The hottest team in the Big Ten lost at home to Wisconsin on Thursday night. But don’t read too much into it. The Wolverines were missing Eli Brooks.
Yes, Eli Brooks, the team’s undersized shooting guard who doesn’t shoot consistently but changes the team’s defense. He is the best on-ball defender on the team.
No, it’s not Zavier Simpson, who gets the press clippings but doesn’t lock down the perimeter the way Brooks can. And in this year’s unforgiving Big Ten, the loss of such a player changes everything.
The Wolverines gave up 81 points to the Badgers — including 43 in the first half — while scoring 74.