# 2018–19 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Badgers were led by fourth-year head coach Greg Gard and played their home games at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 23–11, 14–6 in Big Ten play to finish in fourth place. In the Big Ten tournament, the Badgers defeated Nebraska in the quarterfinals before losing to Michigan State in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 5 seed in the South Region, their 24th trip to the NCAA Tournament. They were upset in the First Round by No. 12-seeded Oregon.

## Previous season

The Badgers finished the 2017–18 season 15–18, 7–11 in Big Ten play to finish in ninth place. They defeated eighth-seeded Maryland in the Big Ten tournament, but lost to top-seeded Michigan State in the next round. They failed to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1998.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Matt Ferris | 4 | G | 6'6" | 205 | RS Junior | Appleton, WI | Graduated |
| Aaron Moesch | 5 | F | 6'8" | 220 | RS Senior | Green Bay, WI | Graduated |
| T. J. Schlundt | 20 | G | 6'5" | 197 | RS Junior | Oconomowoc, WI | Graduated |
| Alex Illikainen | 25 | F | 6'9" | 231 | Senior | Grand Rapids, MN | Quit prior to season; transferred to University of Minnesota Duluth (D2) after fall semester |
| Andy Van Vliet | 33 | F | 7'0" | 228 | Junior | Antwerp, Belgium | Transferred to William & Mary |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Micah Potter | 11 | C | 6'9" | 240 | Junior | Mentor, OH | Transferred from Ohio State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Potter will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Owen Hamilton | 30 | C | 7'0" | 266 | Sophomore | Prescott, WI | Walk-on; transferred from Northern Illinois |

### Returning players

Redshirt junior forward Ethan Happ announced his intent to enter the NBA draft on April 2, 2018 without hiring an agent. He withdrew himself from the draft on May 30 after not being invited to the combine.

