After suffering an ugly loss the last time it took the court, Wisconsin (5-5) will look to get back in the win column at home against Milwaukee (5-6) on Saturday afternoon.
The Badgers own a 26-2 record all-time against the Panthers, including a blowout 71-49 victory the last time these programs met in 2017.
Wisconsin has lost four of its last five leading into Saturday’s matchup, most recently falling to Rutgers in a 72-65 decision in Piscataway last Wednesday. Milwaukee hasn’t fared much better than Bucky as of late, as head coach Patrick Baldwin’s group has dropped four in a row and five of its last six. The Panthers were taken down by Eastern Illinois 75-68 at home last weekend in their most recent outing.
The Badgers are in desperate need of the confidence boost that a dominant showing against their in-state foe on Saturday would provide before hitting the road to Knoxville to take on No. 21 Tennessee next weekend. Considering the quality of their opponent and how well they have played in Madison this season, you have to like their odds.
However, Milwaukee has been pesky at times against Wisconsin and actually defeated it as recently as 2015. The Panthers are capable of doing so again this time around if their stars step up.
Here are the three players on the other side who Badger fans should keep a close eye on throughout Saturday afternoon’s contest.
Darius Roy – Guard
2019 stats: 16.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.0 spg, 39.4 FG%, 36.2 3P%
Baldwin has to be pleased with the return on investment that he has gotten from Roy since bringing him to Milwaukee from the JUCO ranks.
Roy began his college career at Mercer before transferring to Connors State College in Oklahoma after his freshman season. His one and only season there landed him on Division I radars after he was the maestro of an offense that averaged 90.3 points per game, putting up 12.8 points, 5.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals on his own in the process.
His decision to join the Panthers has turned out quite well for both parties, as Roy led the team in scoring in his first season in Milwaukee last year and his doing so again in 2019. His average of 16 points per game is the fifth-highest mark in the Horizon League, while he also ranks No. 7 in assists.
Roy has been a double-digit scorer in eight of Milwaukee’s 11 games, including 25 and 24-point efforts in his last two outings. The 6-2 senior has proven capable of lighting it up against top-notch competition, as those 25 points came in the Panthers’ loss at Kansas.
Te’Jon Lucas – Guard
2019 stats: 14.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.5 spg, 40.2 FG%,, 28.2 3P%
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Many Wisconsin fans may be familiar with Lucas, who was a prep star at Milwaukee Washington and was named the runner-up for the state’s Mr. Basketball award as a senior, an honor that was shared by current Badger Trevor Anderson and his teammate at Stevens Point, Sam Hauser.
The nation’s No. 138 overall recruit according to the 247Sports composite rankings, Lucas signed with Illinois over an offer list that also included schools such as USC, Memphis and Purdue. He played two seasons in Champaign, averaging 5.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and a team-high 3.2 assists per game as a sophomore before deciding to transfer back to his hometown to play for the Panthers.
Lucas has gotten off to a great start to his first season at Milwaukee as team’s tone-setter on both ends of the floor, leading the Panthers in assists and steals and ranking second in points and rebounds per game. The 6-2 junior’s assist and steal averages are the third and seventh-highest in the Horizon League, respectively.
It’s worth noting ahead of tomorrow’s matchup that Lucas has struggled against Wisconsin in the past, as he hasn’t scored in either of the two games he’s played for the Fighting Illini against the Badgers despite averaging 23.5 minutes per game in those contests.
Josh Thomas – Guard
2019 stats: 11.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.9 apg, 44.8 FG%, 20.0 3P%
As with Lucas, Thomas is enjoying a productive start to his career at Milwaukee.
The 6-4 junior from Chicago played his high school ball at powerhouse Simeon Career Academy, a school that has produced players such as Jabari Parker and Derrick Rose, before getting his first two years of collegiate competition under his belt at Wabash Valley College, a JUCO school in Illinois. Baldwin brought Thomas to Milwaukee after he averaged 15.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game and was a first-team all-region selection last year.
The 6-4 junior currently ranks third on the Panthers in scoring, rebounds and assists.