Men's Basketball - The Daily Cardinal

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Wisconsin comes out flat to Michigan as early mistakes prove costly

By Ben Pickman | Feb. 11, 2018

After No. 20 Michigan’s (9-5 Big Ten, 20-7 overall) win over Wisconsin (4-10, 11-16), Wolverine head coach John Beilein said that one of, if not the most important point of his team’s defensive gameplan was to prevent Badger redshirt junior forward Ethan Happ from scoring 40 points. Happ finished with 29 points, 11 below Beilein’s target, and Wisconsin, as a team, lost by that very same margin, 83-72.

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Second half run comes up short as first half struggles doom Wisconsin against Michigan

By Ben Pickman | Feb. 11, 2018

For a brief stretch in Wisconsin’s (4-10 Big Ten, 11-16 overall) 83-72 loss to No. 20 Michigan (9-5, 2-7), the Kohl Center faithful rose to its feet in excitement.

Senior forward Ethan Happ had 18 points and 11 rebounds as Wisconsin staged a second-half comeback to extend its winning streak to five games.

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Wisconsin snaps five-game losing streak with win over Illinois

By Thomas Valtin-Erwin | Feb. 8, 2018

As the Wisconsin men’s basketball team took to the road Thursday night in the midst of a season-long five-game losing streak, the Badgers (4-9 Big Ten, 11-15 overall) put their faith in the steady hands of Ethan Happ as they dispatched Illinois (3-9, 12-13) 78-69. The redshirt junior forward was the only fully functional aspect of the UW offense against the Fighting Illini, shredding the UI defense from the opening tip to the final whistle.

Senior Aaron Moesch and freshman Brad Davison have become close off the court, allowing Moesch to mentor the young Badger and help him develop into a future star.

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Friend and mentor: Off-court relationship helps Moesch mold Davison into future UW star

By Ben Pickman | Feb. 8, 2018

On a recent Friday night, Aaron Moesch and Brad Davison drove to James Madison Memorial High School to see the high school’s performance of its school play, Curtains.

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UW looks for spark from backcourt against Illinois

By Ben Pickman | Feb. 8, 2018

On December 9, 2017, T.J. Schlundt experienced his first real taste of college basketball. The redshirt junior guard was thrust into Wisconsin’s rotation on short notice, as UW was unexpectedly without both Kobe King and D’Mitrik Trice for its matchup with in-state rival Marquette.

Senior forward Ethan Happ scored his 2000th career point with six minutes left Tuesday night, but the Badgers couldn't find any other offense down the stretch in a loss.

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Wisconsin comes up short against Maryland to drop fifth straight game

By Ben Pickman | Feb. 4, 2018

Less than an hour after Wisconsin (3-9 Big Ten, 10-15 overall) dropped its third game of the week, injured sophomore point guard D’Mitrik Trice took to Twitter with a message for UW’s fan base.

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Wisconsin looks to avoid first five-game losing streak since 2009 as it travels to face Maryland

By Thomas Valtin-Erwin | Feb. 4, 2018

Having lost seven of eight games — four of which were double-digit losses — the Wisconsin men’s basketball team (3-8 Big Ten, 10-14 overall) heads to College Park, Md., Sunday staring down the barrel of its worst nine-game stretch in 20 years.

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Wisconsin's slow start sinks UW against Northwestern

By Thomas Valtin-Erwin | Feb. 1, 2018

Much has been made this season of the Wisconsin men’s basketball team’s inability to close games.

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Slow start plagues Wisconsin as UW falls to Northwestern

By Ben Pickman | Feb. 1, 2018

Coming out of the under-16 media timeout at the 15:46 minute mark of the first half, the Rolling Stone’s hit song “Start Me Up” blared over the loudspeaker.