### 2018 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Joe Hedstrom C | Minnetonka, MN | Hopkins High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Oct 11, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Taylor Currie PF | Clarkston, MI | Clarkston High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Oct 31, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Tai Strickland PG | Tampa, FL | St. Petersburg High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Mar 27, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 Wisconsin Commitments". Rivals.com. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. "ESPN- Wisconsin Badgers Men's Basketball Recruiting". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 2, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus | | UW–Oshkosh | W 82–70 | – | 16 – Davison | 7 – Pritzl | 4 – Tied | Kohl Center (–) Madison, WI |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus | | Coppin State | W 85–63 | 1–0 | 21 – Trice | 11 – Happ | 12 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| November 13, 2018* 5:30 pm, FS1 | | at Xavier Gavitt Tipoff Games | W 77–68 | 2–0 | 30 – Happ | 13 – Happ | 5 – Tied | Cintas Center (10,312) Cincinnati, OH |
| November 17, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN | | Houston Baptist | W 96–59 | 3–0 | 17 – Pritzl | 12 – Happ | 6 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| November 21, 2018* 1:30 pm, ESPN | No. 25 | vs. Stanford Battle 4 Atlantis Quarterfinals | W 62–46 | 4–0 | 16 – Tied | 12 – Tied | 1 – Tied | Imperial Arena (1,573) Nassau, BAH |
| November 22, 2018* 12:30 pm, ESPN | No. 25 | vs. Oklahoma Battle 4 Atlantis Semifinals | W 78–58 | 5–0 | 25 – Trice | 12 – Happ | 5 – Happ | Imperial Arena (1,182) Nassau, BAH |
| November 23, 2018* 1:00 pm, ESPN | No. 25 | vs. No. 4 Virginia Battle 4 Atlantis Championship | L 46–53 | 5–1 | 22 – Happ | 15 – Happ | 6 – Happ | Imperial Arena (2,249) Nassau, BAH |
| November 27, 2018* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 22 | NC State ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 79–75 | 6–1 | 19 – Happ | 11 – Happ | 6 – Trice | Kohl Center (17,012) Madison, WI |
| November 30, 2018 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 22 | at No. 14 Iowa | W 72–66 | 7–1 (1–0) | 20 – Trice | 7 – Tied | 5 – Happ | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,056) Iowa City, IA |
| December 3, 2018 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 12 | Rutgers | W 69–64 | 8–1 (2–0) | 20 – Happ | 4 – Tied | 3 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,082) Madison, WI |
| December 8, 2018* 4:00 pm, FOX | No. 12 | at Marquette Rivalry | L 69–74 $^{OT}$ | 8–2 | 34 – Happ | 11 – Happ | 4 – Happ | Fiserv Forum (17,515) Milwaukee, WI |
| December 13, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 16 | Savannah State | W 101–60 | 9–2 | 24 – Davison | 11 – Happ | 6 – Tied | Kohl Center (17,004) Madison, WI |
| December 22, 2018* 11:00 am, BTN | No. 16 | Grambling State | W 84–53 | 10–2 | 19 – Happ | 8 – Happ | 5 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,183) Madison, WI |
| December 29, 2018* 4:30 pm, CBSSN | No. 15 | at Western Kentucky | L 76–83 | 10–3 | 26 – Davison | 12 – Happ | 3 – Tied | E.A. Diddle Arena (7,614) Bowling Green, KY |
| January 3, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 22 | Minnesota | L 52–59 | 10–4 (2–1) | 17 – Happ | 8 – Happ | 3 – Happ | Kohl Center (16,687) Madison, WI |
| January 6, 2019 6:30 pm, BTN | No. 22 | at Penn State | W 71–52 | 11–4 (3–1) | 22 – Happ | 8 – Happ | 4 – Tied | Bryce Jordan Center (8,342) University Park, PA |
| January 11, 2019 8:00 pm, FS1 | | Purdue | L 80–84 $^{OT}$ | 11–5 (3–2) | 31 – Happ | 13 – Happ | 6 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,187) Madison, WI |
| January 14, 2019 7:30 pm, FS1 | | at No. 19 Maryland | L 60–64 | 11–6 (3–3) | 18 – Reuvers | 8 – Happ | 5 – Trice | Xfinity Center (12,894) College Park, MD |
| January 19, 2019 11:00 am, ESPN | | No. 2 Michigan | W 64–54 | 12–6 (4–3) | 26 – Happ | 10 – Happ | 7 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| January 23, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN | | at Illinois | W 72–60 | 13–6 (5–3) | 22 – Reuvers | 10 – Reuvers | 6 – Happ | State Farm Center (12,294) Champaign, IL |
| January 26, 2019 1:15 pm, BTN | | Northwestern | W 62–46 | 14–6 (6–3) | 18 – Tied | 12 – Happ | 11 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| January 29, 2019 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 24 | at Nebraska | W 62–51 | 15–6 (7–3) | 13 – Davison | 9 – Happ | 4 – Happ | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,739) Lincoln, NE |
| February 1, 2019 8:00 pm, FS1 | No. 24 | No. 21 Maryland | W 69–61 | 16–6 (8–3) | 21 – Davison | 11 – Happ | 6 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| February 6, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 19 | at Minnesota | W 56–51 | 17–6 (9–3) | 15 – Happ | 13 – Happ | 4 – Happ | Williams Arena (14,625) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 9, 2019 11:00 am, FOX | No. 19 | at No. 7 Michigan | L 52–61 | 17–7 (9–4) | 18 – Happ | 11 – Happ | 1 – Tied | Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI |
| February 12, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 20 | No. 11 Michigan State | L 59–67 | 17–8 (9–5) | 20 – Happ | 12 – Happ | 3 – Tied | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| February 18, 2019 7:00 pm, FS1 | No. 22 | Illinois | W 64–58 | 18–8 (10–5) | 18 – Davison | 10 – Pritzl | 3 – Davison | Kohl Center (17,152) Madison, WI |
| February 23, 2019 7:30 pm, BTN | No. 22 | at Northwestern | W 69–64 | 19–8 (11–5) | 16 – Davison | 10 – Happ | 3 – Tied | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| February 26, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 19 | at Indiana | L 73–75 $^{2OT}$ | 19–9 (11–6) | 23 – Happ | 11 – Happ | 4 – Happ | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN |
| March 2, 2019 12:00 pm, BTN | No. 19 | Penn State | W 61–57 | 20–9 (12–6) | 17 – Pritzl | 9 – Reuvers | 5 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| March 7, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 21 | Iowa | W 65–45 | 21–9 (13–6) | 21 – Happ | 14 – Happ | 4 – Trice | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| March 10, 2019 3:30 pm, CBS | No. 21 | at Ohio State | W 73–67 $^{OT}$ | 22–9 (14–6) | 22 – Iverson | 14 – Tied | 8 – Happ | Value City Arena (18,231) Columbus, OH |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| March 15, 2019 2:00 pm, BTN | (4) No. 19 | vs. (13) Nebraska Quarterfinals | W 66–62 | 23–9 | 14 – Tied | 7 – Happ | 4 – Tied | United Center (17,369) Chicago, IL |
| March 16, 2019 12:00 pm, CBS | (4) No. 19 | vs. (1) No. 6 Michigan State Semifinals | L 55–67 | 23–10 | 20 – Happ | 6 – Happ | 3 – Happ | United Center (18,468) Chicago, IL |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 22, 2019* 3:30 pm, TBS | (5 S) No. 21 | vs. (12 S) Oregon First Round | L 54–72 | 23–11 | 12 – Tied | 8 – Happ | 5 – Trice | SAP Center (14,331) San Jose, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 22 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 22 | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 19 | 21 | 19 | 21 |
| Coaches | RV | — | — | RV | 22 | 16 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 23 | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 19 | 23 | 23 | 18 | 21 | 19 | 21 |
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll. *AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

