Ethan Happ vs. North Dakota
David Stluka

Men's Basketball

This Week in Badger Men's Basketball: Nov. 23-29

Wisconsin hosts Prairie View A&M before traveling to face Oklahoma

Men's Basketball

This Week in Badger Men's Basketball: Nov. 23-29

Wisconsin hosts Prairie View A&M before traveling to face Oklahoma

Schedule
11/4UW-R. FallsW, 101-46
11/13Western Ill.L, 69-67
11/15SienaW, 92-65
11/17North DakotaW, 78-64
11/20Georgetown *L, 71-61
11/22VCU *W, 74-73
11/25Prairie V A&M7pm
11/29Oklahoma1:30pm
12/2Syracuse6:15pm
12/5Temple11:30am
12/9Milwaukee8pm
12/12Marquette12:30pm
12/15TA&M CC8pm
12/23Green Bay8pm
12/29Purdue6pm
1/2Rutgers1pm
1/5Indiana6pm
1/9MarylandTBA
1/12Northwestern6pm
1/17Michigan St.TBA
1/21Penn State7pm
1/26Indiana6pm
1/31Illinois6:30pm
2/4Ohio State6pm
2/10Nebraska6pm
2/13Maryland5pm
2/18Michigan St8pm
2/21IllinoisTBA
2/24Iowa8pm
2/28MichiganTBA
3/2Minnesota8pm
3/5PurdueTBA
Key:times CT
Home Game
Road Game
* 2K Classic
Printable Schedule

Roster
0Will DecorahJr.G
1Brevin PritzlFr.G
2Jordan SmithR-Sr.G
3Zak ShowalterR-Jr.G
4Matt FerrisSo.G
5Aaron MoeschR-So.F
10Nigel HayesJr.F
11Jordan HillR-So.G
13Jackson BaxFr.G
15Charlie ThomasFr.F
20T.J. SchlundtR-Fr.G
21Khalil IversonFr.G
22Ethan HappR-Fr.F
24Bronson KoenigJr.G
25Alex IllikainenFr.F
30Vitto BrownJr.F
33Andy Van VlietFr.F
35Riley DearringR-So.G
Complete Roster
Wisconsin Men's Basketball
- Like the team on Facebook 
- Twitter: @BadgerMBB
- Instagram: @badgermbb
- All-Access Media | Photos
- Notes | Record Book

WISCONSIN HOSTS PRAIRIE VIEW A&M THEN TRAVELS TO FACE OKLAHOMA 
Three days after earning a split at the 2K Classic in New York City, the Badgers will welcome Prairie View A&M to the Kohl Center on Wednesday, Nov. 25. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

Wisconsin will then head on the road for back-to-back challenging contests at No. 7 Oklahoma (Nov. 29) and at Syracuse (Dec. 2). The fi rst of a two-year home-and-home series with the Sooners, the Badgers will look to repeat a 69-56 win over OU in the 2014 Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament.

Game 6  |  Wisconsin vs. Prairie View A&M
DateWednesday, Nov. 25  |  7 p.m. (CT)
LocationMadison, Wis.  |  Kohl Center
Watch BTN  |  BTN2Go
ListenRadio  |  1310 AM, 101.5 FM
UpdatesLive Stats  |  @BadgerMBB
Notes Wisconsin  |  Prairie View A&M
Game 7  |  Wisconsin vs. #7 Oklahoma
DateSunday, Nov. 29  |  1:30 p.m. (CT)
LocationNorman, Okla.  |  Lloyd Noble Center
WatchESPN2  |  WatchESPN
ListenRadio  |  1310 AM, 101.5 FM
UpdatesLive Stats  |  @BadgerMBB
NotesWisconsin  |  Oklahoma

NOTES TO KNOW
1 ALL-BIG TEN TANDEM:
UW returns just 38% of its minutes played from last season, but welcomes back a pair of Wooden Award candidates in juniors Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig. Hayes, who was 9th in the AP Preseason All-American voting, is scored in double fi gures in all 5 games averaging 14.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 3.6 apg.
2 KLUTCH KOENIG: Junior Bronson Koenig entered the season with a single-game career high of 19 points. He has already topped that twice in 5 games this season, leading UW with 17.6 ppg. On Sunday vs. VCU, Koenig scored a game-high 22 points, including the game-winning basket with 5.9 seconds remaining.
3 MAKING IT HAPP-EN: With back-to-back double-doubles in the 2K Classic in New York, Ethan Happ became the first UW freshman to post consecutive double-doubles since Mike Wilkinson in the 2001-02 season.
4 YOUNG BLOOD: No team in the nation has more freshmen than Wisconsin (8) and a quartet of the Badgers' newcomers are having an immediate impact. Ethan Happ, Alex Illikainen, Khalil Iverson and Charlie Thomas are combining to average 22.0 points and 15.2 rebounds per game. Freshmen have played 32.3% of UW's minutes.
5 BO KNOWS: A 2015 Naismith Hall of Fame finalist, Bo Ryan ranks 9th in conference history with 172 career Big Ten wins and owns the highest Big Ten winning percentage in conference history. Overall, Ryan ranks 28th on the NCAA's all-time wins list with a record of 743-230 (.764), just 4 wins short of passing the legendary Phog Allen (746).
6 HOME SWEET HOME: 
UW owns one of the best home records in all of college basketball. In 15 seasons under Bo Ryan, the Badgers have amassed a 211-23 (.902) record at home, the 4th-best winning percentage in the country over that span. Ryan's Badgers are 105-9 (.921) at home in non-conference play.

