NEW YORK—Playing just blocks away from Broadway and New York City’s theatre district, sophomore forward Ethan Happ put forward his audition tape for Big Ten Player of the Year Saturday afternoon in Wisconsin’s 61-54 overtime victory over Rutgers.
A little over a year ago, the Badgers found themselves in a bad situation in a beautiful place: in the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, trailing by six in the locker room at halftime of the 2K Classic consolation game. They would come alive in the second half, though, holding the VCU Rams to just 30 points and claiming a thrilling one-point win on Bronson Koenig’s game-winning layup with eight seconds to go. Saturday afternoon, UW will again get the chance to play at the Garden, but is looking to avoid yet another weak first half as the No. 15 Badgers (6-1 Big Ten, 17-3 overall) take on Rutgers (1-7, 12-9) for their first rematch of the 2016-’17 season. Though many of the UW players were in New York for the 2K Classic a year ago, freshman guard D’Mitrik Trice missed out on the opportunity by just a year. “I know they’ve been in this arena before,” Trice said.
The uninspired and unintimidating first-half play that has plagued the Badgers all season continued yet again Wednesday night.
The No. 15 Badgers (6-1 Big Ten, 17-3 overall) struggled to put away a pesky Penn State (3-5, 11-10) team in the first half and went into the break with a slim 3-point lead.
Don’t let No. 15 Wisconsin’s (5-1 Big Ten, 16-3 overall) record fool you; the Badgers have yet to play a complete 40-minute game this season.
With roughly one-third of the Big Ten season now completed, the race for the conference title is starting to truly take shape.
While waiting in line for more than hour, junior forward Zach Bohannon decided to strike up a conversation with outgoing Wisconsin senator Herb Kohl.
Sophomore forward Ethan Happ and senior forward Nigel Hayes might have combined for 49 of the No. 17 Wisconsin Badgers’ (5-1 Big Ten, 16-3 overall) 78 points Saturday evening, but when the Badgers needed a basket most, it was the third member of Wisconsin’s big three, senior guard Bronson Koenig, who made the key play. Trailing by two points with less than a minute to play in overtime, Koenig curled around two pin-downs and elevated for a 3-pointer over Minnesota’s Nate Mason.
With just under 17 minutes to play in the Wisconsin Badgers’ 68-64 win over the Michigan Wolverines Tuesday night, senior forward Vitto Brown, in the midst of an excellent performance, dove to the ground to snag a loose ball. Shortly thereafter, he limped his way into the locker room to receive medical treatment.
In this week's episode, men's basketball beat writers Ben Pickman and Thomas Valtin-Erwin, as well as columnist Zach Rastall, discuss the current state of Badger hoops.
After falling to 0-4 in Big Ten play over winter break, the Badgers had a chance to salvage their sinking ship of a Big Ten record against a weak program.
Jordan Hill spent the majority of Monday’s practice wearing a blue pinnie. The junior point guard, who saw his minutes diminish over the first half of UW’s season, was running Wisconsin’s scout team.
Senior guard Bronson Koenig scored a team-high 16 points, including 12 in the game’s final six minutes, to lead the Badgers in what turned out to be Wisconsin’s most enthused game of the season.
Senior guard Bronson Koenig scored 21 points on five-of-seven shooting from three and senior forward Nigel Hayes added 15 points and four assists as yet again the No. 18 Wisconsin Badgers (3-1 Big Ten, 14-3 overall) bounced back from a loss, upending the Ohio State Buckeyes (0-4, 10-7) by a score of 89-66. The Badgers shot a mere 14 percent from three in their 11-point loss to Purdue over the weekend, but Thursday night, in their last home game before classes resume, Wisconsin regained its three-point stroke. UW, led by Koenig, made 12 of their 22 three-point attempts in what was one of its best offensive performances of the season.
In the midst of a nine-game winning streak and following a big road win over then-No. 25 Indiana, the Wisconsin Badgers were finally starting to look like the top-flight team they were predicted to be.
Last March, when Purdue forward Caleb Swanigan scored 27 points in a 91-80 victory over Ethan Happ and the Wisconsin Badgers, Swanigan wasn’t even the Boilermakers’ best frontcourt player. A.J.
After No. 13 Wisconsin’s (2-0 Big Ten, 13-2 overall) 53-point victory over Florida A&M in late December, head coach Greg Gard candidly admitted that his team’s “mountain gets a lot steeper” as they enter conference play. With two conference wins, including an impressive 75-68 victory over No. 25 Indiana (0-2, 10-5), the Badgers have successfully reached their first conference plateau. Like any good climbers, the Badgers entered Bloomington, Ind., Tuesday evening prepared for the rough terrain they were set to face.
Futility and Rutgers basketball have been like Siamese twins, tied together by the hip for the past 15 years.
The Big Ten season is finally at the doorstep, and everyone is chomping at the bit to get things underway.
Final exams might have taken up much of the No. 14 Wisconsin Badgers’ (11-2) time over the past week, but Friday night, in UW’s final tune-up before Big Ten conference play, the Badgers passed any possible test, breezing by Florida A&M (2-11), 90-37. After UW’s victory over Green Bay last Wednesday, the Badgers had the weekend off to prepare for finals.
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