Nigel Hayes vs. Marquette
Steve Gotter

Men's Basketball

This Week in Men's Basketball: Dec. 14-20

Badgers host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi before breaking for final exams

Men's Basketball

This Week in Men's Basketball: Dec. 14-20

Badgers host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi before breaking for final exams

Schedule
11/4UW-R. FallsW, 101-46
11/13Western Ill.L, 67-69
11/15SienaW, 92-65
11/17North DakotaW, 78-64
11/20Georgetown *L, 61-71
11/22VCU *W, 74-73
11/25Prairie V A&MW, 85-67
11/29OklahomaL, 48-65
12/2SyracuseW, 66-58
12/5TempleW, 76-60
12/9MilwaukeeL, 67-68
12/12MarquetteL, 55-57
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

BADGERS LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK
Wisconsin plays its last game before final exams on campus by hosting Texas A&M Corpus Christi (7-2) on Tuesday for an 8 p.m. (CT) game at the Kohl Center. The game will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.

Game 12  |  Wisconsin vs. Texas A&M-CC
DateTue., Dec. 15  |  8 p.m.
LocationMadison, Wis.  |  Kohl Center
Watch BTN  |  Watch Online
ListenRadio  |  1310 AM, 101.5 FM
UpdatesLive Stats  |  @BadgerMBB
Notes Wisconsin  |  Texas A&M-CC

NOTES TO KNOW
1 THISCLOSE
: Wisconsin has lost 3 home games, but they have come by a total of 5 points. UW has had a potential winning FGA in all three games.
2 HAYES-ING: A preseason All-Big Ten selection, Nigel Hayes is living up to that billing lately. After a career-high 32 points vs. Milwaukee, the junior is one of just 2 players in the Big Ten averaging at least 15.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 4.0 apg.
3 KLUTCH KOENIG: Bronson Koenig entered the season with a single-game career high of 19 points. He has already topped that twice, ranking 2nd on UW with 15.1 ppg. Against VCU, the Cousy Award candidate scored 22 points including the game-winning basket with 5.9 seconds left.
4 MAKING IT HAPP-EN: After scoring 10 points and equaling a career high with 15 rebounds on Wednesday vs. Milwaukee, freshman Ethan Happ is tied for the Big Ten lead with 4 double-doubles on the year. Happ is averaging 10.8 ppg on 51.7% shooting and ranks 2nd in the Big Ten with 8.5 rebounds per game.
5 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 20.1 points and 14.7 rebounds per game. Freshmen have played 31.4% of UW's minutes.
6 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 is tied for 27th on the NCAA's all-time wins list with a record of 746-233 (.762) and needs 1 win to pass the legendary Phog Allen.
7 HOME SWEET HOME: In 15 seasons under Bo Ryan, the Badgers have a 214-25 (.895) record at home, the 4th-best win pct. in the country over that span. UW has only lost 3 straight home games once under Ryan (2014).
8 BOARDING: UW has out-rebounded all 11 of its opponents and leads the Big Ten with 14.6 off. boards per game.
9 DEVELOPING DEFENSE: After allowing 67.1 ppg and 45.1% shooting (44.6% 3FGs) in the first 7 games, the Badgers have limited their last 3 opponent to an average of 60.8 ppg and a combined 39.9% shooting (32.8% 3FGs).

NOTES FROM UW'S LAST GAME
MU 57, UW 55 - 12/12/15 - Kohl Center
-  
Wisconsin rallied from a 14-point deficit against Marquette to tie the game at 55-55 in the final minute, but were unable to pull out the win against its in-state, falling 57-55 on Saturday at the Kohl Center.
- The Badgers trailed 46-32 with 11:00 remaining but stormed back to tie the game at 53-53 and 55-55 on consecutive jumper from Vitto Brown and Nigel Hayes with 0:51 seconds remaining. MU got a put-back basket from Luke Fischer with 0:27 left and UW came up empty on two FGAs from Hayes.
- Brown scored a team-high 15 points with 8 rebounds while Zak Showalter recorded his first-career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
- Ethan Happ finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds, while Hayes had 10 points and 6 boards.
- UW out-rebounded MU 36-33 but shot just 36.4% compared to the Golden Eagles' 52.2%. Marquette also owned decided advantages in points in the paint (36-16) and fast break points (17-2).

STRENGTH IN SCHEDULING
-
From an RPI standpoint, the Badgers have faced arguably the toughest schedule in the Big Ten. Tuesday's game against Texas A&M Corpus-Christi will mark UW's 6th top-100 opponent this season and the 10th top-150 foe. According to the Dec. 13 official NCAA RPI, no Big Ten team has faced as many top-150 teams as Wisconsin (9). In fact, Illinois (8) is the only other Big Ten school to have played more than 7 top-150 teams.
- The Badgers' 3 home losses have come by a combined 5 points. In each of the 3 defeats, UW has had possession with a game-winning/tying shot attempt in the closing seconds.
- Wisconsin's 5 losses have come against teams who are a combined 36-10 (.783): Oklahoma (7-0), Marquette (8-2), Western Illinois (7-2), Milwaukee (8-3), Georgetown (6-3).
- ESPN.com's BPI lists UW with the 17th-toughest schedule in the NCAA, trailing only Iowa (11th) among Big Ten teams. 

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).
- True freshmen Khalil Iverson and Charlie Thomas have each seen extensive action off the Badgers' bench.
- UW's other scholarship freshmen Alex Illikainen and Brevin Pritzl made their debuts 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.

Print Friendly Version

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