Coming into the season, redshirt junior Aleem Ford wasn’t sure just how much he’d contribute to the 2017-’18 Wisconsin Badgers (1-1 Big Ten, 5-7 overall). But after taking advantage of his early season opportunities, Ford moved into UW’s starting lineup just four games into the year.
Wisconsin guard T.J. Schlundt’s pregame preparation has not changed since his days of playing high school basketball. Patience and discipline have been key for the redshirt junior guard who is expected to play in his third consecutive game Wednesday evening when UW (1-1 Big Ten, 4-7 overall) faces off against Western Kentucky (6-3).
While sitting on the bench as the final buzzer sounded in Wisconsin’s (1-1 Big Ten, 4-7 overall) 82-63 loss to Marquette (7-3), freshman guard Brad Davison buried his head in his sweat towel.
Playing without two of its top guards Saturday morning, the Wisconsin men’s basketball team (1-1 Big Ten, 4-7 overall) looked lethargic early and struggled to slow down a high-powered Marquette (7-3) offense as the Badgers dropped the seventh of their last nine games, 82-63. Just before the game tipped off it was announced that sophomore guard D’Mitrik Trice, the team’s starting point guard, would undergo foot surgery Monday and would be out indefinitely.
Ethan Happ’s team hasn’t been closing out games. After another late collapse, this time against Temple, the frustration is starting to boil over for the redshirt junior forward and his teammates. “The biggest thing is just playing a full 40 [minutes]. Games that we've been right there in, it's been 20 minutes here and then a letdown for three and the lead gets away from us,” Happ said.
Sports editor Ben Pickman and men's basketball beat writer Thomas Valtin-Erwin discuss Wisconsin basketball's late-game struggles, grade its rotation players through ten games and discuss what it needs to do to turn around its slow start to the season.
First there was Xavier. Then there was Baylor. Following that, UCLA. Penn State nearly joined the club Monday night. For the fifth time already in the young season the Wisconsin men’s basketball team (1-1 Big Ten, 4-6 overall) collapsed down the stretch, blowing a late three-point lead to let Temple (5-2) steal a 59-55 victory. Things began swimmingly for the Badgers, as they stormed out to a 7-2 lead in the first 2:31 of the game.
After a two-game break to open conference play the Wisconsin men’s basketball team (1-1 Big Ten, 4-5 overall) will return to its non-conference schedule Wednesday as it head to Philadelphia, Penn., to take on the Temple Owls (4-2). After dropping four of five games to limp into Big Ten play, the Badgers nearly had the life drained out of them as they were run off the Kohl Center floor by Ohio State and nearly blew a 17-point lead at Penn State. Desperate for answers, UW now hosts a Temple team that already has four solid wins under its belt, having taken down Old Dominion, Auburn, Clemson and South Carolina to open the season. Led by the sharpshooting quartet of Quinton Rose, Shizz Alston, Obi Enechionyia and Josh Brown — who have collectively made 44.3 percent of their 97 three-point attempts — the Owls can score from anywhere on the court. Rose, who leads the team with 19 points per game, could cause major problems for the Badgers.
Needing a win to avoid dropping its sixth game of the season, Wisconsin (1-1 Big Ten, 4-5 overall) came out with energy and a much-needed sense of urgency against Penn State (1-1, 7-3) Monday night.
Greg Gard succulently summed up his team’s performance in its 83-58 loss to Ohio State Saturday afternoon. “It seemed like we were lifeless for a large part of the first half,” he said.
The Wisconsin men's basketball team's (3-5 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) early season struggles continued on Saturday, as they were blown out XX-XX at home by Ohio State (5-4 overall, 1-0 Big Ten). The Badgers trailed 49-26 at the break, shooting just 30 percent from the floor — their worst shooting performance in any first half this season.
For Wisconsin (0-1 Big Ten, 3-5 overall), the start of conference play was an opportunity to prove what coaches and players have been saying the last several weeks: that its brutal opening stretch would make it a better team in the long run.
Prior to this season during redshirt junior forward Ethan Happ’s Wisconsin career, when UW was in a late shot clock situation, Happ and the Badgers frequently relied on an experienced player to generate a quality offense shot. “There were defiantly times when Bronson [Koenig] just saved us,” Happ said.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. — In practice Sunday night, the Wisconsin men’s basketball team made it rain.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA — After three straight close losses to ranked opponents, Wisconsin (3-4) badly needed a signature win.
Against the three ranked opponents that Wisconsin has faced this season, the Badgers (3-3) have routinely come up short when the game hung in the balance.
In Wisconsin’s season opener against South Carolina State, Andy Van Vliet scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
The Wisconsin men’s basketball team (2-3) headed to Kansas City, Mo., this week to compete in the Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center. The Badgers opened the two-game tournament against No. 22 Baylor, and despite a valiant comeback effort ultimately fell just short to the Bears, 70-65. Seven-foot sophomore forward Jo Lual-Acuil Jr.
As redshirt junior forward Ethan Happ reflected on Wisconsin’s 80-70 loss to Xavier last Thursday night, he interestingly couldn’t help but smile. “I feel like a coach, but I’m just really proud of the guys, very proud of how we responded,” Happ told reporters after the game.
Brad Davison spent the majority of the first half of Wisconsin’s 80-70 to No. 15 Xavier (3-0) pestering Musketeer players, making contested jump shots and pumping his fists in excitement.
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