11/4 UW-R. Falls W, 101-46 11/13 Western Ill. L, 67-69 11/15 Siena W, 92-65 11/17 North Dakota W, 78-64 11/20 Georgetown * L, 61-71 11/22 VCU * W, 74-73 11/25 Prairie V A&M W, 85-67 11/29 Oklahoma L, 48-65 12/2 Syracuse W, 66-58 12/5 Temple W, 76-60 12/9 Milwaukee L, 67-68 12/12 Marquette L, 55-57 12/15 TA&M CC W, 64-49 12/23 Green Bay W, 84-79 12/29 Purdue L, 61-55 1/2 Rutgers W, 79-57 1/5 Indiana L, 59-58 1/9 Maryland 12pm 1/12 Northwestern 6pm 1/17 Michigan St. 12:30pm 1/21 Penn State 7pm 1/26 Indiana 6pm 1/31 Illinois 6:30pm 2/4 Ohio State 6pm 2/10 Nebraska 6pm 2/13 Maryland 5pm 2/18 Michigan St 8pm 2/21 Illinois TBA 2/24 Iowa 8pm 2/28 Michigan TBA 3/2 Minnesota 8pm 3/5 Purdue TBA Key: times CT Home Game Road Game * 2K Classic Printable Schedule 0 Will Decorah Jr. G 1 Brevin Pritzl Fr. G 2 Jordan Smith R-Sr. G 3 Zak Showalter R-Jr. G 4 Matt Ferris So. G 5 Aaron Moesch R-So. F 10 Nigel Hayes Jr. F 11 Jordan Hill R-So. G 13 Jackson Bax Fr. G 15 Charlie Thomas Fr. F 20 T.J. Schlundt R-Fr. G 21 Khalil Iverson Fr. G 22 Ethan Happ R-Fr. F 24 Bronson Koenig Jr. G 25 Alex Illikainen Fr. F 30 Vitto Brown Jr. F 33 Andy Van Vliet Fr. F 35 Riley Dearring R-So. G Complete Roster Wisconsin Men's Basketball - Like the team on Facebook  - Twitter: @BadgerMBB - Instagram: @badgermbb - All-Access Media | Photos - Notes | Record Book

UW SEEKS TOP-RANKED TAKEDOWN
On the heels of a one-point loss at Indiana, the Badgers return home to host No. 3 Maryland on Saturday for a noon (CT) game at the Kohl Center. Wisconsin is 1-2 against top-25 teams this season but has won six of its last eight against top-five teams.
    Up next, Wisconsin will travel to Northwestern on Tuesday, Jan. 12. The Badgers of won five straight at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. on BTN.

NOTES TO KNOW
1 CHANGING OF THE GARD: Since Greg Gard was named interim head coach on Dec. 15, the Badgers have gone 2-2 and have increased their offensive production. In 4 games under Gard, the Badgers are shooting 45.8% and averaging 69.0 ppg. UW shot 41.2% and averaged 65.7 ppg in the 12 contests prior to Gard taking over.
2 HAYES-ING: Preseason All-Big Ten pick Nigel Hayes is 1 of just 2 players in the Big Ten averaging at least 15.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 3.5 apg. He also recently became the 18th player in UW history to reach 1,000 points in 3 seasons.
3 BIG TEN'S BEST: Since 2001-02 when Bo Ryan and Greg Gard got to UW, the Badgers are 173-70 (.712) in Big Ten play, the top mark in the conference (MSU is second at 162-80 [.669]).
4 TOP-RANKED TAKEDOWNS: The Badgers have won an impressive 6 of their last 8 games against teams ranked in the top-5 of the AP poll over the last 3 seasons. UW's last home win over a top-5 team was 65-62 OT win over Michigan (2/9/13).
5 DEVELOPING DEFENSE: The Badgers held Indiana to a season-low 59 points on Tuesday (28.7 points below its scoring average). Over the last nine games, UW has held Oklahoma, Purdue, Temple, Marquette and Indiana to season-low point totals and limited Syracuse to its 2nd-lowest output game (a game that went to OT).
6 THISCLOSE: Overall this season, Wisconsin has lost 4 games by two points or less. The Badgers' 4 home losses have come by a total of 11 points. UW has been tied or within one possession in the fi nal 2:00 of all 4 games.
7 MAKING IT HAPP-EN: Averaging 11.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, freshman Ethan Happ is tied for the Big Ten lead with 5 doubles-doubles on the season. Happ had 16 points, 10 boards in last Saturday's win vs. Rutgers.
8 YOUNG BLOOD: No team in the nation has more freshmen than Wisconsin (8) and that group has played 30.5% of UW's minutes. The quartet of Ethan Happ, Alex Illikainen, Khalil Iverson and Charlie Thomas are averaging 20.2 ppg and 14.3 rpg.
9 BOARDING: UW has only been out-rebounded in 1 of its 16 games and leads the Big Ten with 13.4 off. boards per game.

