Game Coverage
Monday, Nov. 20 | 8:30 pm — Sprint Center
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Wisconsin hits the road for the first time this season for a two-game set in Kansas City, Missouri at the 2017 Hall of Fame Classic. The Badgers will take on No. 24 Baylor on Monday, Nov. 20 before playing either Creighton or No. 23 UCLA the following night.
Following the Hall of Fame Classic, Badgers will return home for one game against Milwaukee on Nov. 24 before traveling to Virginia for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW: BAYLOR
1. HAPP-ENS TO BE ONE OF THE BEST: A third-team AP All-American last season, junior Ethan Happ is on every national player of the year award watch list and was named to the preseason All-Big Ten team and second-team preseason All-American by ESPN.com. This season, Happ leads the Badgers in points (17.7), rebounds (8.7) and assists (3.7).
2. BADGER BALANCE: Wisconsin is by no means a one-man team. In addition to Happ, 5 other Badgers have scored at least 12 points in a game this season. Andy Van Vliet (18), Khalil Iverson (17), Brevin Pritzl (17), D'Mitrik Trice (14) and Brad Davison (12) have all contributed.
3. WHO'S BACK: Wisconsin returns just 1 starter from last season, All-American Ethan Happ. Sophomore guard D'Mitrik Trice is the only other player on the roster that has started a game (2). In all, UW graduated 5 seniors who accumulated 4,802 career points and 350 combined starts. The Badgers brings back just 38.3% of the points scored a year ago and 39.4% of minutes played.
4. LONG EXHIBITION SEASON: The Badgers enjoyed an 8-game exhibition schedule, including a 5-game foreign tour of New Zealand and Australia. UW went 7-1, boasting wins over Missouri and Northern Iowa as well as 3 wins over teams from Australia/New Zealand's top professional league (National Basketball League). UW's only loss came on a buzzer-beater to Melbourne United (NBL).Â
5. TOUGH ROAD AHEAD: Wisconsin's 2017-18 schedule features a minimum of 9 games against teams in the AP preseason poll and another 3 against teams receiving votes. The Badgers earned 14 votes in the preseason poll, the first time UW hasn't appeared in the opening top 25 since 2010.
ALL-TIME vs. BAYLOR: Monday's game will mark the 2nd-ever meeting between Wisconsin and Baylor. The Badgers claimed a 69-52 win in the 2016 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, the only other contest
between the two teams.
- Wisconsin is 23-18 all-time against teams in the Big 12 Conference. The Badgers' last contest with a Big 12 opponent was a 90-70 win over Oklahoma last season in Madison.
- The 2017 Hall of Fame Classic will be Wisconsin's second trip to the Sprint Center in Kansas City. The Badgers suffered a 57-46 loss to Ole Miss there in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Head coach Greg Gard (then associate head coach) is the only current UW coach or player that was on the roster in 2013.
For complete game notes, click here.
