Photo by: Nolan Kromke
Lucas: Here’s why the Badgers decided to play in NIT
March 13, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Mike Lucas
Opportunity to compete and springboard into 2023-24 has Badgers ready
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Once his team's post-season fate began to crystallize with a potential trip to the National Invitation Tournament, Wisconsin's Greg Gard reached out to some fraternity brothers who had been down this path before when the fork in the road does not lead to the NCAA tourney.
When the Badgers take on Bradley University here Tuesday night at the Kohl Center, it will mark 27 years since their last NIT appearance. In 1996, they beat Manhattan and lost to Illinois State – both games were staged at the Field House – capping Dick Bennett's first season as UW's head coach.
One of the people that Gard talked to was Bennett's son, Tony Bennett, Virginia's head coach. After failing to make the NCAA field last season, the Cavaliers ended up defeating Mississippi State and North Texas in the first two rounds of the NIT before losing to St. Bonaventure in the quarterfinals.
Bennett, who guided UVA to the 2019 national championship, maintained a healthy perspective about the NIT. He told SB Nation, "All experience is good experience'' noting that "for guys in our program who haven't played in a tournament, guys who are going to be back, it's valuable."
Bennett went on to talk about how important it was to "move past not getting an NCAA bid and getting beat in the ACC Tournament in the way we did." North Carolina thumped Virginia, 63-43. Throughout the season, the Hoos had been inconsistent from game to game, Bennett acknowledged.
Sometimes good, sometimes not so good. He suggested, "The reality is you're both of those teams" and you've got to try and be the team that has shown the highest ceiling. He added the NIT offered a "one-and-done situation against a good team to try and grow in these experiences."
The key Bennett phrase was "guys who are going to be back." The Cavs returned all of their starters and top reserves who played in the 52-51 loss to St. Bonaventure. How did it pay off? In 2022-23, they won 25 games, a share of the ACC regular season title and garnered a 4-seed in the Dance.
It was one of the many things that Gard and Bennett touched on during their conversation. Unlike last season's Virginia team, though, the Badgers have been on the NCAA bubble for an extended period, including Wednesday's loss to Ohio State in Chicago at the Big Ten Tournament.
"I wanted to let them know when we got back on Thursday that we are going to be playing, whether it's in the First Four in Dayton or in the NIT," Gard said. "No matter where we're at, it came down to the fact that I did not want to take away an opportunity for them to have a chance to compete.
"Whatever happens, we have to use everything we've learned and march forward. I said, 'Get ready to compete your butts off. Use this as a learning tool. If we're not in (the NCAAs), we don't have anyone to blame but ourselves. We've had ample opportunities to put ourselves in better position.'
"We weren't shortchanged or anything like that. The lessons will obviously help us for the rest of this year and then they're going to pay massive dividends going forward because basically the whole group returns." (Tyler Wahl is the only senior and has yet to announce his intentions for next season.)
"Yeah, we all want to be in that tournament (Big Dance). That's the expectation, that's the goal. Nobody understands that more than we do and these guys," said Gard, citing how the UW had been in 22 of the last 23 NCAA tourneys joining Kansas, Duke, Michigan State and Gonzaga on that short list.
"But when it doesn't happen, how can you use it to benefit you going forward? … That's why I came to the conclusion that we need to play again. The Big Ten Tournament can't be the end of it because we have to fight through things that will make us better for next year."
Two of Gard's assistants have NIT coaching experience. Joe Krabbenhoft was on Scott Nagy's staff at South Dakota State when the Jackrabbits defeated Colorado State and lost to Vanderbilt in 2015. Sharif Chambliss was on Nagy's staff at Wright State when the Raiders lost to Clemson in 2019.
Both recognized the value and necessity in carrying the right attitude or mindset into the NIT. "You can tell where a team doesn't want to be there or is too disenchanted with not being in the other tournament,'' said Gard, emphasizing, "There are good teams in every tournament.
