make shots,'' he added. "One thing you have to do against a zone is make some perimeter jump shots.''

What: Big Ten Conference men's college basketball.

Who: Wisconsin Badgers (9-3) vs. 23rd-ranked Michigan (10-2) When: 1 p.m. Wednesday Where: Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor, Mich.

TV: ESPN2.

Radio: WIBA/AM 1310 Series: This is the 148th meeting. Michigan leads 86-61 overall and 53-17 in Ann Arbor.

ALL EYES ON

Laval Lucas-Perry: The 6-foot-3 freshman guard just became eligible three games ago after transferring last season from Arizona and has made an instant impact, averaging 11.3 points per game. He is shooting 70 percent from 3-point range (7 of 10). "I love what he brings to the team,'' said Michigan coach John Beilein.

POINT TO PONDER

This is the Badgers' first game in eight days and just their second in 18 days. It's also their first game after an emotional 74-69 loss to Texas at the Kohl Center. Michigan, on the other hand, is playing on just a day's rest after defeating winless North Carolina Central 77-57 Monday night at Crisler.

"We're ready for it,'' said junior point guard Trevon Hughes. "Just to get back after it, just to get that nasty taste out of our mouth that Texas put in. One-third of the season has gone by, and we're looking to improve. Each and every day we're improving our skills and waiting for this next game.''

Quote, Unquote

Marcus Landry on playing Texas down to the wire before losing: "It's not as good as winning, but just to be there is good. It gives you hope, it gives you confidence that you can fight, you can battle with the teams that they say are ranked 1 through 5. I never look at rankings as a player, but we can play with the best.''

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