ALL-TIME VS. MARYLAND
Wisconsin and Maryland will be playing for the 9th time Saturday, marking the Terrapins fi rst trip to Madison as a member of the Big Ten. The teams met just once last season, a 59-53 Maryland win in College Park.
- The Badgers are 5-3 all-time against the Terrapins, including a 2-0 record in Madison. UW claimed a 32-30 decision in the fi rst ever meeting in 1931 as well as a 69-64 win in 2004.
- The Badgers and Terrapins have met in some noteworthy circumstances over the last 15 years. Wisconsin's 78-75 overtime win in the 2000 Big Ten/ ACC Challenge marked Dick Bennett's fi nal game coaching at UW.
    The 2002 meeting, an 87-57 Terps win, came in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament en route to Maryland's 2002 National Championship.
    The two teams also met in the 3rd-place game of the 2009 Maui Invitational as the Badgers pulled out a 78-69 win.
- Highland, Maryland, native Charlie Thomas grew up just 17 miles from the Maryland campus. Thomas grew up a Duke and Kentucky fan, but attended several Terrapins home games.

NOTES FROM UW'S LAST GAME
IND 59, UW 58 - 1/5/16 - Bloomington, Ind.
-  Wisconsin jumped out to a 9-point first-half lead but was plagued by a cold-shooting second half in a 59-58 loss at Indiana Tuesday night.
- The Badgers shot 47.6% in the opening half, but that fell to 36.0% in a second half that featured a long scoring drought. Despite that, UW pulled even at 53-53 with 0:52 remaining.
    However, 6 points from IU's Yogi Ferrell and a costly TO were too much to overcome as Nigel Hayes' last-second 3-pointer provided the 1-point margin.
- UW held the Hoosiers to a season-low 59 points, 27.7 below their scoring average. The Badgers also forced 19 turnovers, held a 10-0 edge in secondchange points and a 26-22 advantage in the paint. But IU shot 48.8% overall (41.2% 3 FGs) and went a perfect 10-for-10 at the FT line.
- Juniors Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig had 15 points apiece for Wisconsin. Freshman Ethan Happ finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds.

WRECKING THE RANKED
- The Badgers are 1-2 against teams ranked in the AP poll this season, after going 5-3 against the top- 25 last season. UW was 35-13 under Ryan against AP top-25 teams at the Kohl Center.
- Wisconsin has won 6 of its last 8 games against teams ranked in the AP top 5. Last 8 Games vs. AP Top-5 Teams: 1/15/13 at Indiana (#2) W, 64-59; 2/9/13 Michigan (#3) W, 65-62 (ot); 3/16/13 vs. Indiana (#3) W, 68-56; 3/30/14 vs. Arizona (#4) W, 64-63 (ot); 12/3/14 DUKE (#4) L, 70-80; 3/28/15 vs. Arizona (#5) W, 85-78; 4/4/15 vs. Kentucky (#1) W, 71-64; 4/6/15 vs. Duke (#4) L, 63-68.

OFFENSE GROWING UNDER GARD
- Since taking over the head coaching duties, Greg Gard has had an immediate impact on the Badgers offense. Through 4 games, UW has seen improvement in several vital areas. There's been an improvement in points per game (69.4 to 69.0), field goal percentage (.412 to .458), 3-point field goal percentage (.329 to .358), bench points per game (9.5 to 14.3) and points in the paint (25.3 to 28.0).
- Gard's promotion to head coach has also coincided with Wisconsin increasing its depth. In 12 games under Bo Ryan, UW's starters were playing 80.8% of the minutes. In the 4 games since, that number has dropped to 71.3%.
    As a result, the Badgers are getting more production from their reserves (14.3 ppg under Gard). Over the final 6 games prior to Gard taking over, UW's bench was averaging just 5.3 points per game, including 0 points vs. Marquette and 1 point at Syracuse.
- No individual has been affected by the coaching change more than Jordan Hill. During the first 12 games of the season, the redshirt sophomore guard did not score a point in 27 minutes. He has scored 27 points in 89 minutes in the 4 games since.

STRENGTH IN SCHEDULING
- ESPN.com's BPI lists UW with the 14th-toughest schedule in the NCAA, the highest among Big Ten teams (Illinois is next at 17th).
- From an RPI standpoint, the Badgers faced one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the Big Ten. A total of 9 of UW's 13 non-con games came against RPI top-150 foes. Among Big Ten team, only Illinois (10) faced more top-150 teams.
- The Badgers' 4 home losses have come by a combined 11 points. In each of the 4 defeats, UW was either tied or within one possession in the final 2:00. In fact, the Badgers had a game-winning/tying shot attempt in the closing seconds of 3 of the losses.
- Wisconsin's losses have come vs. teams who are a combined 75-27 (.735): Oklahoma (12-1), Purdue (13-2), Indiana (13-3), Marquette (11-4), Western Illinois (7-6), Milwaukee (10-5), Georgetown (9-6)..

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).

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.