# 2017–18 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team

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 in the second round of the Big Ten tournament before losing to Michigan State in the quarterfinals. The Badgers failed to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1998, ending their streak at 19 years.

## 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 and upset No. 1 overall seed Villanova to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth consecutive year. In the Sweet Sixteen, they lost to 20th-ranked Florida.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Zak Showalter | 3 | G | 6'3" | 185 | RS Senior | Germantown, WI | Graduated |
| Nigel Hayes | 10 | F | 6'8" | 240 | Senior | Toledo, OH | Graduated |
| Jordan Hill | 11 | G | 6'4" | 172 | RS Junior | Pasadena, CA | Graduated; transferred to Seattle |
| Bronson Koenig | 24 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Senior | La Crosse, WI | Graduated |
| Vitto Brown | 30 | F | 6'8" | 235 | Senior | Bowling Green, OH | Graduated |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| 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 grade: 81 ||||||
| 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 grade: 83 ||||||
| 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 grade: 81 ||||||
| 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 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits :
| 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: 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: |||||||

### 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. 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. 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. Coach Greg Gard was impressed by the balanced scoring of his team on the trip.

## Preseason

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

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Australia/New Zealand exhibition trip |||||||||
| Aug 15, 2017* 3:00 am | | at New Zealand Breakers (NBL) | W 85–75 | – | 28 – Pritzl | 11 – Happ | 3 – Tied | Sky City Breakers Complex Auckland, New Zealand |
| Aug 17, 2017* 1:30 am | | vs. New Zealand Breakers (NBL) | W 87–53 | – | 14 – Van Vliet | 7 – Van Vliet | 5 – Anderson | Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre Tauranga, New Zealand |
| Aug 19, 2017* 1:00 am | | vs. Hawthorn Magic (Big V) | W 75–68 | – | 18 – King | 7 – Van Vliet | 3 – Reuvers | Trinity Grammar School (1,000) Melbourne, Australia |
| Aug 20, 2017* 12:00 am | | vs. Melbourne United (NBL) | L 89–90 | – | 19 – Trice | 5 – Trice | 4 – Trice | Casey Basketball Stadium Casey, Melbourne, Australia |
| Aug 22, 2017* 5:30 am | | vs. Sydney Kings (NBL) | W 83–71 | – | 23 – Davison | 9 – Happ | 7 – Happ | Bankstown Basketball Stadium (612) Sydney, Australia |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 1, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | Northern Iowa Team Rubicon benefit exhibition | W 69–38 | – | 15 – King | 7 – Happ | 2 – 4 tied | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Nov 5, 2017* 4:00 pm, BTN+ | | UW Stout | W 85–56 | – | 17 – King | 7 – 2 tied | 3 – 2 tied | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Regular season |||||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 6:00 pm, BTN+ | | South Carolina State CBE Hall of Fame Classic | W 85–50 | 1–0 | 20 – Happ | 11 – Happ | 5 – Trice | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Nov 12, 2017* 5:00 pm, BTN | | Yale CBE Hall of Fame Classic | W 89–61 | 2–0 | 17 – Iverson | 11 – Happ | 3 – Iverson | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Nov 16, 2017* 7:30 pm, FS1 | | No. 15 Xavier Gavitt Tipoff Games | L 70–80 | 2–1 | 21 – Happ | 6 – Iverson | 8 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Nov 20, 2017* 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 22 Baylor CBE Hall of Fame Classic Semifinals | L 65–70 | 2–2 | 23 – Happ | 13 – Happ | 5 – Iverson | Sprint Center (10,234) Kansas City, MO |
| Nov 21, 2017* 6:30 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. No. 23 UCLA CBE Hall of Fame Classic consolation | L 70–72 | 2–3 | 19 – Happ | 9 – Happ | 5 – Happ | Sprint Center (10,160) Kansas City, MO |
| Nov 24, 2017* 8:00 pm, BTN | | Milwaukee | W 71–49 | 3–3 | 19 – Davison | 8 – Happ | 5 – Ford | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Nov 27, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 18 Virginia ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 37–49 | 3–4 | 14 – Happ | 8 – Happ | 2 – Trice | John Paul Jones Arena (13,911) Charlottesville, VA |
