# 2016–17 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Badgers were led by second-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 27–10, 12–6 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for second place. Wisconsin defeated Indiana and Northwestern in the Big Ten tournament, but lost to Michigan in the championship game. The team received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, its 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 and upset No. 1 overall seed and defending National Champion Villanova to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth consecutive year. In the Sweet Sixteen, they lost to 20th-ranked Florida on a last second 3.

## Previous season

The Badgers finished the 2015–16 season with a record of 22–13, 12–6 in Big Ten play to finish in a four-way tie for third place in conference. They were upset by Nebraska in the second round of the Big Ten tournament. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 7 seed, their 18th straight appearance in the Tournament. They defeated Pittsburgh and Xavier to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the third consecutive year. In the Sweet Sixteen, they lost to Notre Dame.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Will Decorah | 0 | G | 6'4" | 205 | Junior | Waunakee, WI | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Jordan Smith | 2 | G | 6'3" | 181 | RS Senior | Orono, MN | Walk-on; graduated |
| Jackson Bax | 13 | G | 5'11" | 157 | Freshman | Frankfort, IL | Walk-on; didn't return |

## 2016 Commitments

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| D'Mitrik Trice PG | Huber Heights, OH | IMG Academy | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Apr 23, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Aleem Ford PF | Lawrenceville, GA | IMG Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Apr 23, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| 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: "2016 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. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2017 Commitments

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Kobe King PG | La Crosse, WI | La Crosse Central High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Sep 16, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Nate Reuvers PF | Lakeville, MN | Lakeville North High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | May 18, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Brad Davison PG | Osseo, MN | Maple Grove High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Jul 11, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| 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: "2017 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. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