"They won't have the 68 best teams (in the NCAA) because there will be upsets here and there …You realize if you're at this level long enough, there's good basketball at a lot of places ... Some mid-major conference winners that don't win their tournament are really good."
GET TO KNOW BRADLEY
The Bradley Braves clearly fit the description of really good mid-major.
On Feb. 26, in front of a sell-out crowd of 10,458 in Peoria, Ill., the Braves won their first regular-season Missouri Valley Conference championship in 27 years with a convincing 73-61 rout of Drake that triggered a court-storming at Carver Arena.
A week later, Drake avenged that loss in the title game of the MVC tournament. The Braves made just one of their first nine shots allowing the Bulldogs to race off to a 21-7 lead and they were never really challenged in dominating the rubber match, 77-51, and earning the NCAA automatic bid.
"They looked like they'd been in this game before, been in this moment before and we only had one player on our roster who's been in this game," Bradley's Brian Wardle told the Peoria Journal Star. "They hunted us. We've been hunting people for awhile, but not today. They came after us pretty hard."
Wardle is no stranger to the Kohl Center. He played here as a high-scoring guard (1,690 career points) at Marquette. And he coached here as both an assistant and head coach at Green Bay. His last appearance here was against UW's 2015 Final Four team that lost to Duke in the championship game.
Wardle, who won 24 games in each of his final two seasons and got his team into the NIT both years, doesn't have to be reminded how the Badgers blew out UWGB, 84-60. Nigel Hayes had 25 points and 11 rebounds. Frank Kaminsky had 20 points and 15 rebounds. Sam Dekker had 19 points.
None of those dudes will be walking through the door Tuesday when Wardle returns to Madison as the Missouri Valley Coach of the Year after leading the Braves to 25 wins – highlighted by a 12-game winning streak, a 16-4 conference record and a 15-1 home mark (the loss coming to Belmont, 78-76).
Bradley's leading scorer Rienk Mast averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds and was named first team All-Missouri Valley. The 6-9, 240-pound Mast is one half of the "Flying Dutchmen'' along with 6-9, 210-pound Malevy Leons, the MVC Defensive Player of the Year. Both are from the Netherlands.
Leons is the first 50-50 player in the league since at least 1980 with over 50 blocks (52) and 50 steals (52) in the same season. He averaged 11 points and 6 rebounds. He can guard all five positions, 1-5. He's also speaks five languages: English, French, German, Spanish and Dutch.
Meanwhile, Bradley's point guard Duke Deen is conversant in playmaking. The 5-8, 160-pound Dean has 97 assists this season after recording 95 last season at Troy University. Deen, who's on the MVC All-Newcomer team, leads the Braves in 3's (68-191, .356), one of four with 40 or more triples.
Wardle has gotten production off his bench from 6-6, 230-pound Ja'Shon Henry, the Valley's Sixth Man of the Year; and from 6-4, 210-pound Ville Tahvanainen, who hit five consecutive 3's over 3:10 vs. Murray State. Henry is from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Tahvanainen from Helsinki, Finland.
"Our theme this year is 'One More,'" Wardle said to the Journal Star. "It's a book that I read before the season just about a 'One More' mentality, about doing one more of everything. Read one more page. Shoot one more minute. Watch film one more time.''
The Braves and Badgers are guaranteed 'one more' game here Tuesday at the Kohl Center.
"We've got to keep getting better," Gard said. "And we've got to get mentally tougher. That's been one thing this group has worked on all year … handle those adverse moments … handle those times when teams make a run at us …or we get popped in the mouth … How do we respond?
"A lot of the things that we're struggling with is dealing with our youth – really trying to have that leadership, organically, get its voice in our huddles and in our locker room. I always talk about not letting shots going in – or not – be your barometer of what you do.
"But it's human nature. When you make shots, you're going to feel good about yourself.
"We've seen shot-making become contagious. So does shot-missing. It's a fine line."