| Dec 2, 2017 4:00 pm, FOX | | Ohio State | L 58–83 | 3–5 (0–1) | 16 – Davison | 6 – Happ | 3 – Davison | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Dec 4, 2017 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Penn State | W 64–63 | 4–5 (1–1) | 16 – Iverson | 10 – Happ | 3 – Tied | Bryce Jordan Center (6,730) University Park, PA |
| Dec 6, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Temple | L 55–59 | 4–6 | 23 – Happ | 6 – Happ/Iverson | 4 – Trice | Liacouras Center (6,713) Philadelphia, PA |
| Dec 9, 2017* 11:00 am, FS1 | | Marquette Rivalry | L 63–82 | 4–7 | 20 – Davison | 9 – Happ | 4 – Tied | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Dec 13, 2017* 7:00 pm, FS1 | | Western Kentucky | W 81–80 | 5–7 | 17 – Tied | 5 – Ford | 6 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Dec 23, 2017* 4:30 pm, BTN | | Green Bay | W 81–60 | 6–7 | 18 – Davison | 8 – Happ | 4 – Pritzl | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Dec 27, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Chicago State | W 82–70 | 7–7 | 18 – Happ | 12 – Happ | 6 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Dec 30, 2017* 3:00 pm, BTN | | UMass Lowell | W 82–53 | 8–7 | 18 – Tied | 7 – Tied | 6 – Davison | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Jan 2, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN | | Indiana | W 71–61 | 9–7 (2–1) | 28 – Happ | 10 – Happ | 4 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Jan 5, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Rutgers | L 60–64 | 9–8 (2–2) | 13 – Tied | 10 – Happ | 5 – Davison | Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,709) Piscataway, NJ |
| Jan 9, 2018 7:30 pm, BTN | | at Nebraska | L 59–63 | 9–9 (2–3) | 15 – Happ | 11 – Happ | 5 – Davison | Pinnacle Bank Arena (13,497) Lincoln, NE |
| Jan 16, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 3 Purdue | L 50–78 | 9–10 (2–4) | 15 – Happ | 7 – Iverson | 7 – Happ | Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN |
| Jan 19, 2018 8:00 pm, FS1 | | Illinois | W 75–50 | 10–10 (3–4) | 18 – Davison | 10 – Happ | 5 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Jan 23, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Iowa | L 67–85 | 10–11 (3–5) | 21 – Happ | 10 – Happ | 5 – Happ | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (11,563) Iowa City, IA |
| Jan 26, 2018 7:00 pm, FS1 | | at No. 6 Michigan State | L 61–76 | 10–12 (3–6) | 23 – Happ | 7 – Happ | 4 – Tied | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 29, 2018 8:00 pm, BTN | | Nebraska | L 63–74 | 10–13 (3–7) | 25 – Happ | 11 – Happ | 6 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Feb 1, 2018 7:30 pm, FS1 | | Northwestern | L 52–60 | 10–14 (3–8) | 15 – Iverson | 9 – Iverson | 4 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Feb 4, 2018 12:00 pm, CBS | | at Maryland | L 63–68 | 10–15 (3–9) | 18 – Happ | 9 – Happ | 3 – Happ | Xfinity Center (15,810) College Park, MD |
| Feb 8, 2018 8:00 pm, BTN | | at Illinois | W 78–69 | 11–15 (4–9) | 27 – Happ | 9 – Iverson | 8 – Happ | State Farm Center (13,062) Chmapign, IL |
| Feb 11, 2018 12:00 pm, CBS | | No. 20 Michigan | L 72–83 | 11–16 (4–10) | 29 – Happ | 7 – Happ | 7 – Iverson | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Feb 15, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 6 Purdue | W 57–53 | 12–16 (5–10) | 21 – Happ | 12 – Happ | 3 – Pritzl | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Feb 19, 2018 8:00 pm, FS1 | | Minnesota | W 73–63 $^{OT}$ | 13–16 (6–10) | 20 – Pritzl | 12 – Iverson | 5 – Happ | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Feb 22, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Northwestern | W 70–64 | 14–16 (7–10) | 19 – Happ | 7 – Happ | 6 – Davison | Allstate Arena (7,033) Rosemont, IL |
| Feb 25, 2018 12:00 pm, CBS | | No. 2 Michigan State | L 63–68 | 14–17 (7–11) | 30 – Davison | 9 – Pritzl | 2 – 2 tied | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| Mar 1, 2018 11:00 am, BTN | (9) | vs. (8) Maryland Second round | W 59–54 | 15–17 | 14 – Happ | 7 – Happ | 2 – Davison | Madison Square Garden New York City, NY |
| Mar 2, 2018 11:00 am, BTN | (9) | vs. (1) No. 2 Michigan State Quarterfinals | L 60–63 | 15–18 | 22 – Happ | 5 – Iverson | 5 – Davison | Madison Square Garden New York City, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Player statistics

Updated through February 16, 2018
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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |