WISCONSIN MEN’S BASKETBALL 2016 NCAA TOURNAMENT GUIDE MARCH 18 & 20 SCOTTRADE CENTER ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI @BADGERMBB NOTES 2016 NCAA TOURNAMENT GUIDE WISCONSIN BASKETBALL Will Decorah Brevin Pritzl Jordan Smith Zak Showalter Matt Ferris Aaron Moesch 0 G, Jr., 6-4, 205 1 G, Fr., 6-3, 185 2 G, R-Sr., 6-3, 181 3 G, R-Jr., 6-2, 184 4 G, So., 6-6, 196 5 F, R-So., 6-8, 211 Waunakee, Wis. De Pere, Wis. Orono, Minn. Germantown, Wis. Appleton, Wis. Green Bay, Wis. Nigel Hayes Jordan Hill Jackson Bax Charlie Thomas T.J. Schlundt Khalil Iverson 10 F, Jr., 6-8, 240 11 G, R-So., 6-3, 178 13 G, Fr., 5-11, 157 15 F, Fr., 6-8, 253 20 G, R-Fr., 6-5, 194 21 G/F, Fr., 6-5, 205 Toledo, Ohio Pasadena, Calif. Frankfort, Ill. Highland, Md. Oconomowoc, Wis. Delaware, Ohio Ethan Happ Bronson Koenig Alex Illikainen Vitto Brown Andy Van Vliet 22 F, R-Fr., 6-9, 235 24 G, Jr., 6-4, 193 25 F, Fr., 6-9, 220 30 F, Jr., 6-8, 230 33 F, Fr., 6-11, 203 Milan, Ill. La Crosse, Wis. Grand Rapids, Minn. Bowling Green, Ohio Antwerp, Belgium WISCONSIN ROSTER POS HT WT YR/ELIG HOMETOWN (HIGH SCHOOL) 0 Will Decorah G 6-4 205 Jr./Jr. Waunakee, Wis. (HS) 1 Brevin Pritzl G 6-3 185 Fr./Fr. De Pere, Wis. (HS) 2 Jordan Smith*** G 6-3 181 5th/Sr. Orono, Minn. (HS) 3 Zak Showalter** G 6-2 184 Sr./Jr. Germantown, Wis. (HS) 4 Matt Ferris (+) G 6-6 196 So./So. Appleton, Wis. (Xavier) 5 Aaron Moesch* F 6-8 211 Jr./So. Green Bay, Wis. (Southwest) 10 Nigel Hayes** F 6-8 240 Jr./Jr. Toledo, Ohio (Whitmer) 11 Jordan Hill* G 6-3 178 Jr./So. Pasadena, Calif. (LaSalle/Exeter Academy [N.H.]) 13 Jackson Bax G 5-11 157 Fr./Fr. Frankfort, Ill. (Lincoln-Way East) Greg Gard Gary Close 15 Charlie Thomas F 6-8 253 Fr./Fr. Highland, Md. (River Hill) Head Coach Assistant Coach 20 T.J. Schlundt G 6-5 194 So./Fr. Oconomowoc, Wis. (St. John’s Military Academy [Wis.]) 21 Khalil Iverson G/F 6-5 205 Fr./Fr. Delaware, Ohio (Rutherford B. Hayes) 22 Ethan Happ F 6-9 235 So./Fr. Milan, Ill. (Rock Ridge) 24 Bronson Koenig** G 6-4 193 Jr./Jr. La Crosse, Wis. (Aquinas) 25 Alex Illikainen F 6-9 220 Fr./Fr. Grand Rapids, Minn. (Brewster Academy [N.H.]) 30 Vitto Brown** F 6-8 230 Jr./Jr. Bowling Green, Ohio (HS) 33 Andy Van Vliet (-) F 6-11 203 Fr./Fr. Antwerp, Belgium * letters earned | (+) will redshirt in 2015-16 | (-) ineligible in 2015-16 Head Coach: Greg Gard (1st), Assistant Coaches: Gary Close (13th), Lamont Paris (6th) Director of Basketball Operations: Katherine Vosters, Strength & Conditioning Coach: Erik Helland Athletic Trainer: Henry Perez-Guerra, Video Coordinator: A.J. Van Handel Lamont Paris Howard Moore Assistant Coach Assistant Coach WISCONSIN BASKETBALL 22 NCAA Tournaments (18 consecutive) . 4 Final Fours (1941, 2000, 2014, 2015) . 18 Big Ten Championships . 21 Consensus All-Americans WISCONSIN (20-12, 12-6 BIG TEN) vs. PITTSBURGH (21-11, 9-9 ACC) 2015-16 SCHEDULE FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2016 . 5:50 P.M. (CT) . ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI . SCOTTRADE CENTER . TNT Date Opponent Time Location . St. Louis, Missouri WISCONSIN BADGERS NOV. 13 WESTERN ILLINOIS L, 67-69 Site . Scottrade Center (19,260) Rankings (AP/Coaches) .............................RV/25 NOV. 15 SIENA W, 92-65 TNT . Brian Anderson, Steve Smith & Dana Jacobson Record (Big Ten) .............................20-12 (12-6) Head Coach .........................................Greg Gard NOV. 17 NORTH DAKOTA W, 78-64 Westwood One . .Wayne Larrivee & Will Perdue Record at Wisconsin (Years) ................13-7 (1st) Badger Radio Network . Matt Lepay & Mike Lucas 2K Classic – New York City (Madison Sq. Grdn) Nov. 20 vs. Georgetown L, 61-71 PITTSBURGH PANTHERS All-Time vs. Pittsburgh. .WIS leads, 11-7 Rankings (AP/Coaches) ............................NA/NA Nov. 22 vs. VCU W, 74-73 Last Meeting. .UW won, 89-75 (12/16/06) Record (ACC) ....................................21-11 (9-9) NOV. 25 PRAIRIE VIEW W, 85-67 in Madison (Kohl Center) Head Coach ..................................... Jamie Dixon Nov. 29 at Oklahoma [7] L, 48-65 Record at Pitt (Years) ...................328-120 (13th) Big Ten/ACC Challenge NOTES TO KNOW ABOUT WISCONSIN Dec. 2 at Syracuse [14] W, 66-58 ot 1 DANCING YET AGAIN: Wisconsin earned a