NOTES FROM UW'S LAST GAME
WIS 74, VCU 73 - 11/22/15 - New York City
-  
Wisconsin salvaged a split at the 2K Classic in New York City with a 74-73 win over VCU Sunday at Madison Square Garden. Bronson Koenig scored a game-high 22 points, including the game-winning lay-up with 5.9 seconds remaining.
- UW shot 53.1% from the field, including 5-for- 10 on 3FGs and held VCU to 42.6% (32.1% in the second half). The Badgers turned it over a seasonhigh 17 times, but out-rebounded the Rams, 39-30, and held them to just 4 fast-break points.
- Freshman Ethan Happ earned All-Tournament honors after posting a pair of double-doubles on the weekend. Two days after recording 12 points and 11 rebounds against Georgetown, Happ tallied 12 points and 10 boards vs. VCU.
- Zak Showalter matched a career high with 10 points, while adding 6 rebounds and setting career bests with 6 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Nigel Hayes rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Freshman Charlie Thomas tallied a career-high 9 points with 5 rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.

NON-CON NO-CONTEST
- UW has won 31 of its last 34 regular-season, non-conference games dating back to December of 2012.
- Under Bo Ryan (since 2001-02), UW is 146-33 (.816) in non-conference games, including a mark of 106-9 (.922) at the Kohl Center.
- Since 2003-04, Wisconsin is 89-3 (.967) vs. unranked non-con opponents, the 5th-highest win percentage in the nation over that span.

2015-16 TEAM INFO
Starters Returning/Lost: 2/3  |  Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 9/5 
- Wisconsin looks to replace five of the top seven scorers from a year ago, but does return a pair of starters in juniors Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig. Overall, the Badgers bring back 38.1% of their minutes played from last season. UW will bring back 34.3% of its scoring, 31.5% of its rebounding and 40.5% of their assists.
- The 2015-16 season will mark the first year under Bo Ryan in which the Badgers do not have a scholarship senior. The only senior on the roster is walk-on guard Jordan Smith. Wisconsin has had at least one senior starter in each of Ryan's first 14 seasons in Madison. In fact, the Badgers have started at least two seniors in 10 of those 14 seasons.
- UW returns four players from last season's nine-man rotation:
FRONTCOURT: 
    
Nigel Hayes, Jr., F (12.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg) - Third-team All-Big Ten; 9th in Big Ten shooting 49.7% overall and 3rd on UW shooting 39.6% from 3s; 4 career double-doubles
    Vitto Brown, Jr., F (2.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg) - Played in 34 games as a soph. averaging 6.3 mpg
BACKCOURT
    Bronson Koenig, Jr., G (8.7 ppg, 2.5 apg) - Started final 24 games; 4th on the team in points and 2nd in assists; 2nd on team shooting 40.5% on 3s; 3.0 assist-to-TO Ratio
    Zak Showalter, Jr., G (2.1 ppg, 1.3 rpg) - Redshirt junior averaged 7.6 minutes off the bench; career-high 9 points vs. Indiana (Feb. 3, 2015)
- The Badgers will gain the services of redshirt freshmen Ethan Happ and T.J. Schlundt in 2014- 15, who both redshirted in their first year on campus. UW will also add five true freshmen to their roster in 2015-16, Alex Illikainen (Grand Rapids, Minn.), Khalil Iverson (Delaware, Ohio), Brevin Pritzl (De Pere, Wis.), Charlie Thomas (Highland, Md.), Andy Van Vliet (Brasschaat, Belgium).

Football Notes
NOTES
Complete men's basketball game notes in printable PDF format.

ALL-BIG TEN DUO: HAYES, KOENIG
A pair of Badgers were named to the 2015-16 Preseason All-Big Ten Team, as Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig were each selected by a vote of the league's media. This is the second consecutive season Wisconsin has had a pair selected to the conference's preseason team as Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker earned the distinction last year.
- Hayes and Koenig were also named to watch lists for the Julius Erving Award and Bob Cousy Award, respectively, as announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
    Each watch list contains the top 20 players at its position, as the Julius Erving Award recognizes the top small forward in the nation and the Bob Cousy Award recognizes the top point guard in the country.
    Dekker was a finalist for the Erving Award last season. Jordan Taylor (2012) was UW's last finalist for the Cousy Award.
- Junior Nigel Hayes was named a preseason All-American by The Sporting News and finished 9th in the AP preseason All-American balloting.

