MARCH IS ON
The postseason begins for No. 24 Wisconsin this week as it travels to Washington, D.C., to play in the 2017 Big Ten Tournament. The Badgers earned the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament and will play in the quarterfinals on Friday at 5:30 p.m. (CT) against either No. 7 Iowa or No. 10 Indiana.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WISCONSIN
TOURNEY TIME: Wisconsin earned the No. 2 seed in the 2017 Big Ten Tournament and will take on the winner of No. 7 Iowa/No. 10 Indiana on Friday evening. The Badgers are seeded second for the fourth time in tournament history, going 6-2 from that position and winning the 2004 championship.
NCAA TOURNEY ON HORIZON: The Badgers have appeared in each of the last 18 NCAA tournaments, equaling the fifth-longest streak in the history of the Big Dance.
CONSISTENCY MODEL: UW has reached 20 wins for the 11th-straight season (longest streak in B1G) and clinched a winning record in B1G play for a record 17th-consecutive season.
GARD IN CHARGE: Greg Gard has led UW to a record of 24-12 in Big Ten play, the most conference wins by any UW head coach in his first two seasons. Doc Meanwell and Bo Ryan each won 23.
ALL-AMERICAN HAPP: A second-team All-American, Ethan Happ is the nation's only player to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals during conference play. A first-team All-Big Ten pick and the AP's Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Happ averaged 14.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 3.0 assists, 1.6 blocks and 2.3 steals during Big Ten play.
KINGS OF THE ROAD: Over the last four seasons, UW is 54-22 (.711) in road/neutral games, owning the sixth-best win percentage in college hoops. The Badgers are 25-7 (.781) in neutral games over that span.
HAYES PRAISE: A Senior CLASS Award finalist, Nigel Hayes is one of the most versatile players in Big Ten history. Ranking fourth on UW's all-time scoring list, Hayes is one of just three players in Big Ten history to tally 1,700 points, 700 rebounds and 300 assists, joining Steve Smith and Brian Evans.
OWNING THE GLASS: The Badgers are 22nd in the nation with a +6.5 rebounding margin.
KLUTCH KOENIG: Wisconsin's career 3-point king with 247 triples, Bronson Koenig is at his best when the game is on the line. Over the last two seasons, he has gone 33-for-63 (.524) from 3-point range in the final 5:00 and overtime of games, including a 3-for-3 effort vs. Minnesota last Sunday.
OWN THE PAINT: The Badgers have scored 288 more points in the paint than their opponents, a margin of +9.3 ppg. UW has only been out-scored in the paint on five occasions (1-4 in those games).
WISCONSIN RECIPE: The Badgers simply don't beat themselves. UW ranks 10th in the NCAA in scoring defense (61.6 ppg), 26th in fewest fouls per game and 24th in fewest turnovers per game.
OT IS "OUR TIME": UW has won eight consecutive overtime games. Of those eight games, only one came at home.
UW IN THE BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
Wisconsin is making its 19th appearance in the annual conference tournament, which began in 1998. The Badgers own a 21-16 (.568) overall record in the Big Ten Tournament, winning championships in 2004, 2008 and 2015.
    The Badgers have also advanced to the tournament finals 3 additional years: 2005, 2007 and 2013.
- Wisconsin is the No. 2 seed for the 4th time in tournament history. The Badgers are 6-2 when seeded second, winning the 2004 championship.
- The Badgers have been a 1 or 2 seed in each of their three championship seasons.
- UW's 3 tournament championships trail only Michigan State (5) and Ohio State (4). The Badgers' 6 championship game appearances is second to only OSU (8).
- Wisconsin boasts 3 Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Players, Devin Harris (2004), Marcus Landry (2008) and Frank Kaminsky (2015). A total of 12 Badgers have earned All-Tournament team honors, the 3rd highest total in the conference.
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Nigel Hayes (13.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and
Bronson Koenig (12.5 ppg, 3.8 apg) have averaged double-digit points in 6 career Big Ten tourney games.
- Hayes was selected to the 2015 All-Big Ten Tournament Team after averaging 17.0 ppg and 6.7 rpg, which included a 25-point performance in UW's win over MSU in the championship.
- Koenig averaged 16.3 ppg during the 2015 BTT, posting a then-career high 19 points in the semifinals vs. Purdue and 18 points, 9 assists against Michigan State in the title game. In 6 career BTT games, Koenig is 14-for-29 (.483) from 3-point range.
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Ethan Happ led UW with 17 points in his only BTT game (2016), going 7-for-8 at the FT line.
Vitto Brown tallied 16 points (3-4 3FGs) and 8 rebounds in UW's tourney game last season.
BADGERS EARN B1G AWARDS
The Big Ten Conference handed out its season-ending awards Monday night and each of Wisconsin's 5 starters were recognized by coaches and media.
- Sophomore
Ethan Happ headlined UW's honors by earning first-team All-Big Ten accolades. Since the Big Ten started designating first-team All-Big Ten honorees in 1948, Happ joins Michael Finley (1993) as the only Wisconsin players to earn first team honors in their sophomore season.
    Including Happ, a total of 10 different UW players have been named first-team All-Big Ten over the past 16 seasons, combining for 14 firstteam all-conference honors. No other program in the Big Ten has more during that era.
- Happ was also named to the league's all-defensive team for the second time in his career. He is joined on the team by teammate senior
Zak Showalter. The duo rank 2nd and 5th, respectively in the Big Ten in steals.
    UW boasted a pair of All-Defensive Team members for the first time since
Joe Krabbenhoft and Michael Flowers were designated in 2008.
    Wisconsin has had a total of 12 All-Defensive Team selections in the 11 seasons since the team debuted (2007).
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Bronson Koenig and
Nigel Hayes were each recognized for their play in their senior campaigns. Koenig earned second-team All-Big Ten praise from the coaches and third-team All-Big Ten selection from the media, while Hayes was tabbed with third-team All-Big Ten honors.
    Koenig was a third-team All-Big Ten honoree last season. Hayes adds this year's third-team plaque to his resume of conference accolades that includes first team last year, third team in 2015, as well as Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year and all-freshman team in 2014.
- Senior
Vitto Brown was recognized as Wisconsin's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree for the second-straight season.
ALL-TIME VS. IOWA
Wisconsin and Iowa have played 163 times in a rivalry that began in 1909. The Badgers lead the all-time series, 83-80, and have been good lately. Dating back to 2003, UW is 19-6 against Iowa.
- Iowa defeated UW, 59-57, in this season's only regular-season meeting, snapping the Badgers' 6-game win streak vs. the Hawkeyes. UW held Iowa to its 2nd-lowest point total during B1G play and led by 9 with 3:46 left, but couldn't overcome 5-for-14 at the FT line.
- Like hoops, the UW-Iowa football all-time series is also close, as the Badgers lead, 45-43-2.
- The two teams have met 3 times in the Big Ten Tournament with the Badgers winning twice. UW defeated Iowa in the 1999 quarterfinals (74-60) as well as the 2005 semifinals (59-56). In the 2005 contest at the United Center, Alando Tucker banked in a running 3-pointer as time expired. The Hawkeyes BTT win came in the 2002 quarterfinals when UW was the No. 1 seed.
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Bronson Koenig has averaged 13.4 ppg over his last 5 games against Iowa, shooting 14-for-27 (.519) from 3-point range. He had 19 points (4-8 3FGs) in this season's meeting.
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Nigel Hayes has scored in double figures in each of his last 4 outings against Iowa, averaging 12.5 ppg over those 4 games.
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Ethan Happ and Iowa's Nicholas Baer were AAU teammates on Quad-City Elite.
ALL-TIME VS. INDIANA
Wisconsin and Indiana have played 167 times in a series dating back to 1910. The Hoosiers lead the all-time series, 95-72.
- UW has won 17 of the last 19 matchups with Indiana, including a sweep of the regular-season series. The Badgers won 75-68 in Bloomington in January and 65-60 at home in February.
- Since 2002, Wisconsin is 23-5 (.821) all-time vs. the Hoosiers. Prior to that, UW was 49-90 (.353) all-time vs. Indiana.
- The Badgers have won 15 consecutive games against the Hoosiers in Madison, the 2nd-longest home streak ever against IU.
- Wisconsin has also won 6 of the last 8 meetings with Indiana at Assembly Hall.
- Since Tom Crean got to Indiana, Wisconsin owns a 15-2 all-time record vs. the Hoosiers.
- UW has held Indiana to an average of 62.0 ppg in the 17 meetings of the Crean era. The Hoosiers currently rank 2nd in the Big Ten averaging 80.4 ppg.
- Over his last 5 outings vs. Indiana,
Nigel Hayes has scored 17.4 ppg and averaged 10.0 FT attempts per game. He is a combined 39-for-50 (.780) at the line in those 4 contests. Hayes had 15p and 10r in the most recent.
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Ethan Happ is averaging 18.5 ppg (31-43 FGs), 7.3 rpg, 2.5 bpg and 2.5 spg in 4 career meetings with Indiana. Happ scored 20 points with 7 boards, 3 blocks and 3 steals in the most recent meeting.
