2017–18 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team explained

Year:	2017–18
Team:	Wisconsin Badgers
Sport:	Basketball
Conference:	Big Ten Conference
Short Conf:	Big Ten
Record:	15–18
Conf Record:	7–11
Hc Year:	3rd
Stadium:	Kohl Center (Capacity 17,287)

The 2017–18 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Badgers were led by third-year head coach Greg Gard and played their home games at the Kohl Center as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 15–18, 7–11 in Big Ten play to finish in ninth place. They defeated Maryland^[1] in the second round of the Big Ten tournament before losing to Michigan State in the quarterfinals.^[2] The Badgers failed to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1998, ending their streak at 19 years.^[3]

Previous season

The Badgers finished the 2016–17 season 27–10, 12–6 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for second place. They defeated Indiana and Northwestern in the Big Ten tournament, but lost to Michigan in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, their 19th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, as a No. 8 seed in the East region. The Badgers defeated Virginia Tech in the First Round^[4] and upset No. 1 overall seed Villanova to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth consecutive year.^[5] In the Sweet Sixteen, they lost to 20th-ranked Florida.^[6]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Zak Showalter	3	G	6'3"	185	RS Senior		Graduated
	10	F	6'8"	240	Senior		Graduated
Jordan Hill	11	G	6'4"	172	RS Junior		Graduated; transferred to Seattle
	24	G	6'4"	190	Senior		Graduated
	30	F	6'8"	235	Senior		Graduated

Recruiting classes

2018 recruiting class

New Zealand/Australia trip

The Badgers undertook trip to New Zealand and Australia where they played five games against New Zealand and Australia professional teams.^[7] The 12-day trip began August 12, 2017 and helped determine the roster as the Badgers look to replace four departing seniors from last year.^[8] The Badgers won four of the five games they played on the trip. A different player led Wisconsin in scoring in each of the games and none of them was first-team All-Big Ten forward Ethan Happ, who did average 12.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.4 steals.^[9] Coach Greg Gard was impressed by the balanced scoring of his team on the trip.^[10]

Preseason

Wisconsin junior forward Ethan Happ was selected as a first team All-American by the Blue Ribbon Yearbook in its annual preseason publication.^[11]

Schedule and results

|-!colspan=12 style=| Australia/New Zealand exhibition trip|-!colspan=12 style=|Exhibition|-!colspan=12 style=|Regular season|-!colspan=9 style=|Big Ten tournament

Player statistics

Updated through February 16, 2018

Individual player statistics^[12]

