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Badger basketball adds Ohio State transfer

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The Wisconsin Badger men’s basketball team will be adding former Ohio State forward Micah Potter to their squad.  The 6’9, 240-pound forward from Mentor, Ohio, is transferring to the University of Wisconsin.  He will join the Badgers at semester break and be eligible to play beginning in December of 2019.

Potter comes to Madison after two seasons at Ohio State where he appeared in 59 games, including 16 starts.  The first true freshman to start a season opener for the Buckeyes since Jared Sullinger, Potter averaged 4.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 12.0 minutes a game with a career high of 17 points against Texas Southern in 2017.

“It’s a perfect fit,” said head coach Greg Gard.  “In terms of our system, how he plays, how we play with our bigs and what he can bring to the table as a player.  When you look at transfers, you have to do your due diligence from a cultural standpoint and make sure they’re going to be about the right things.  There’s no doubt Micah is about the team first and he wants to be part of something bigger than himself.  He understands the big picture.”

The addition of Potter will be welcomed next season with Ethan Happ graduating at the end of this season.

Happ’s triple-double helps Badgers in opener (Audio)

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Ethan Happ

The Wisconsin Badgers built a 22-point halftime lead and went on to beat Coppin State 85-63 in their season opener at the Kohl Center on Tuesday night.

Preseason All-American forward Ethan Happ finished with 10 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds, recording the program’s second ever triple-double.  Josh Gasser had the first back in 2011 against Northwestern.

D’Mitrik Trice scored 17 of his game high 21 points in the first half, hitting five of nine from three-point range.  He finished seven of thirteen overall.

Brevin Pritzl hit four of five from behind the arc and finished with 16 points.

As a team, the Badgers hit 12 of 32 from distance for the game and even more impressively, made 23 of 26 at the free throw line. [Read more…]

Badgers fall short against Michigan State, season is over

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Coach Greg Gard

The Wisconsin Badgers gave Michigan State all they could handle, but in the end, UW fell to the Spartans 63-60 in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.

Unlike Thursday, when the Badgers beat Maryland on the boards and at the free throw line, Wisconsin lost both of those battles to Michigan State on Friday.

The Badgers were out-rebounded 41-27 and 16-10 on the offensive end.  Michigan State only shot 11 free throws, but they made 10 of them.  The Badgers attempted just six free throws and made only two.

The three-point loss guaranteed UW’s NCAA Tournament streak of 19 is over.  For 19 straight seasons, Wisconsin called the NCAA tournament their postseason home, but not this year.

The loss for Wisconsin (15-18) is also the third straight this season against Big Ten regular season champion Michigan State.

Michigan State (29-3) advances to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament against cross-state rival Michigan.  The Wolverines (26-7) knocked off Nebraska 77-58 in the tournaments second quarterfinal game.

Ethan Happ hit 10 of 15 from the field and led the Badgers with 22 points.  Brad Davison, who poured in 30 points in last Sunday’s loss to the Spartans in Madison, finished with 10 points, as did Khalil Iverson. [Read more…]

Badgers live to play another day (AUDIO)

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.