2019–20 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 2019–20 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . The Badgers were led by fifth-year head coach Greg Gard and played their home games at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin as members of the Big Ten Conference .
With a win over Indiana on March 7, 2020, the Badgers earned a share of the Big Ten regular season championship.[ 1] They finished the season 21–10, 14–6 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for first place. Their season ended following the cancellation of postseason tournaments due to the coronavirus pandemic .[ 2]
Previous season
The Badgers finished the 2018–19 season 23–11, 14–6 in Big Ten play to finish in fourth place.[ 3] [ 4] In the Big Ten tournament , the Badgers defeated Nebraska in the quarterfinals[ 5] before losing to Michigan State in the semifinals.[ 6] 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 .[ 7]
Offseason
Moore family car accident
In the early morning hours of May 25, 2019, assistant coach Howard Moore and his family were involved in a car accident near Ann Arbor, Michigan that claimed the lives of his wife Jennifer and daughter Jaidyn. Moore was hospitalized for several weeks with severe burns while his son Jerell escaped with minor injuries.[ 8] After a setback in his home and subsequent stint in the ICU, 46-year-old Moore was moved to a long-term care and rehab facility in July.[ 9]
On July 31, 2019, Wisconsin named all-time leading scorer Alando Tucker an interim assistant coach to fulfill Moore's coaching duties for the 2019–20 season.[ 10] Tucker had been serving as the athletic department's director of student-athlete engagement. "Do Moore. Be Moore. 4 Moore" became the 2019–20 team's motto.[ 11]
Departures
2019 recruiting class
2020 recruiting class
College recruiting information (2020)
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Lorne Bowman PG
Detroit, MI
St. Mary's Preparatory
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Nov 16, 2018
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN grade: 81
Johnny Davis SG
La Crosse, WI
La Crosse Central High School
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
188 lb (85 kg)
Jun 15, 2019
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN grade: 79
Jordan Davis SF
La Crosse, WI
La Crosse Central High School
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Jun 15, 2019
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN grade: N/A
Steven Crowl C
Eagan, MN
Eastview High School
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Sep 17, 2019
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN grade: N/A
Ben Carlson PF
Woodbury, MN
East Ridge High School
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
Sep 18, 2019
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN grade: 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:
Roster
2019–20 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G
0
D'Mitrik Trice
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
184 lb (83 kg)
RS Jr
Wayne High School (OH)
Huber Heights, Ohio
G
1
Brevin Pritzl
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
204 lb (93 kg)
RS Sr
De Pere High School
De Pere, Wisconsin
F
2
Aleem Ford
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
217 lb (98 kg)
RS Jr
Archer High School
Lawrenceville, Georgia
G
3
Walt McGrory (W)
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
Jr
Edina High School
Edina, Minnesota
G
4
Carter Higginbottom (W)
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
187 lb (85 kg)
RS Fr
St. Ignatius College Prep (IL)
Chicago, Illinois
F
5
Tyler Wahl
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
214 lb (97 kg)
Fr
North High School
Lakeville, Minnesota
F
11
Micah Potter
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
248 lb (112 kg)
RS Jr
Montverde Academy /Ohio State
Mentor, Ohio
G
12
Trevor Anderson
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
RS Jr
Stevens Point H.S. /Green Bay
Stevens Point, Wisconsin
F
15
Courtland Cuevas (W)
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Jr
Madison East H.S.
Madison, Wisconsin
F
20
Samad Qawi (W)
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Jr
William Horlick H.S.
Racine, Wisconsin
G
23
Kobe King
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
RS So
La Crosse Central High School
La Crosse, Wisconsin
C
30
Owen Hamilton (W)
7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
266 lb (121 kg)
RS So
Prescott H.S. (WI) /Northern Illinois
Prescott, Wisconsin
G
31
Michael Ballard (W)
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
204 lb (93 kg)
RS Jr
Fenwick High School (IL)
Oak Park, Illinois
C
32
Joe Hedstrom
7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
240 lb (109 kg)
RS Fr
Hopkins High School
Hopkins, Minnesota
G
34
Brad Davison
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
206 lb (93 kg)
Jr
Maple Grove High School
Maple Grove, Minnesota
F
35
Nate Reuvers
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
Jr
Lakeville North High School
Lakeville, Minnesota
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster
Season Notes
Micah Potter's eligibility
A month before the season opener, the NCAA denied Wisconsin's waiver request to allow Micah Potter to compete during the fall semester, arguing he had not sat out a full year after enrolling at Wisconsin. Potter did not play during the 2018–19 season, but stayed in classes at Ohio State before transferring to Wisconsin for the spring 2019 semester.
"I don't understand why I am being punished additionally for doing what is encouraged of a student-athlete," Potter said in a statement released by UW.[ 12] "The penalty of a third semester to what I have already sat out seems unjust."
