UW opens league slate vs. newcomer Nebraska

MADISON, Wis. Throughout his celebrated basketball career, Wisconsin point guard Jordan Taylor has never had any reason to venture to Nebraska, so pardon him if his understanding of all things Cornhusker State is limited."Omaha, Nebraska, is the College World Series and Lincoln is the capital," Taylor said. "That's the extent of my knowledge of Nebraska."Taylor hopes to learn a little more about Nebraska particularly its basketball team by Tuesday night when Wisconsin begins its Big Ten season.No. 13 Wisconsin (11-2) faces Nebraska (8-3) at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Lincoln, Neb., and the Badgers will start the conference season under unusual circumstances because they'll be playing a team they have not met since 1998.This season marks Nebraska's first in the Big Ten after moving from the Big 12, so Wisconsin has no familiarity with the Cornhuskers' style of play. Considering that fact, plus the quick turnaround after the Christmas break, most in the Badgers' camp think of Tuesday's game as one more akin to a non-conference affair."It is definitely a little bit different," Badgers center Jared Berggren said. "Normally in the Big Ten we know the guys, know what they run for the most part. With Nebraska being their first year in, first time facing them, it is a little bit more unknown. It almost feels more like a non-conference game where you're not entirely sure what they're going to do."Wisconsin likely soon will learn that Nebraska's style of play will fit right in line with the majority of Big Ten teams. In five seasons as head coach, Doc Sadler's Cornhuskers have become known for their tough-nosed defense and efficiency on offense traits very similar to Wisconsin.Sadler won 89 games in his first five years at Nebraska, the most by any Nebraska coach in the first five seasons. Three times, Nebraska has qualified for the postseason National Invitational Tournament. Last season, the Cornhuskers ranked in the top 20 nationally in scoring defense and field-goal percentage defense.This year, Nebraska is led by senior guard Bo Spencer, who transferred after playing three seasons at LSU. Spencer is averaging a team-best 16.0 points and 4.3 assists. Cornhuskers center Jorge Brian Diaz is the only other player scoring in double figures at 10.9 points per game."They're giving up about 60 points a game," Wisconsin associate coach Greg Gard said. "They're going to make you work for everything you get. You're not going to get easy baskets on them. They'll make it a mosh pit at times. "Offensively, for you it's going to be hard to score. They'll make sure they're efficient offensively. They just keep jabbing along, keep hanging and then throw the knockout punch when they need to."Wisconsin forward Mike Brusewitz said he learned some about Nebraska this summer while playing on a national select basketball team in Estonia. One of his teammates, Rodney McGruder, plays for Kansas State and faced Nebraska regularly in Big 12 play."He said they always give you a tough game up there, it's always a dogfight and a scrap up there," Bruesewitz said. "I think they're ready to go and excited to get underway and get a Big Ten game under their belt, so it should be interesting."Nebraska's three losses this season have come against Oregon, Creighton and Wake Forest teams that have a combined record of 27-8.Wisconsin, meanwhile, lost its two non-conference games to top 10 teams North Carolina and Marquette in consecutive games. Neither Nebraska nor Wisconsin has played a common opponent this season, so Badgers coach Bo Ryan will have even less to draw from as he prepares his team for the start of the 18-game Big Ten season."It's just like a non-conference game, basically, kind of unfamiliar with the team," Ryan said Friday after Wisconsin easily dispatched Mississippi Valley State. "It's not like you have past scouting reports or information on players from year to year, so we're going to have to learn in a hurry, and they've got to do the same for us. It is what it is. We play 18 of them. We may as well start in Lincoln."Follow Jesse Temple on Twitter