Gard reiterated the bottom line. Apply what has been learned. And march forward.
"We're in it to compete," he said of the NIT, "and win the thing."
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Once his team's post-season fate began to crystallize with a potential trip to the National Invitation Tournament, Wisconsin's Greg Gard reached out to some fraternity brothers who had been down this path before when the fork in the road does not lead to the NCAA tourney.
When the Badgers take on Bradley University here Tuesday night at the Kohl Center, it will mark 27 years since their last NIT appearance. In 1996, they beat Manhattan and lost to Illinois State – both games were staged at the Field House – capping Dick Bennett's first season as UW's head coach.
One of the people that Gard talked to was Bennett's son, Tony Bennett, Virginia's head coach. After failing to make the NCAA field last season, the Cavaliers ended up defeating Mississippi State and North Texas in the first two rounds of the NIT before losing to St. Bonaventure in the quarterfinals.
Bennett, who guided UVA to the 2019 national championship, maintained a healthy perspective about the NIT. He told SB Nation, "All experience is good experience'' noting that "for guys in our program who haven't played in a tournament, guys who are going to be back, it's valuable."
Bennett went on to talk about how important it was to "move past not getting an NCAA bid and getting beat in the ACC Tournament in the way we did." North Carolina thumped Virginia, 63-43. Throughout the season, the Hoos had been inconsistent from game to game, Bennett acknowledged.
Sometimes good, sometimes not so good. He suggested, "The reality is you're both of those teams" and you've got to try and be the team that has shown the highest ceiling. He added the NIT offered a "one-and-done situation against a good team to try and grow in these experiences."
The key Bennett phrase was "guys who are going to be back." The Cavs returned all of their starters and top reserves who played in the 52-51 loss to St. Bonaventure. How did it pay off? In 2022-23, they won 25 games, a share of the ACC regular season title and garnered a 4-seed in the Dance.
It was one of the many things that Gard and Bennett touched on during their conversation. Unlike last season's Virginia team, though, the Badgers have been on the NCAA bubble for an extended period, including Wednesday's loss to Ohio State in Chicago at the Big Ten Tournament.
"I wanted to let them know when we got back on Thursday that we are going to be playing, whether it's in the First Four in Dayton or in the NIT," Gard said. "No matter where we're at, it came down to the fact that I did not want to take away an opportunity for them to have a chance to compete.
"Whatever happens, we have to use everything we've learned and march forward. I said, 'Get ready to compete your butts off. Use this as a learning tool. If we're not in (the NCAAs), we don't have anyone to blame but ourselves. We've had ample opportunities to put ourselves in better position.'
"We weren't shortchanged or anything like that. The lessons will obviously help us for the rest of this year and then they're going to pay massive dividends going forward because basically the whole group returns." (Tyler Wahl is the only senior and has yet to announce his intentions for next season.)
"Yeah, we all want to be in that tournament (Big Dance). That's the expectation, that's the goal. Nobody understands that more than we do and these guys," said Gard, citing how the UW had been in 22 of the last 23 NCAA tourneys joining Kansas, Duke, Michigan State and Gonzaga on that short list.
"But when it doesn't happen, how can you use it to benefit you going forward? … That's why I came to the conclusion that we need to play again. The Big Ten Tournament can't be the end of it because we have to fight through things that will make us better for next year."
Two of Gard's assistants have NIT coaching experience. Joe Krabbenhoft was on Scott Nagy's staff at South Dakota State when the Jackrabbits defeated Colorado State and lost to Vanderbilt in 2015. Sharif Chambliss was on Nagy's staff at Wright State when the Raiders lost to Clemson in 2019.
Both recognized the value and necessity in carrying the right attitude or mindset into the NIT. "You can tell where a team doesn't want to be there or is too disenchanted with not being in the other tournament,'' said Gard, emphasizing, "There are good teams in every tournament.
"They won't have the 68 best teams (in the NCAA) because there will be upsets here and there …You realize if you're at this level long enough, there's good basketball at a lot of places ... Some mid-major conference winners that don't win their tournament are really good."