### 2018 Commitments

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Taylor Currie C | 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: N/A |||||||
| Tai Stickland PG | Saint Petersburg, 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: ESPN: |||||||
| Joe Hedstrom C | Hopkins, MN | Hopkins High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Oct 11, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR Rivals: NR ESPN: NR |||||||
| 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: |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Oct 30, 2016* 5:00 pm, BTN+ | | UW–Platteville | W 86–58 | – | 12 – Koenig | 10 – Thomas | 2 – 4 Tied | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 11, 2016* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | No. 9 | Central Arkansas | W 79–47 | 1–0 | 16 – Koenig | 9 – Happ | 5 – Hayes | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Nov 15, 2016* 7:30 pm, FS1 | No. 9 | at No. 22 Creighton Gavitt Tipoff Games | L 67–79 | 1–1 | 21 – Koenig | 10 – Happ | 5 – Hayes | CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,879) Omaha, NE |
| Nov 17, 2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 9 | Chicago State | W 69–51 | 2–1 | 12 – Brown | 7 – Happ, Thomas | 7 – Trice | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Nov 21, 2016* 1:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 16 | vs. Tennessee Maui Invitational quarterfinals | W 74–62 | 3–1 | 21 – Koenig | 10 – Hayes | 4 – Koenig | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| Nov 22, 2016* 7:15 pm, ESPN2 | No. 16 | vs. Georgetown Maui Invitational semifinals | W 73–57 | 4–1 | 20 – Koenig | 15 – Happ | 3 – Brown | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| Nov 23, 2016* 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 16 | vs. No. 4 North Carolina Maui Invitational championship | L 56–71 | 4–2 | 15 – Brown | 6 – Happ, Iverson | 4 – Happ | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| Nov 27, 2016* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 16 | Prairie View A&M Maui Invitational On-Site Campus Game | W 95–50 | 5–2 | 17 – Hayes | 13 – Happ | 3 – Showalter | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Nov 29, 2016* 6:30 pm, ESPN | No. 17 | No. 22 Syracuse ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 77–60 | 6–2 | 24 – Happ | 13 – Happ | 10 – Hayes | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Dec 3, 2016* 12:00 pm, BTN | No. 17 | Oklahoma | W 90–70 | 7–2 | 28 – Hayes | 9 – Happ | 6 – Hayes | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Dec 7, 2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 17 | Idaho State | W 78–44 | 8–2 | 21 – Koenig | 12 – Happ | 3 – Happ, Showalter | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Dec 10, 2016* 1:00 pm, FS1 | No. 17 | at Marquette Rivalry | W 93–84 | 9–2 | 18 – Koenig | 9 – Hayes | 6 – Koenig | BMO Harris Bradley Center (18,691) Milwaukee, WI |
| Dec 14, 2016* 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 14 | Green Bay | W 73–59 | 10–2 | 24 – Hayes | 10 – Happ | 6 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Dec 23, 2016* 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 14 | Florida A&M | W 90–37 | 11–2 | 14 – Trice | 9 – Happ | 4 – Hayes | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Big Ten regular season |||||||||
| Dec 27, 2016 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 14 | Rutgers | W 72–52 | 12–2 (1–0) | 20 – Hayes | 11 – Happ | 3 – Brown | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Jan 3, 2017 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 13 | at No. 25 Indiana | W 75–68 | 13–2 (2–0) | 19 – Happ | 6 – Brown, Happ | 4 – Happ | Assembly Hall (14,679) Bloomington, IN |
| Jan 8, 2017 3:30 pm, CBS | No. 13 | at No. 20 Purdue | L 55–66 | 13–3 (2–1) | 17 – Happ | 5 – Happ, Hayes | 4 – Happ | Mackey Arena (14,264) West Lafayette, IN |
| Jan 12, 2017 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 18 | Ohio State | W 89–66 | 14–3 (3–1) | 21 – Koenig | 11 – Happ | 4 – Hayes, Showalter | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Jan 17, 2017 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 17 | Michigan | W 68–64 | 15–3 (4–1) | 16 – Koenig | 6 – Happ, Hayes | 3 – Happ, Hayes, Showalter | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Jan 21, 2017 3:30 pm, BTN | No. 17 | at Minnesota | W 78–76 $^{OT}$ | 16–3 (5–1) | 28 – Happ | 12 – Happ | 6 – Happ | Williams Arena (14,625) Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 24, 2017 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 15 | Penn State | W 82–55 | 17–3 (6–1) | 20 – Koenig | 8 – Happ, Hayes | 4 – Hayes, Trice | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Jan 28, 2017 11:00 am, BTN | No. 15 | vs. Rutgers B1G Super Saturday | W 61–54 $^{OT}$ | 18–3 (7–1) | 32 – Happ | 11 – Hayes | 4 – Hayes | Madison Square Garden (8,531) New York, NY |
| Jan 31, 2017 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 10 | at Illinois | W 57–43 | 19–3 (8–1) | 14 – Happ | 13 – Happ | 3 – Koenig | State Farm Center (12,334) Champaign, IL |
| Feb 5, 2017 12:00 pm, CBS | No. 10 | Indiana | W 65–60 | 20–3 (9–1) | 20 – Happ | 10 – Hayes | 3 – Koenig | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Feb 9, 2017 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 7 | at Nebraska | W 70–69 $^{OT}$ | 21–3 (10–1) | 20 – Hayes | 14 – Happ | 3 – Brown | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,772) Lincoln, NE |
