Uw Men's Basketball

UW fell to No. 23 after going 1-1 for the sixth consecutive week.

The Badgers (15-7, 9-6 Big Ten) split two games last week, winning 61-48 at Nebraska on Wednesday and falling 67-59 at home to Michigan on Sunday.

UW was outscored 43-6 during one stretch in a 77-54 loss at Michigan a month ago.

Wisconsin is ninth in the Big Ten in offensive efficiency during conference play in large part because it's also ninth in 3-point shooting at 32.9%.

The Big Ten announced Tuesday it was relocating the 2021 men's basketball tournament, which originally was supposed to be held at the United Center in Chicago, to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

It’s the sixth consecutive week the Badgers have dropped in the rankings after climbing to No. 6 in late December following an 8-1 start to the season.

In addition to getting a combined 38 points per game from its two stars, Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn, Illinois has gone from worst to first in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting percentage.

UW senior forward Nate Reuvers matched a season high with 18 points in an 81-71 loss at Penn State on Saturday.

The Badgers dropped five spots Monday, the fifth consecutive week they’ve fallen in the rankings.

For the second time in January, the Badgers will play two road games in a span of four days without a trip home in between.

UW is shooting 33.7% from 3-point range over its first nine Big Ten games this season. That's down significantly from the 41% the Badgers shot during an eight-game winning streak to close the 2019-20 season.

The Badgers dropped in the AP Top 25 poll for the third consecutive week. UW (12-4, 6-3 Big Ten) plays road games against Maryland and Penn State this week.

Freshman guard Jonathan Davis is averaging 6.5 points and 4.6 rebounds for the No. 10 Badgers.

Freshman point guard Lorne Bowman is enrolled for the second semester at UW, according to Badgers coach Greg Gard, and will take classes virtually from his home in Detroit.

Senior point guard D'Mitrik Trice is 22 of 40 (55.0%) on 2-point shots over the past six games, in part because he’s been able to get to the rim more often and has been more efficient once he’s gotten to those high-percentage areas.

The Badgers, who split road games against Michigan and Rutgers, are one of six Big Ten teams in the AP Top 25 poll this week.

Markus Ilver, a 6-foot-8 forward from Estonia, orally committed to the Badgers on Wednesday. Ilver, who plays at Western Reserve Academy in Ohio, also had scholarship offers from Nebraska, Utah, VCU and Xavier and had received interest from Virginia, Washington and others.

The game between No. 9 UW and No. 7 Michigan will be the 169th meeting between the teams but will mark the first time the programs have played while both were ranked in the Top 10.

“I really looked at it from a standpoint being a parent myself, that if we walked into a known risky situation and we had something go wrong and we got the virus transmitted somehow — hopefully not, but if that happened — I couldn’t honestly look at my players and their parents and say I’m confident in the environment we’re walking into," UW coach Greg Gard said.

The NCAA announced Monday that all 67 games in this year’s men’s basketball event will be played in Indiana due to the COVID-19 pandemic that completely wiped out last year’s tournament.

After splitting two games at home last week – a loss to Maryland followed by a win over Minnesota – the Badgers fell to No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

The game between the No. 6 Badgers and Penn State, scheduled for Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center, has been postponed due to a COVID-19 issue.

The Badgers, at No. 6, are the highest ranked of nine Big Ten teams in this week's AP Top 25 poll.

UW has gone a combined 68 of 252 from 3-point range (27%), shooting 34% or better only twice, during a 12-game losing streak at the Breslin Center.