trip to the NCAA tournament DEC. 5 TEMPLE W, 76-60 for the 18th-consecutive season, a streak that began in 1999. The Badgers’ 18 DEC. 9 MILWAUKEE L, 67-68 consecutive trips to the Big Dance is tied for the 5th-longest in NCAA history. DEC. 12 MARQUETTE L, 55-57 UW is a No. 7 seed in the East Region and will take on No. 10 Pittsburgh in DEC. 15 TA&M CORPUS CHRISTI W, 64-49 the opening round on Friday, March 18 at 5:50 p.m. (CT) at the Scottrade Center DEC. 23 GREEN BAY W, 84-79 in St. Louis, Missouri. DEC. 29 PURDUE [14] L, 55-61 2 OFFICIALLY, HEAD COACH: Greg Gard was offi cially named the head JAN. 2 RUTGERS W, 79-57 coach at Wisconsin on March 7, removing the interim tag. The 16th coach in Jan. 5 at Indiana L, 58-59 UW history, Gard is 13-7 at the helm of the Badgers. JAN. 9 MARYLAND [3] L, 60-63 3 INCREDIBLE TURN AROUND: On Jan. 13, Wisconsin was 9-9 overall Jan. 12 at Northwestern L, 65-70 and 1-4 in the Big Ten with an RPI of 110. Since then, Greg Gard has led the JAN. 17 MICHIGAN STATE [4] W, 77-76 Badgers to wins in 11 of 14 games, climbing to 3rd place in the league and No. Jan. 21 at Penn State W, 66-60 37 in the RPI. Wisconsin will be making its JAN. 26 INDIANA [19] W, 82-79 ot 4 OPENING STATEMENTS: The Badgers have won 8 of their last 9 opening- 18th-consecutive appearance in the Jan. 31 at Illinois W, 63-55 round NCAA tournament games, holding teams to an average of 55.3 points in NCAA tournament, the 5th-longest streak in NCAA history. the initial game. Wisconsin is 13-3 in the round of 64 since 2000. FEB. 4 OHIO STATE W, 79-68 FEB. 10 NEBRASKA W, 72-61 5 RESUME BUILDING: UW has faced the nation’s 6th-toughest schedule and posted a trio of RPI top-25 wins. The Feb. 13 at Maryland [2] W, 70-57 Badgers also tallied 10 wins over the top 100, a total that was second only to Michigan State in the Big Ten. Feb. 18 at Michigan State [8] L, 57-69 6 TOP-10 TAKEDOWNS: With wins over Maryland (2), Michigan State (4) and Iowa (8), the Badgers are 1 of 5 FEB. 21 ILLINOIS W, 69-60 teams to own a trio of top-10 wins this season, joining Texas (4), Kansas (4), Seton Hall and Xavier. Feb. 24 at Iowa [8] W, 67-59 7 #WINNING... YEAR IN, YEAR OUT: With a Big Ten record of 12-6, the Badgers secured a top-4 conference fi nish FEB. 28 MICHIGAN W, 68-57 (tied for third place this season) for the 16th-consecutive season, the longest such streak in Big Ten history. March 2 at Minnesota W, 62-49 8 HAYES-ING: A fi rst-team All-Big Ten pick, Nigel Hayes leads the Badgers in scoring (16.3 ppg) and assists (3.0 March 6 at Purdue [15] L, 80-91 apg) while ranking 2nd in rebounds (5.8 rpg). He also paces the Big Ten in FTAs, going 181-for-244 (.742) at the line. 9 HAPP WINS FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Ethan Happ was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and earned All- Big Ten Tournament – Indianapolis (Bankers Life) Defensive honors after leading the conference in steals (1.8 spg) and ranking 3rd in double-doubles (9). Happ is trying Mar. 10 vs. Nebraska L, 58-70 to become the Big Ten’s fi rst freshman in 20+ years to average 11.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 spg and 1.0 bpg. NCAA Tournament – St. Louis, Mo. (Scotttrade) 10 ROADIES: The Badgers have the most road/neutral wins and 3rd-best win pct. away from home of any major Mar. 18 vs. (10) Pittsburgh 5:50 p.m. conference team over the last 3 years. UW is 44-15 (.746) away from the Kohl Center in that span (7-7 this season). Mar. 20 Round of 32 11 TAKING WHAT’S FREE: UW leads the Big Ten, averaging 21.7 FTAs per game this season. That mark would rank as the Badgers’ 2nd-highest average in the last 9 years. All times Central 12 KOENIG HEATING UP: A third-team All-Big Ten pick, Bronson Koenig is averaging 13.4 ppg and shot 42.3% from 3-point range in B1G play. The junior has hit a triple in 43 consecutive games (3rd-longest streak in the country). FOLLOW THE #BADGERS: Over the last 10 games, Vitto Brown is averaging 12.3 ppg and shooting 21-for-42 (.500) from WEBSITE: www.UWBadgers.com 13 “3TTO” BROWN: 3-point range. Prior to this season, the junior forward had never attempted a 3-point field goal. TWITTER: @BadgerMBB 14 20-WIN THRESHOLD: Wisconsin has won 20 games for the 10th-straight season.