| Feb 12, 2017 5:30 pm, BTN | No. 7 | Northwestern | L 59–66 | 21–4 (10–2) | 13 – Hayes | 7 – Happ, Hayes | 5 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Feb 16, 2017 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 11 | at Michigan | L 58–64 | 21–5 (10–3) | 22 – Happ | 8 – Showalter | 6 – Happ | Crisler Center (12,128) Ann Arbor, MI |
| Feb 19, 2017 12:00 pm, CBS | No. 11 | No. 23 Maryland | W 71–60 | 22–5 (11–3) | 21 – Hayes | 10 – Hayes | 3 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Feb 23, 2017 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 16 | at Ohio State | L 73–83 | 22–6 (11–4) | 27 – Koenig | 6 – Happ | 4 – Hayes | Value City Arena (11,505) Columbus, OH |
| Feb 26, 2017 3:00 pm, CBS | No. 16 | at Michigan State | L 74–84 | 22–7 (11–5) | 22 – Hayes | 11 – Happ, Hayes | 4 – Hayes | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Mar 2, 2017 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 22 | Iowa | L 57–59 | 22–8 (11–6) | 19 – Koenig | 7 – Hayes | 2 – Happ, Hayes, Showalter, Trice | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Mar 5, 2017 5:00 pm, BTN | No. 22 | Minnesota | W 66–49 | 23–8 (12–6) | 17 – Koenig | 13 – Happ | 5 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| Mar 10, 2017 5:30 pm, BTN | (2) No. 24 | vs. (10) Indiana Quarterfinals | W 70–60 | 24–8 | 16 – Koenig | 12 – Happ | 5 – Koenig | Verizon Center (15,624) Washington, D.C. |
| Mar 11, 2017 2:30 pm, CBS | (2) No. 24 | vs. (6) Northwestern Semifinals | W 76–48 | 25–8 | 18 – Hayes | 10 – Hayes | 3 – Trice | Verizon Center (13,984) Washington, D.C. |
| Mar 12, 2017 2:00 pm, CBS | (2) No. 24 | vs. (8) Michigan Championship | L 56–71 | 25–9 | 15 – Koenig | 11 – Happ, Hayes | 3 – Happ, Trice | Verizon Center Washington, D.C. |
| NCAA Tournament |||||||||
| Mar 16, 2017 8:40 pm, CBS | (8 E) No. 25 | vs. (9 E) Virginia Tech First Round | W 84–74 | 26–9 | 28 – Koenig | 10 – Hayes | 4 – Showalter | KeyBank Center (17,619) Buffalo, NY |
| Mar 18, 2017 1:40 pm, CBS | (8 E) No. 25 | vs. (1 E) No. 1 Villanova Second Round | W 65–62 | 27–9 | 19 – Hayes | 8 – Happ, Hayes | 3 – Happ | KeyBank Center (19,261) Buffalo, NY |
| Mar 24, 2017 9:13 pm, TBS | (8 E) No. 25 | vs. (4 E) No. 20 Florida Sweet Sixteen | L 83–84 $^{OT}$ | 27–10 | 22 – Hayes | 8 – Iverson | 4 – Happ | Madison Square Garden (20,047) New York, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central TimeSource. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | 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 | Final |
| AP | 9 | 9 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 22 | 24 | 25 | Not released |
| Coaches | 10 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 21 | 23 | 22 | 16 |
*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 |
| Brown, Vitto | 37 | 37 | 777 | 21.0 | 253 | 6.8 | 92 | 231 | .398 | 44 | 138 | .319 | 25 | 33 | .758 | 47 | 96 | 143 | 3.9 | 37 | 52 | 17 | 18 |
| Ferris, Matt | 11 | 0 | 11 | 1.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 5 | .000 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Happ, Ethan | 37 | 37 | 1027 | 27.8 | 517 | 14.0 | 218 | 372 | .586 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 81 | 162 | .500 | 117 | 215 | 332 | 9.0 | 104 | 81 | 43 | 67 |
| Hayes, Nigel | 37 | 37 | 1198 | 32.4 | 517 | 14.0 | 180 | 394 | .457 | 22 | 70 | .314 | 135 | 230 | .587 | 82 | 163 | 245 | 6.6 | 100 | 63 | 14 | 28 |
| Hill, Jordan | 35 | 0 | 348 | 9.9 | 53 | 1.5 | 19 | 54 | .352 | 9 | 35 | .257 | 6 | 9 | .667 | 7 | 31 | 38 | 1.1 | 16 | 9 | 1 | 6 |
| Illikainen, Alex | 27 | 0 | 224 | 8.3 | 34 | 1.3 | 12 | 37 | .324 | 4 | 16 | .250 | 6 | 12 | .500 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 1.5 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| Iverson, Khalil | 35 | 0 | 536 | 15.3 | 136 | 3.9 | 50 | 94 | .532 | 4 | 13 | .308 | 32 | 57 | .561 | 45 | 71 | 116 | 3.3 | 22 | 34 | 20 | 18 |
| Koenig, Bronson | 36 | 35 | 1129 | 31.4 | 522 | 14.5 | 181 | 432 | .419 | 103 | 262 | .393 | 57 | 63 | .905 | 6 | 71 | 77 | 2.1 | 73 | 51 | 12 | 23 |
| Moesch, Aaron | 18 | 0 | 40 | 2.2 | 3 | 0.2 | 1 | 4 | .250 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0.4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Pritzl, Brevin | 24 | 0 | 195 | 8.1 | 45 | 1.9 | 13 | 38 | .342 | 5 | 21 | .238 | 14 | 19 | .737 | 14 | 12 | 26 | 1.1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 7 |
| Schlundt, T.J. | 13 | 0 | 21 | 1.6 | 3 | 0.2 | 1 | 6 | .167 | 0 | 4 | .000 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Showalter, Zak | 37 | 37 | 1092 | 29.5 | 307 | 8.3 | 107 | 214 | .500 | 49 | 123 | .398 | 44 | 53 | .830 | 29 | 78 | 107 | 2.9 | 65 | 41 | 11 | 57 |
| Thomas IV, Charlie | 28 | 0 | 177 | 6.3 | 62 | 2.2 | 21 | 54 | .389 | 2 | 6 | .333 | 18 | 20 | .900 | 14 | 22 | 36 | 1.3 | 6 | 17 | 4 | 0 |
| Trice, D'Mitrik | 37 | 2 | 677 | 18.3 | 208 | 5.6 | 70 | 184 | .380 | 38 | 91 | .418 | 30 | 38 | .789 | 7 | 62 | 69 | 1.9 | 63 | 37 | 3 | 20 |
| Van Vliet, Andy | 14 | 0 | 48 | 3.4 | 18 | 1.3 | 6 | 17 | .353 | 3 | 8 | .375 | 3 | 4 | .750 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 1.4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Team | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Total | 37 | | 7500 | | 2678 | 72.4 | 971 | 2136 | .455 | 283 | 789 | .359 | 453 | 703 | .644 | 460 | 916 | 1376 | 37.2 | 503 | 411 | 131 | 250 |
| Opponents | 37 | | 7500 | | 2308 | 62.4 | 822 | 1993 | .412 | 251 | 667 | .376 | 413 | 559 | .739 | 319 | 825 | 1144 | 30.9 | 376 | 472 | 115 | 197 |