## Player statistics

Individual player statistics :
| | | | Minutes | Minutes | Scoring | Scoring | Total FGs | Total FGs | Total FGs | 3-point FGs | 3-point FGs | 3-point FGs | Free throws | Free throws | Free throws | Rebounds | Rebounds | Rebounds | 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 | PF |
| Happ, Ethan | 34 | 34 | 1089 | 32.0 | 589 | 17.3 | 257 | 485 | .530 | 0 | 5 | .000 | 75 | 161 | .466 | 77 | 265 | 342 | 10.1 | 153 | 104 | 44 | 38 | 87 |
| Trice, D'Mitrik | 34 | 34 | 1107 | 32.6 | 393 | 11.6 | 133 | 346 | .384 | 76 | 195 | .390 | 51 | 68 | .750 | 6 | 88 | 94 | 2.8 | 90 | 45 | 1 | 30 | 65 |
| Davison, Brad | 34 | 34 | 1096 | 32.2 | 358 | 10.5 | 115 | 299 | .385 | 52 | 149 | .349 | 76 | 94 | .809 | 10 | 101 | 111 | 3.3 | 62 | 34 | 2 | 36 | 79 |
| Reuvers, Nate | 34 | 34 | 779 | 22.9 | 268 | 7.9 | 105 | 234 | .449 | 32 | 84 | .381 | 26 | 41 | .634 | 42 | 91 | 133 | 3.9 | 34 | 32 | 60 | 10 | 81 |
| Iverson, Khalil | 33 | 33 | 810 | 24.5 | 227 | 6.9 | 89 | 164 | .543 | 1 | 6 | .167 | 48 | 77 | .623 | 48 | 102 | 150 | 4.5 | 30 | 36 | 13 | 31 | 58 |
| Pritzl, Brevin | 34 | 0 | 668 | 19.6 | 162 | 4.8 | 50 | 108 | .463 | 32 | 78 | .410 | 30 | 36 | .833 | 15 | 68 | 83 | 2.4 | 17 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 36 |
| King, Kobe | 34 | 1 | 646 | 19.0 | 144 | 4.2 | 55 | 123 | .447 | 15 | 49 | .306 | 19 | 29 | .655 | 20 | 53 | 73 | 2.1 | 17 | 17 | 3 | 9 | 27 |
| Ford, Aleem | 31 | 0 | 429 | 13.8 | 97 | 3.1 | 35 | 103 | .340 | 23 | 80 | .288 | 4 | 4 | 1.000 | 11 | 48 | 59 | 1.9 | 11 | 16 | 4 | 8 | 44 |
| Strickland, Tai | 16 | 0 | 50 | 3.1 | 28 | 1.8 | 9 | 23 | .391 | 4 | 8 | .500 | 6 | 8 | .750 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0.3 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Anderson, Trevor | 8 | 0 | 55 | 6.9 | 13 | 1.6 | 6 | 10 | .600 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 1.1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Thomas IV, Charles | 29 | 0 | 147 | 5.1 | 46 | 1.6 | 18 | 41 | .439 | 3 | 10 | .300 | 7 | 11 | .636 | 18 | 18 | 36 | 1.2 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 23 |
| McGrory, Walt | 13 | 0 | 31 | 2.4 | 6 | 0.5 | 2 | 5 | .400 | 2 | 4 | .500 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Ballard, Michael | 9 | 0 | 17 | 1.9 | 2 | 0.2 | 0 | 4 | .000 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 34 | - | 6924 | - | 2333 | 68.6 | 874 | 1945 | .449 | 241 | 672 | .359 | 344 | 531 | .648 | 285 | 912 | 1197 | 35.2 | 430 | 328 | 140 | 177 | 512 |
| Opponents | 34 | - | 6927 | - | 2099 | 61.7 | 774 | 1950 | .397 | 215 | 682 | .315 | 336 | 503 | .668 | 328 | 878 | 1206 | 35.5 | 352 | 386 | 138 | 176 | 591 |