			Minutes		Scoring		Total FGs			3-point FGs			Free-Throws			Rebounds
Player	GP	GS	Tot	Avg	Pts	Avg	FG	FGA	Pct	3FG	3FA	Pct	FT	FTA	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Avg	A	TO	Blk	Stl
style=white-space:nowrap	Ballard, Michael	1	0	1	1.0	0	0.0	0	0	.000	0	0	.000	0	0	.000	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
style=white-space:nowrap	Davison, Brad	28	24	854	30.5	321	11.5	98	244	.402	49	138	.355	76	94	.809	6	54	60	2.1	66	55	1	35
style=white-space:nowrap	Ferris, Matt	6	0	8	1.3	2	0.3	1	1	1.000	0	0	.000	0	0	.000	1	2	3	0.5	0	2	0	0
style=white-space:nowrap	Ford, Aleem	28	17	660	23.6	162	5.8	52	122	.426	39	87	.448	19	24	.792	16	64	80	2.9	22	23	4	6
style=white-space:nowrap	Happ, Ethan	28	28	851	30.4	512	18.3	211	395	.534	1	11	.091	89	161	.553	69	168	237	8.5	108	81	26	39
style=white-space:nowrap	Illikainen, Alex	21	0	155	7.4	17	0.8	6	15	.400	5	10	.500	0	3	.000	9	13	22	1.0	10	4	3	0
style=white-space:nowrap	Iverson, Khalil	28	28	826	29.5	239	8.5	90	168	.536	0	23	.000	59	85	.694	46	91	137	4.9	52	59	28	23
style=white-space:nowrap	King, Kobe	10	0	190	19.0	52	5.2	21	46	.457	7	21	.333	3	3	1.000	8	6	14	1.4	6	3	2	2
style=white-space:nowrap	McGrory, Walt	9	0	72	8.0	5	0.6	0	5	.000	0	3	.000	5	7	.714	0	8	8	0.9	4	7	0	4
style=white-space:nowrap	Moesch, Aaron	22	0	144	6.5	26	1.2	7	9	.778	2	2	1.000	10	11	.909	3	10	13	0.6	7	5	0	3
style=white-space:nowrap	Pritzl, Brevin	27	17	750	27.8	235	8.7	77	195	.395	40	121	.331	41	49	.837	26	73	99	3.7	31	16	4	20
style=white-space:nowrap	Reuvers, Nate	23	12	382	16.6	130	5.7	50	125	.400	12	38	.316	18	20	.900	17	33	50	2.2	16	25	23	5
style=white-space:nowrap	Schlundt, T.J.	22	0	189	8.6	22	1.0	8	36	.222	6	27	.222	0	0	.000	6	9	15	0.7	6	3	2	4
style=white-space:nowrap	Thomas IV, Charlie	19	0	109	5.7	20	1.1	9	23	.391	0	6	.000	2	5	.400	9	21	31	1.6	4	4	1	0
style=white-space:nowrap	Trice, D'Mitrik	10	10	315	31.5	94	9.4	35	92	.380	12	40	.300	12	17	.706	2	18	20	2.0	23	13	1	6
style=white-space:nowrap	Van Vliet, Andy	13	4	94	7.2	44	3.4	13	28	.464	8	15	.533	10	14	.714	4	16	20	1.5	1	3	3	1
Team
Total	28		5600		1881	67.2	678	1504	.451	181	542	.334	344	493	.698	252	619	871	31.1	356	316	98	148
Opponents	28		5600		1865	66.6	681	1476	.461	160	449	.356	343	463	.741	216	635	851	30.4	328	322	103	157

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	Avg	Average per game
FG	Field-goals made	FGA	Field-goal attempts	Off	Offensive rebounds
Def	Defensive rebounds	A	Assists	TO	Turnovers
Blk		Stl	Steals	High	Team high

Notes and References

1. News: In the end, this Maryland basketball season is defined by a bungled inbounds play . Stubbs . Roman . March 1, 2018 . Washington Post. March 12, 2018 . 0190-8286.
2. News: Michigan State beats Wisconsin, 63-60, in Big Ten tournament quarters . Detroit Free Press . Marlowe . Alter . March 1, 2018 . March 12, 2018.
3. News: NCAA streak ends, but late surge bodes well for Wisconsin . USA Today . Associated Press . March 3, 2018 . March 12, 2018.
4. News: Recap: Wisconsin prevails against Virginia Tech 84-74 thanks to Bronson Koenig's historic night in 2017 NCAA Tournament . March 17, 2017 . Land of 10 . Jack . Baer . March 12, 2018.
5. News: Defending champ Villanova bounced by Wisconsin in second round . ESPN . Associated Press . March 18, 2017 . March 12, 2018.
6. News: Buzzer beaters! Florida and Wisconsin trade last-second shots in wild Sweet 16 thriller . March 25, 2017 . Fox Sports . Chris . Chase . March 12, 2018.
7. Web site: Badgers Down Under: what you need to know . University of Wisconsin . July 10, 2017 . August 11, 2017.
8. Web site: College basketball: Wisconsin takes trip Down Under with team in transition . August 11, 2017 . NCAA . August 11, 2017.
9. Web site: Wisconsin basketball: 5 things we learned from Badgers' overseas exhibitions . August 23, 2017 . Land of 10 . Jesse . Temple . August 24, 2017.
10. News: Badgers men's basketball: Greg Gard says overseas trip was a benefit to his team . Wisconsin State Journal . Jim . Polzin . August 23, 2017 . August 24, 2017.
11. Web site: Arizona Tops Blue Ribbon's 37th Annual Preseason Rankings . Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook . Chris . Dortch . September 18, 2017 . September 20, 2017.
12. Web site: 2017-18 Men's Basketball Cumulative Statistics . University of Wisconsin-Madison . February 16, 2018.