Wisconsin continued to appeal Potter's case throughout November. After the final denial, Gard called the situation "unprecedented" and expressed frustration with the NCAA's inconsistency on transfer rulings. "I was hoping common sense would prevail in this," Gard said. "Unfortunately, it didn’t."[ 13]
Potter made his Badger debut on December 21, 2019, against Wisconsin-Milwaukee after missing the first 10 games of the season.
Circumstances surrounding Kobe King transfer
On January 25, 2020, the day after a humbling loss to Purdue in which he was held scoreless, sophomore Kobe King informed coaches and teammates via text message that he intended to leave the team.[ 14] At the time, King was Wisconsin's leading scorer (12.6 ppg) and second in minutes (28.9 mpg) in Big Ten games. King did not travel with the Badgers to Iowa City for the team's next game and publicly announced his decision to transfer two days later, citing unhappiness with the program.[ 15] King originally committed to Bo Ryan and Wisconsin on September 16, 2015, and reaffirmed his commitment after Gard was hired.
In the aftermath of King's announcement, strength and conditioning coach Erik Helland self-reported an incident in which he repeated a "repugnant word" in front of several players while telling a story from his days on the Chicago Bulls training staff.[ 16] King admitted mentioning the incident with UW officials during a January 31 meeting. Helland resigned on January 6, 2020, after an investigation by the university.
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2019 *7:00 p.m., BTN Plus
Wisconsin–La Crosse
W 82–53
15 – Reuvers
8 – King
5 – King
Kohl Center (17,147)Madison, WI
Regular season
November 5, 2019 *8:00 p.m., ESPNU
vs. No. 20 Saint Mary's Sioux Falls Showcase
L 63–65 OT
0–1
22 – Reuvers
6 – Reuvers
3 – Trice
Sanford Pentagon (3,301)Sioux Falls, SD
November 8, 2019 *7:00 p.m., BTN Plus
Eastern Illinois
W 65–52
1–1
18 – King
14 – Reuvers
4 – Davison
Kohl Center (17,106)Madison, WI
November 13, 2019 *6:00 p.m., BTN
McNeese State Legends Classic campus-site game
W 83–63
2–1
24 – Davison
4 – Reuvers
4 – Anderson
Kohl Center (16,816)Madison, WI
November 17, 2019 *12:00 p.m., FS1
Marquette Rivalry
W 77–61
3–1
15 – Tied
13 – Pritzl
4 – King
Kohl Center (17,287)Madison, WI
November 21, 2019 *8:00 p.m., BTN
Green Bay Legends Classic campus-site game
W 88–70
4–1
19 – Reuvers
8 – Trice
7 – Trice
Kohl Center (16,837)Madison, WI
November 25, 2019 *6:00 pm, ESPN2
vs. Richmond Legends Classic semifinals
L 52–62
4–2
17 – Reuvers
7 – Tied
5 – Trice
Barclays Center (6,812)Brooklyn, NY
November 26, 2019 *4:00 pm, ESPN2
vs. New Mexico Legends Classic
L 50–59
4–3
16 – Reuvers
7 – Trice
2 – Tied
Barclays Center (6,420)Brooklyn, NY
December 4, 2019 *9:15 p.m., ESPN2
at NC State ACC–Big Ten Challenge
L 54–69
4–4
13 – Ford
8 – Wahl
4 – Trice
PNC Arena (16,035)Raleigh, NC
December 7, 2019 3:30 p.m., BTN
Indiana
W 84–64
5–4 (1–0)
24 – King
5 – Tied
4 – Trice
Kohl Center (17,287)Madison, WI
December 11, 2019 6:00 p.m., BTN
at Rutgers
L 65–72
5–5 (1–1)
18 – King
5 – Tied
3 – King