YOUTH BEING SERVED
The 2015-16 Badgers are the youngest in Bo Ryan's 15 seasons. No school in the country has more freshmen on its roster than Wisconsin (8). Cornell and UTEP are the only other schools with 8 freshmen.
- Redshirt freshman Ethan Happ became just the 3rd freshman to start the season opener under Bo Ryan, joining Devin Harris (2001) and George Marshall (2012). Happ is seeing 18.5 mpg, averaging 6.0 ppg and 5.0 rpg shooting 55.6% from the field.
- True freshmen Khalil Iverson and Charlie Thomas have each seen extensive action off the Badgers' bench. Both newcomers are averaging 6.0 ppg and 5.0 rpg. Iverson also leads the Badgers with 4 blocks, 3 steals and 7 off. rebounds in 2 games.
- UW's other scholarship freshmen Alex Illikainen and Brevin Pritzl made their debuts Sunday vs. Siena. Illikainen chipped in 6 points in 7 minutes. Andy Van Vliet (ineligible) has yet to see action

HAYES FOR DAYS
- After earning 2014 Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year, Nigel Hayes expanded his game in 2015 and was rewarded with third-team All-Big Ten honors. 
    Now Hayes enters his junior season as a preseason All-American and the focal point of Wisconsin's offense.
- Last season, Hayes fi nished 3rd on the team in points (12.4) and ranked 13th in the Big Ten with 6.2 rebounds per game. He led UW in steals (34) and was 3rd in blocks (16).
    Hayes ranked 9th in the Big Ten shooting 49.7% from the fi eld and shot 39.6%, which ranked 13th in the Big Ten.
- The junior made great strides in 3 areas in particular: rebounding, 3FG% and FT%.
- Hayes has scored in double fi gures 44 times in his career, including 30 of 40 games last season. Hayes posted a career-high 25 points vs. Green Bay a year ago and owns 4 career double-doubles.
- The Toledo, Ohio, native continued his penchant for getting to the free throw line. As a freshman, Hayes was 2nd on the team with 164 FTAs. Last season, he was again 2nd on UW in both FTAs and made FTs, going 125-for-168 (.744).

KOENIG ON POINT
- When Traveon Jackson went down with a foot injury at Rutgers on Jan. 11, 2015, Bronson Koenig took over the starting point guard role for the Badgers and flourished in the new role.
    Now a junior, the preseason All-Big Ten pick is the unquestioned lead guard at Wisconsin.
- Last season, Koenig ranked 4th on the Badgers averaging 8.7 points per game and 2nd on the team with 2.5 assists per game. 
    Koenig connected on 40.5% of his 3-point attempts (62-153), good for 12th in the Big Ten.
- In 2014-15, Koenig had 98 assists to just 33 turnovers. His 2.97 assist-to-turnover ratio was tops among Big Ten players with at least 75 assists 
- In 24 games as the Badgers' starting point guard, Koenig averaged 11.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He also went 50-for-113 (44.2%) from 3-point range over those 24 games.
- Koenig turned the ball over just 26 times in 835 minutes last season as the starting point guard (1 every 32.1 min.).
    Put another way, Koenig averaged just 1.3 turnovers per 40 minutes, the best mark of any starting point guard on a major conference team during that span.

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Players Mentioned

Sam Dekker

#15 Sam Dekker

F
6' 9"
Junior
Frank Kaminsky

#44 Frank Kaminsky

F
7' 0"
Senior
Brevin Pritzl

#1 Brevin Pritzl

G
6' 3"
Freshman
Jordan Smith

#2 Jordan Smith

G
6' 3"
Redshirt Senior
Zak Showalter

#3 Zak Showalter

G
6' 2"
Redshirt Junior
Matt Ferris

#4 Matt Ferris

G
6' 6"
Sophomore
Aaron Moesch

#5 Aaron Moesch

F
6' 8"
Redshirt Sophomore
Nigel Hayes

#10 Nigel Hayes

F
6' 8"
Junior
Jordan Hill

#11 Jordan Hill

G
6' 3"
Redshirt Sophomore
Charles Thomas, IV

#15 Charles Thomas, IV

F
6' 8"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Sam Dekker

#15 Sam Dekker

6' 9"
Junior
F
Frank Kaminsky

#44 Frank Kaminsky

7' 0"
Senior
F
Brevin Pritzl

#1 Brevin Pritzl

6' 3"
Freshman
G
Jordan Smith

#2 Jordan Smith

6' 3"
Redshirt Senior
G
Zak Showalter

#3 Zak Showalter

6' 2"
Redshirt Junior
G
Matt Ferris

#4 Matt Ferris

6' 6"
Sophomore
G
Aaron Moesch

#5 Aaron Moesch

6' 8"
Redshirt Sophomore
F
Nigel Hayes

#10 Nigel Hayes

6' 8"
Junior
F
Jordan Hill

#11 Jordan Hill

6' 3"
Redshirt Sophomore
G
Charles Thomas, IV

#15 Charles Thomas, IV

6' 8"
Freshman
F