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Badgers live to play another day (AUDIO)

By

Khalil Iverson

The Wisconsin Badgers made all the right plays down the stretch to knock off the Maryland Terrapins 59-54 in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Wisconsin (15-17) moves on to face top-seeded Michigan State (28-3) in the quarterfinals on Friday morning at 11 a.m.

The Spartans won both games against the Badgers during the regular season, 76-61 in East Lansing and 68-63 in Madison last Sunday.

The Badgers out-rebounded Maryland (19-13) 59-54 and hit 20 of 24 free throws (83.3%).  The Terrapins shot 88.9% from the free throw line but got just nine attempts, making eight of them.

Ethan Happ led four Badgers in double figures with 14 points.  He hit 6 of 7 free throws to help the Badgers improve to 15-17 on the season.

Wisconsin shot just 36% from the field for the game and hit just 3 of 18 (16.7%) from three-point range.  But when it counted, the Badgers made the plays. [Read more…]

Badgers knock off No. 6 Purdue, fans storm the court

By

Frank Kaminsky

Fans usually don’t storm the court at Wisconsin.  The Badgers usually win at a healthy clip and such an idea would never enter the minds of the fans.

But this hasn’t been your normal season in Madison.  The Badgers were thinned by graduation and injuries with not much left in the cupboard.

Needless to say, it’s been a long year for the Badgers, entering play with a 11-16 overall record and 4-10 Big Ten mark, there hasn’t been much to write home about.  So enter 2015 National Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky.  He led the Badgers to back-to-back Final Fours in his final two seasons on campus and has gone on to a nice career in the NBA.

The UW decided it would be a great idea to honor Kaminsky by retiring his number-44, raising it high to the rafters of the Kohl Center.  It might not have had to do with all of the Badgers play, but it certainly had something to do with it and the Badgers would go on to knock off No. 6 Purdue 57-53 before 17,287 at the Kohl Center.

When the final horn went off, many of the excited fans flooded the court to celebrate with their team. [Read more…]

Wisconsin falls short against 17th ranked Xavier

By

Ethan Happ

Senior guard Trevon Bluiett scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half and guard J.P. Macura added 20 points and eight rebounds to lead the Xavier Musketeers to a 80-70 win over the Wisconsin Badgers in a Dave Gavitt Tipoff game at the Kohl Center.

Ethan Happ surpassed the 1,000 point mark at Wisconsin, leading three Badger players in double figures with 21 points.  He also added eight assists and four rebounds.

Brevin Pritzl added 13 points and freshman Brad Davison added 12.

Statistically, Xavier was better across the board, hitting 50.9% from the field, 35.3% from three-point range and 87% from the free throw line.  The Badgers made 41% of their field goals, just 29.2% from three-point range and 61.9% from the free throw line.

Yet the Badgers battled all night.  They went to the locker room at halftime tied at 34-34.  The Badgers led 66-64 with 2:25 left, but Xavier rebounded to pull away for the 10-point win.

The Badgers return to action on Monday against Baylor in Kansas City.

AUDIO: Greg Gard said his team gave a great effort :21

AUDIO: Ethan Happ said they showed they could play with the best :15

AUDIO: Greg Gard said they’ll grow from this :18

Currie to join Badgers in 2018

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After missing out on Joey Hauser and watching Tyler Herro back out of his oral commitment with Wisconsin, the Badgers landed what they believe will be a significant contributor in 6’8 forward Taylor Currie from Clarkston (Michigan) High School.  Currie signed his national letter of intent on Wednesday to join the Badgers in 2018.

Currie originally committed to Michigan but backed out of that commitment in late September.  He visited Wisconsin on Oct. 21 and then picked the Badgers over Xavier.  Currie plans to redshirt his first season.

Wisconsin has one more scholarship left for the 2018 class.

Currie was a Detroit News All-North second-team pick and earned Class A All-State honorable mention in 2017.

As a sophomore last season, Currie averaged 9.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks.  He reclassified from the 2019 recruiting class to the 2018 class after bypassing his junior year.

 

Badgers close exhibition with win over Stout

By

Kobe King (Photo by David Stluka)

The Wisconsin Badger men’s basketball team closed exhibition play with a 85-56 win over UW-Stout on Sunday at the Kohl Center.

The Badges hit 18 of 26 free throws on Sunday, with eight players getting at least one attempt.

Freshman Kobe King finished with 17 points and hit 4 of 6 from the stripe.  Fellow freshman Brad Davison, starting in place of D’Mitrik Trice (ankle), hit 4 of 5 from the free throw line and added 13 points.

Getting to the rim and drawing fouls is something coach Greg Gard says his team needs to be better at.  Last season, the Badgers finished 13th in the Big Ten in free-throw shooting at 64.4%.

The Badgers will open the regular season this Friday night against South Carolina State at the Kohl Center.

Freshman King leads Badgers to exhibition win

By

Kobe King (Photo by David Stluka)

The Wisconsin Badgers fell behind 10-2, then used a 20-2 run to pull in front for good, knocking off Northern Iowa 69-38 in exhibition play at the Kohl Center.

Freshman Kobe King led the charge, hitting four field goals during the run.  He finished with a game-high 15 points in 16 minutes off the bench.

King was the player of the year in Wisconsin while playing at La Crosse Central High School.

The Badgers will close out exhibition this Sunday when they take on Division 3 UW-Stout in a 4 p.m. tip at the Kohl Center.

AUDIO: Kobe King on a team high 15 points in his debut :11

AUDIO: Greg Gard said it was a good start for his team :17

 

Badgers secure oral commitment from 6’8 forward

By

Coach Greg Gard

After Whitnall High School senior Tyler Herro announced his de-commitment recently, the Wisconsin men’s basketball coaching staff rebounded and secured a commitment from 6’8 forward Taylor Currie on Tuesday.

Currie, from Clarkston, Michigan, originally committed to Michigan and announced that he was backing out of that commitment on September 29.

Currie visited the Wisconsin campus on Oct. 21.  He chose Wisconsin over Xavier and gives the Badgers one commitment for the 2018 class.

Badgers face Northern Iowa tonight

The Wisconsin men’s basketball team will play a charity game against Northern Iowa Wednesday night at the Kohl Center.  Proceeds from the event will help team Rubicon’s Hurricane and Wildfire relief efforts.

The Badgers also have a final exhibition scheduled for Sunday at 4 p.m. against UW-Stout before the regular season begins the following Friday night, November 10, against South Carolina State at the Kohl Center.

 

Badgers dialing long distance in New Zealand

By

Andy Van Vliet

The Wisconsin men’s basketball team hit 15 of 27 three-pointers (55.6%) and rolled to a 87-53 win over the New Zealand Breakers on Thursday morning in Tauranga, New Zealand.

Junior Andy Van Vliet made his first start as a Badger and led the way with 14 points.  Sophomore point guard D’Mitrik Trice added 12 points, while freshmen Kobe King and Nathan Reuvers each scored 9 points for Wisconsin (2-0).

The Badgers changed their starting lineup.  Besides sophomore Brevin Pritzl, coach Greg Gard went with freshman Brad Davison, redshirt freshman Aleem Ford, Van Vliet and junior Charlie Thomas.  That group helped the Badgers jump out to a 11-0 lead.

Defensively, the Badgers held the Breakers to 29.7% shooting from the field and 3-for-21 (14.3%) from three-point range.

The Badgers now head to Melbourne, Australia for the third game of their five game trip.  They’ll face the Hawthorn Magic on Friday.

Wisconsin men’s basketball team heads overseas on Saturday

By

Coach Greg Gard

The Wisconsin men’s basketball team leaves Saturday on a 12-day, 5-game tour of New Zealand and Australia.

College basketball teams re allowed to travel internationally during the summer once every four years, and for Wisconsin, the 2017 trip marks the team’s first since touring Canada in 2013.

That season, the Badger were faced with replacing most of their starting lineup and breaking in a host of inexperienced players like Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker, Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig.  The Canadian tour served as a springboard for the team’s historic run to the 2014 Final Four seven months later.

This season, Wisconsin is in a similar position as it looks to replace four starters from a year ago and integrate six newcomers to the active roster.  That group includes incoming freshmen Kobe King, Brad Davison & Nathan Ruevers.

The Badgers trip will begin in Auckland, New Zealand, with a contest against the New Zealand Breakers on Aug. 15.  One familiar face on the Breakers roster is former Badger Kirk Penney, who starred at UW from 2000-03 and has spent five seasons playing for his hometown Auckland team.  Penney enters his 15th professional season in 2017-18.

AUDIO: Greg Gard likes the incoming freshmen :22

AUDIO: Greg Gard likes what he’s seen in practice :14

AUDIO: Greg Gard says the freshmen are mature and have approached everything the right way :19

 

Badgers add Oliver to coaching staff

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Dean Oliver – Photo Courtesy of UW Athletics

Former Iowa guard Dean Oliver is the newest member of the Wisconsin Badger basketball coaching staff.

Oliver just completed his third season as an assistant coach at Illinois State.  He spent three years at North Dakota before joining Illinois State.

“We are really excited to welcome Dean back to the Big Ten and the Wisconsin basketball family,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release.  “I have been impressed with him over the years and after getting to know him better through the process, it became easy to see why he has been so successful in the past as a player and most recently as a coach.”

Oliver replaces Lamont Paris, who took the head coaching job at Tennessee-Chattanooga.

Oliver played 126 games at Iowa from 1997-2001.  He played two seasons with the Golden State Warriors before behind waived.  He went on to play eight years professionally in the U.S. and in Europe.