Louis Brown Athletic Center (6,361)Piscataway, NJ
December 21, 2019 *4:00 p.m., BTN
Milwaukee
W 83–64
6–5
31 – Trice
5 – Tied
5 – Davison
Kohl Center (17,030)Madison, WI
December 28, 2019 *12:30 p.m., CBS
at Tennessee
W 68–48
7–5
21 – Trice
7 – Reuvers
3 – Tied
Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678)Knoxville, TN
December 31, 2019 *6:00 p.m., BTN
Rider
W 65–37
8–5
15 – Reuvers
7 – Potter
7 – Trice
Kohl Center (17,287)Madison, WI
January 3, 2020 6:00 p.m., FS1
at No. 5 Ohio State
W 61–57
9–5 (2–1)
17 – Reuvers
9 – Reuvers
2 – Tied
Value City Arena (19,049)Columbus, OH
January 8, 2020 8:00 p.m., BTN
Illinois
L 70–71
9–6 (2–2)
21 – King
9 – Potter
4 – Trice
Kohl Center (16,108)Madison, WI
January 11, 2020 1:15 p.m., BTN
at No. 20 Penn State
W 58–49
10–6 (3–2)
24 – Potter
13 – Tied
4 – King
Bryce Jordan Center (10,139)University Park, PA
January 14, 2020 8:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 17 Maryland
W 56–54
11–6 (4–2)
17 – Reuvers
5 – Reuvers
4 – Trice
Kohl Center (16,157)Madison, WI
January 17, 2020 6:00 p.m., FS1
at No. 15 Michigan State
L 55–67
11–7 (4–3)
19 – Reuvers
7 – Reuvers
4 – Tied
Breslin Center (14,797)East Lansing, MI
January 21, 2020 8:00 p.m., BTN
Nebraska
W 82–68
12–7 (5–3)
14 – Davison
10 – Trice
7 – Trice
Kohl Center (16,856)Madison, WI
January 24, 2020 6:00 p.m., FS1
at Purdue
L 51–70
12–8 (5–4)
11 – Potter
4 – Davison
4 – King
Mackey Arena (14,804)West Lafayette, IN
January 27, 2020 7:30 p.m., BTN
at No. 18 Iowa
L 62–68
12–9 (5–5)
16 – Trice
9 – Trice
6 – Trice
Carver–Hawkeye Arena (12,566)Iowa City, IA
February 1, 2020 12:00 p.m., FOX
No. 14 Michigan State
W 64–63
13–9 (6–5)
15 – Reuvers
7 – Pritzl
5 – Trice
Kohl Center (17,287)Madison, WI
February 5, 2020 8:00 p.m., BTN
at Minnesota
L 52–70
13–10 (6–6)
14 – Reuvers
15 – Potter
6 – Trice
Williams Arena (11,389)Minneapolis, MN
February 9, 2020 12:00 p.m., CBS
Ohio State
W 70–57
14–10 (7–6)
19 – Pritzl
9 – Ford
8 – Trice
Kohl Center (17,287)Madison, WI
February 15, 2020 1:15 p.m., BTN
at Nebraska
W 81–64
15–10 (8–6)
30 – Davison
10 – Ford
5 – Trice
Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,864)Lincoln, NE
February 18, 2020 6:00 p.m., ESPN
Purdue
W 69–65
16–10 (9–6)
19 – Ford
7 – Ford
5 – Trice
Kohl Center (17,042)Madison, WI
February 23, 2020 12:00 p.m., BTN
Rutgers
W 79–71
17–10 (10–6)
18 – Potter
9 – Potter
9 – Trice
Kohl Center (17,287)Madison, WI
February 27, 2020 6:00 p.m., ESPN2
at No. 19 Michigan
W 81–74
18–10 (11–6)
28 – Trice
8 – Ford
4 – Tied
Crisler Center (12,707)Ann Arbor, MI
March 1, 2020 5:30 p.m., BTN
Minnesota
W 71–69
19–10 (12–6)
20 – Davison
7 – Davison
6 – Trice
Kohl Center (17,287)Madison, WI
March 4, 2020 8:00 p.m., BTN
No. 24
Northwestern
W 63–48
20–10 (13–6)
11 – Reuvers
8 – Tied
4 – Trice
Kohl Center (17,287)Madison, WI
March 7, 2020 11:00 a.m., ESPN
No. 24
at Indiana
W 60–56
21–10 (14–6)
17 – Reuvers
11 – Potter
5 – Trice
Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222)Bloomington, IN
Big Ten tournament
Canceled
NCAA tournament
Canceled
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in
Central Time .