GET TO KNOW BRADLEY
The Bradley Braves clearly fit the description of really good mid-major.
On Feb. 26, in front of a sell-out crowd of 10,458 in Peoria, Ill., the Braves won their first regular-season Missouri Valley Conference championship in 27 years with a convincing 73-61 rout of Drake that triggered a court-storming at Carver Arena.
A week later, Drake avenged that loss in the title game of the MVC tournament. The Braves made just one of their first nine shots allowing the Bulldogs to race off to a 21-7 lead and they were never really challenged in dominating the rubber match, 77-51, and earning the NCAA automatic bid.
"They looked like they'd been in this game before, been in this moment before and we only had one player on our roster who's been in this game," Bradley's Brian Wardle told the Peoria Journal Star. "They hunted us. We've been hunting people for awhile, but not today. They came after us pretty hard."
Wardle is no stranger to the Kohl Center. He played here as a high-scoring guard (1,690 career points) at Marquette. And he coached here as both an assistant and head coach at Green Bay. His last appearance here was against UW's 2015 Final Four team that lost to Duke in the championship game.
Wardle, who won 24 games in each of his final two seasons and got his team into the NIT both years, doesn't have to be reminded how the Badgers blew out UWGB, 84-60. Nigel Hayes had 25 points and 11 rebounds. Frank Kaminsky had 20 points and 15 rebounds. Sam Dekker had 19 points.
None of those dudes will be walking through the door Tuesday when Wardle returns to Madison as the Missouri Valley Coach of the Year after leading the Braves to 25 wins – highlighted by a 12-game winning streak, a 16-4 conference record and a 15-1 home mark (the loss coming to Belmont, 78-76).
Bradley's leading scorer Rienk Mast averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds and was named first team All-Missouri Valley. The 6-9, 240-pound Mast is one half of the "Flying Dutchmen'' along with 6-9, 210-pound Malevy Leons, the MVC Defensive Player of the Year. Both are from the Netherlands.
Leons is the first 50-50 player in the league since at least 1980 with over 50 blocks (52) and 50 steals (52) in the same season. He averaged 11 points and 6 rebounds. He can guard all five positions, 1-5. He's also speaks five languages: English, French, German, Spanish and Dutch.
Meanwhile, Bradley's point guard Duke Deen is conversant in playmaking. The 5-8, 160-pound Dean has 97 assists this season after recording 95 last season at Troy University. Deen, who's on the MVC All-Newcomer team, leads the Braves in 3's (68-191, .356), one of four with 40 or more triples.
Wardle has gotten production off his bench from 6-6, 230-pound Ja'Shon Henry, the Valley's Sixth Man of the Year; and from 6-4, 210-pound Ville Tahvanainen, who hit five consecutive 3's over 3:10 vs. Murray State. Henry is from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Tahvanainen from Helsinki, Finland.
"Our theme this year is 'One More,'" Wardle said to the Journal Star. "It's a book that I read before the season just about a 'One More' mentality, about doing one more of everything. Read one more page. Shoot one more minute. Watch film one more time.''
The Braves and Badgers are guaranteed 'one more' game here Tuesday at the Kohl Center.
"We've got to keep getting better," Gard said. "And we've got to get mentally tougher. That's been one thing this group has worked on all year … handle those adverse moments … handle those times when teams make a run at us …or we get popped in the mouth … How do we respond?
"A lot of the things that we're struggling with is dealing with our youth – really trying to have that leadership, organically, get its voice in our huddles and in our locker room. I always talk about not letting shots going in – or not – be your barometer of what you do.
"But it's human nature. When you make shots, you're going to feel good about yourself.
"We've seen shot-making become contagious. So does shot-missing. It's a fine line."
Gard reiterated the bottom line. Apply what has been learned. And march forward.
"We're in it to compete," he said of the NIT, "and win the thing."
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