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Second half dooms Badgers as struggles continue against Nebraska

By Ben Pickman | Jan. 30, 2018

Less than ten minutes after addressing the media following Wisconsin’s (3-7 Big Ten, 10-13 overall) 74-63 loss to Nebraska (8-4, 17-8), a visibly saddened Ethan Happ was back on the Kohl Center floor putting up free throws. Happ, sporting a different pair of sneakers then the pair he played in earlier in the evening, was the lone Badger on the floor at the time.

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Wisconsin struggles in second half, falls to Nebraska 74-63

By Thomas Valtin-Erwin | Jan. 29, 2018

Ethan Happ knew the Badgers needed a change if they wanted to turn their season around. Monday night at the Kohl Center, he would take up that call by himself, hitting his first career 3-pointer in the first half.

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Wisconsin returns home desperate for conference victory over Nebraska

By Thomas Valtin-Erwin | Jan. 29, 2018

After a frustrating two-game road trip, the Wisconsin men’s basketball team (3-6 Big Ten, 10-12 overall) returns home Monday evening to meet the Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-4, 16-8) for the second time this year.

Sophomore forward Miles Bridges (22) dunks the basketball during the game against Ferris State on Oct. 26, 2017, at the Breslin Center. The Spartans defeated the Bulldogs, 80-72.

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Wisconsin's road struggles continue in loss to Michigan State

By Ben Pickman | Jan. 26, 2018

Yet again early in a conference game, the Wisconsin Badgers (3-6 Big Ten, 10-12 overall) found themselves trailing by double-digits.

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Wisconsin looks for monumental upset at Michigan State

By Thomas Valtin-Erwin | Jan. 26, 2018

The easiest six-game stretch in the Wisconsin men’s basketball team’s (3-5 Big Ten, 10-11 overall) conference schedule is over.

Charles Thomas IV made all five of his field goal attempts, but the Badgers were overpowered in their 19-point loss to Iowa.

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Wisconsin outplayed by Iowa in blowout road loss

By Thomas Valtin-Erwin | Jan. 23, 2018

Three minutes and 42 seconds into Wisconsin’s (3-5 Big Ten, 10-11 overall) matchup with Iowa (2-7, 11-11) Tuesday night, the Badgers had taken nine shots.

Brad Davison and the Badgers are looking to build off their most recent victory against Iowa Tuesday night.

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Badgers looking to build off success against Illinois in matchup with Iowa

By Ben Pickman | Jan. 23, 2018

While the Wisconsin Badgers (3-4 Big Ten, 10-10 overall) have struggled to play consistent basketball throughout the first twenty games of their season, UW’s struggles pale in comparison to its next opponent’s. The Badgers visit the Iowa Hawkeyes (1-7, 10-11) Tuesday night looking to win their second consecutive conference game.

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Despite recent struggles, future looks bright for UW behind young, driven core

By Thomas Valtin-Erwin | Jan. 23, 2018

For decades, the Wisconsin men’s basketball program was forgettable. Over the course of 40 seasons from 1954 to 1995, the Badgers notched just eight winning seasons and won 42.8 percent of their games.

Brevin Pritzl scored a team-high 19 points, helping UW's bench outscore OSU's bench 30-16.

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Wisconsin's offense clicks as Badgers bury Illinois

By Thomas Valtin-Erwin | Jan. 20, 2018

Basketball is fickle. Sometimes, like last Tuesday against Purdue, your opponent drills 14-of-22 threes and you lose by 28.

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Wisconsin wallops Illinois after recent road struggles

By Thomas Valtin-Erwin | Jan. 20, 2018

After a drubbing in West Lafayette, Ind., at the hands of then-No. 3 Purdue, the Wisconsin men’s basketball team (3-4 Big Ten, 10-10 overall) was desperate for a win — or at least a good all-around performance.

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Struggling Wisconsin returns home to face Illinois

By Ben Pickman | Jan. 19, 2018

Nothing has come easy for the Wisconsin Badgers (2-4 Big Ten, 9-10 overall) during the 2017-’18 season.