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Final AP — — RV RV — — — — — RV RV RV RV — — — RV 24 18 17 Coaches RV RV RV RV — — — — — RV RV RV — RV — RV RV 24 19 19
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
Player statistics
Individual player statistics (through 3/07/2020)
Minutes
Scoring
Total FGs
3-point FGs
Free-Throws
Rebounds
Player
GP
GS
Tot
Avg
Pts
Avg
FG
FGA
Pct
3FG
3FA
Pct
FT
FTA
Pct
Off
Def
Tot
Avg
A
Stl
Blk
TO
Anderson, Trevor
30
0
369
12.3
54
1.8
18
47
.383
7
25
.280
11
14
.786
6
33
39
1.3
37
4
1
16
Ballard, Michael
10
0
10
1.0
4
0.4
1
1
1.000
0
0
-
2
2
1.000
0
1
1
0.1
0
0
0
0
Cuevas, Courtland
6
0
6
1.0
1
0.2
0
1
.000
0
1
.000
1
2
.500
0
0
0
0.0
0
1
0
0
Davison, Brad
29
29
893
30.8
290
10.0
90
225
.400
45
124
.363
65
77
.844
15
109
124
4.3
55
23
0
25
Ford, Aleem
30
30
758
25.3
261
8.7
94
214
.439
40
117
.342
33
47
.702
37
98
135
4.5
33
15
12
30
Hedstrom, Joe
6
0
14
2.3
2
0.3
1
2
.500
0
0
-
0
0
-
1
1
2
0.3
0
0
0
1
Higginbottom, Carter
9
0
9
1.0
0
0.0
0
1
.000
0
0
-
0
0
-
0
1
1
0.1
0
0
0
1
King, Kobe
19
19
538
28.3
190
10.0
73
159
.459
7
28
.250
37
55
.673
22
32
54
2.8
30
10
6
29
McGrory, Walt
14
0
59
4.2
15
1.1
5
13
.385
2
7
.286
3
4
.750
2
7
9
0.6
5
1
0
1
Potter, Micah
20
3
359
18.0
205
10.3
73
137
.533
23
49
.469
36
42
.857
30
95
125
6.3
7
7
19
32
Pritzl, Brevin
30
7
807
26.9
240
8.0
79
203
.389
48
129
.372
34
40
.850
24
88
112
3.7
20
17
7
21
Qawi, Samad
7
0
7
1.0
0
0.0
0
1
.000
0
0
-
0
0
-
0
1
1
0.1
0
0
0
1
Reuvers, Nate
30
30
783
26.1
392
13.1
141
313
.450
30
87
.345
80
100
.800
34
103
137
4.6
18
15
56
46
Trice, D'Mitrik
30
30
960
32.0
289
9.6
99
264
.375
53
143
.371
38
51
.745
7
109
116
3.9
125
23
4
52
Wahl, Tyler
30
2
453
15.1
77
2.6
32
73
.438
6
26
.231
7
17
.412
32
43
75
2.5
31
20
5
31
Total
30
-
6025
-
2020
67.3
706
1654
.427
261
736
.355
347
451
.769
242
769
1011
33.7
361
136
110
300
Opponents
30
-
6025
-
1859
62.0
697
1687
.413
185
548
.338
280
410
.683
267
757
1024
34.1
333
152
85
333
References
^ Journal, Jim Polzin | Wisconsin State. "Instant classic: Wisconsin Badgers storm past Indiana Hoosiers late to secure share of Big Ten title" . madison.com . Retrieved March 16, 2020 .
^ "2020 NCAA Tournament canceled due to growing threat of coronavirus pandemic" . CBSSports.com . Retrieved March 16, 2020 .
^ "Wisconsin Badgers Stats 2018–19" . ESPN . Retrieved March 17, 2019 .
^ Potrykus, Jeff (March 10, 2019). "UW 73, Ohio State 67: Badgers escape with an OT victory and earn a double-bye in Big Ten tournament" . Retrieved March 17, 2019 .
^ "No. 19 Wisconsin tops Nebraska 66-62 in Big 10 tourney" . ESPN . Associated Press. March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2019 .
^ "Winston, Goins lead No. 6 Michigan State into Big Ten final" . ESPN . March 17, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2019 .
^ "Run for Happ, Badgers ends with 72-54 loss to Oregon" . Fox Sports . Associated Press. March 22, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019 .
^ Journal, Jim Polzin | Wisconsin State. "Badgers assistant Howard Moore seriously injured, wife and daughter killed in multi-vehicle crash" . madison.com . Retrieved May 20, 2020 .
^ Journal, Jim Polzin | Wisconsin State. "Badgers men's basketball program seeks 'normalcy' after Howard Moore tragedy" . madison.com . Retrieved May 20, 2020 .
^ Potrykus, Jeff. "Badgers turn to Alando Tucker to fill the shoes of Howard Moore for 2019-'20 season" . Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Retrieved May 20, 2020 .
^ Potrykus, Jeff. "Do Moore, Be Moore, 4 Moore: UW players remind their fans they're thinking of assistant coach" . Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Retrieved May 21, 2020 .
^ "NCAA: Badgers' Potter must sit out fall semester" . ESPN.com . October 10, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2020 .
^ Potrykus, Jeff. "UW coach Greg Gard lashes out at the NCAA after it denies the final appeal of UW transfer Michael Potter" . Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Retrieved May 21, 2020 .
^ Journal, Jim Polzin | Wisconsin State. "Kobe King says frustration was building with coach Greg Gard since early in Badgers career" . madison.com . Retrieved May 21, 2020 .
^ Potrykus, Jeff. "Redshirt sophomore Kobe King announces he is leaving the UW men's basketball program" . Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Retrieved May 21, 2020 .
^ "Erik Helland, strength and conditioning coach for Badgers men's basketball team, resigns after using racial epithet in presence of multiple players | Wisconsin Badgers Men's Basketball | madison.com" . madison.com . Retrieved May 21, 2020 .
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics