Perennial postseason fixture Wisconsin will feature a variety of new faces when it hosts St. Francis (Brooklyn) in the nonconference season opener for both teams on Tuesday night in Madison.
The Badgers, who struggled down the stretch last season, have eight new players, including five freshmen.
After winning a share of the Big Ten regular-season title in 2020, Wisconsin went 18-13 overall and 10-10 in the conference last season, losing in the second round of both the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments. The Badgers have made 21 of the last 22 NCAA tournaments, missing only in 2018.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” coach Greg Gard said after Wisconsin’s 76-50 exhibition victory over Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater on Oct. 29. “It’s everything from taking care of the ball to, you name it, there’s probably nothing that we don’t need to improve upon.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do, which is normal, and that’s the exciting part. You see the potential with this group. How we come together, how we develop is going to be exciting to watch.”
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St. Francis was picked to finish seventh in the Northeast Conference in the preseason coaches poll. The Terriers, 9-10 last season, including 9-9 in their league, return five letterwinners and two starters, and they added six transfers.
Wisconsin is led by fifth-year senior guard Brad Davison, who was third on the team in scoring last season (10.0 points per game) and sank a team-high 63 3-pointers, sophomore guard Jonathan Davis (7.0 ppg) and junior forward Tyler Wahl (5.2 ppg, 4.3 rebounds per game).
The Badgers are big but inexperienced up front. Steven Crowl, a 7-foot sophomore, totaled 36 minutes last season, and 6-9 sophomore Ben Carlson averaged 9.1 minutes in six games before sustaining a back injury. Chris Vogt, a 7-foot senior transfer from Cincinnati, averaged 5.0 points and 3.5 rebounds for the Bearcats last season.
Crowl scored 18 points with six rebounds in the exhibition win over Whitewater, and Carlson had six points and seven rebounds.
The Badgers also dealt with offseason controversy. Assistant coach Alando Tucker was let go after reportedly trying to undermine Gard, and a secretly recorded team meeting was released to the media.
Junior guard Rob Higgins and 6-8 senior forward Vuk Stevanic return for St. Francis. Higgins averaged 11.2 points and a team-high 31.9 minutes. Stevanic averaged 6.3 points and 3.1 rebounds.
Michael Cubbage, a 6-4 graduate transfer, was limited to four games last season due to injury while playing for Marist. Other key transfers include 6-7 forward Patrick Emilien from Western Michigan, 6-6 guard Bahaide Haidara from George Mason and 6-9 forward Jack Hemphill from Boston University.
“I really like the group,” Terriers coach Glenn Braica said at the conference’s media day. “Their work ethic has been tremendous. They seem like great kids. I think we have some talent. We’ll see how it shakes out, but we’re just going to keep working and see where we’re at.”
–Field Level Media
