Five Things to Know: Grambling State

Saturday, December 22

Madison, WI

11 AM

Wisconsin Badgers

Grambling State

Tickets

Aleem Ford men's basketball vs. Rutgers 2018

Photo by: David Stluka

Five Things to Know: Grambling State

December 22, 2018 | Men's Basketball

With final exams done, Badgers resume non-conference play

No. 16 Wisconsin

9-2

Grambling State

6-6

Game Coverage

Dec. 22 | 11 a.m. | Kohl Center | Madison

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin returns on Saturday from a break for final exams to host Grambling State in the final non-conference home game of the season. The Badgers are 146-15 (.907) all-time in non-conference games at the Kohl Center.

Up next, the Badgers will wrap up non-conference play at Western Kentucky on Dec. 29. UW claimed a narrow 81-80 win over WKU last season at the Kohl Center.

1. RESUME BUILDING: The Badgers are currently No. 8 in the NCAA's NET rankings and already have six wins over major conference teams, tops the nation.

2. HAPP STANDS ALONE: Preseason AP All-American Ethan Happ has opened the season like a postseason All-American. Leading the nation in double-doubles (9 in 11 games), Happ ranks among the Big Ten's top three in scoring (19.2 ppg), rebounds (10.8 rpg) and assists (5.0 apg).

3. TRICE IS NICE: D'Mitrik Trice is off to a sizzling start in 2018-19, ranking second in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting 55.6% (35-for-63) from long range. His 3.2 3FGs per game also ranks second in the Big Ten. The sophomore guard entered the season with a career high of 16 points, but has already topped that in five of the first 11 games this season.

4. STRONG OUT THE GATES: Wisconsin has opened the season 9-2. The Badgers have started the season 9-2 or better in 14 of the last 17 seasons.

5. DOWNTOWN BADGERS: Wisconsin leads the Big Ten and ranks 17th in the NCAA shooting 40.2% from 3-point range. That figure is up from 33.5% a season ago. Defensively, UW is allowing opponents to shoot just 29.0% from beyond the arc and hit a mere 6.2 3FGs per game.

For more information, check out the full preview of Saturday's game.