Tag: Trevor Anderson

Former Wisconsin G Trevor Anderson announces his transfer destination

Former Wisconsin Badger guard Trevor Anderson is committing to Valparaiso University, according to an Instagram post from earlier today.

Former Wisconsin Badger guard Trevor Anderson is committing to Valparaiso University, according to an Instagram post from earlier today.

Anderson finishes his Wisconsin career with 68 games played in three years, 12.4 minutes-per-game, 2.4 points-per-game, 1.1 assists-per-game, 1.3 rebounds-per-game and a .479 shooting percentage.

Valparaiso will be his third school in five years as a college basketball player, first starting at Green Bay before playing at Wisconsin for the last three years.

With him, D’Mitrik Trice, Aleem Ford, Micah Potter and Nate Reuvers all gone from the program, Wisconsin basketball now has some work to do in the transfer portal before they take the court again in November.

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A look at the Big Ten basketball assists leaders in 2020-2021

This article will look at the Big Ten Conference season leaders in assists, who are some of the best players in not only the Big Ten this…

As the 2020-21 men’s basketball season is nearing its end, we begin to look back at the Big Ten Conference and the great individual performances from this season.

Despite a senior season that had its fair share of difficulties, Wisconsin guard D’Mitrik Trice was able to make the top 10 among very impressive players such as Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmu, Michigan guard Mike Smith and Iowa guard Jodan Bohannon. These players have been the most dominant at their position this season, and it is no surprise to see them leading the Big Ten in such an important category that shows their ability to create plays for their team in addition to their electric scoring.

It will be interesting to see how the Badgers will attempt to replace the playmaking ability of D’Mtrik Trice at the point guard position going into next year, especially with the entrance of backup point guard Trevor Anderson into the transfer portal.

Below are the top 10 leaders in assists from the Big Ten Conference 2020-21 season. Players from Wisconsin, Iowa, Penn State, Northwestern, Michigan, Ohio State and Minnesota have all made the list.

Wisconsin basketball locks Nebraska down in the 2H en route to a 61-48 win

The Badgers get a needed bounce back win

Was it a masterpiece? Absolutely not. Does it count as an important win for Wisconsin basketball in Big Ten play? Yes it does.

The No. 21 Badgers (15-6) slugged their way to a 61-48 win over bottom feeding Nebraska (4-11) on Wednesday night in Lincoln. After struggling early on the defensive end and giving up easy looks in high pick-and-roll, Wisconsin clamped down and Nebraska had no answer.

The Badgers gave up 20 points in the first 8 minutes as the Cornhuskers jumped out to a 20-14 advantage. Over the next 32 minutes, Wisconsin only gave up 28 total points.

After a slow end to the first half for both teams, Aleem Ford have the Badgers a lead they would never give away with a last-second three.

Freshman Jonathan Davis began the second half by scoring the first six Wisconsin points as the Badgers jumped out to a 36-29 advantage. The La Crosse star ended up with a team-high 10 points. Despite shooting 9-32 from distance (28.1%), UW used a tremendous half of team defense to limit the Huskers to just 21 second half points.

Trevor Anderson also provided an offensive spark for Wisconsin, finishing with a pair of threes and playing tremendous perimeter defense in his 18 minutes.

Wisconsin now enters a Kohl Center gauntlet, as Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa travel to Madison over the next two weeks.

Game Day Grades: Wisconsin vs. Purdue

Grading Wisconsin’s 69-65 victory over conference rival Purdue.

Offense: B

Purdue certainly put pressure on Wisconsin at the end of the game to make their free throws as the combination of Brad Davison and Brevin Pritzl went a combined 8-for-8 to help Wisconsin win 69-65.

Wisconsin not only needed those last eight points to help maintain their lead but after a made field goal by Nate Reuvers with 5:38 to go in the game to put Wisconsin up 57-48 represented the last made field goal by the Badgers in the game.

The Badgers missed their final eight field goal attempts while going a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line. Overall Wisconsin shot an impressive 19-for-20 from the free throw line as four different players attempted at least two free throws.

Pritzl led the team with eight free throw attempts as he made all eight, Reuvers went 5-for-6, Davison went 4-for-4, and Trevor Anderson made both of his free throws.

Although Wisconsin missed their last eight field goal attempts one fact that can’t get overlooked is over the last three minutes and 44 seconds of the game the Badgers came up with four offensive rebounds, which resulted in four points.

Even though Wisconsin wasn’t able to score on two of the four offensive rebounds they registered it still allowed for Wisconsin to run more time off the clock. Pritzl was responsible for two of the four offensive rebounds as he simply out hustled Purdue to come up with the second chance for Wisconsin.

The Badgers who only registered two offensive rebounds in the first meeting against Purdue but on Tuesday they registered 10, which they turned into 12 points. Aleem Ford led the team with three offensive rebounds.

After registering 19 rebounds over his last two games Ford finished with a team-high seven rebounds and for the second time this year, he led Wisconsin in scoring with a career high 19 points.

Ford was one of four Badgers to reach double figures as Davison and Pritzl each finished with 13 points and Reuvers finished with 12 points. Overall Wisconsin shot 19-for-50 (38 percent) from the field. 

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3-Point Shot Wisconsin vs. Nebraska

What are three things Wisconsin needs to do in order to beat Nebraska on the road?

Nebraska is coming off a tough loss to Maryland on Tuesday night as they lost to the Terrapins 72-70. The loss to Maryland represents the Cornhuskers ninth straight loss and although the Cornhuskers are going through a losing streak as five of the nine losses have come by double digits, which includes losing to Wisconsin by 14 points in the first meeting the Badgers can’t take the Cornhuskers lightly. Considering Wisconsin hasn’t won consecutive conference games in a month when they won against Penn State on the road, which also represents the Badgers last road victory before beating Maryland.

In this Badgers Wire feature, we will look at the three keys or questions for Wisconsin as they prepare to play Nebraska on Saturday.

LAYUP: DISRUPTING NEBRASKA’S BALANCED SCORING

Nebraska has four players averaging double figures over conference play and in the first matchup against Wisconsin, the Cornhuskers put four players in double figures.

If Wisconsin wants to control the game on Saturday they will need to be sound in their defensive assignments in order to disrupt Nebraska’s offense.

Nebraska is led in scoring by Cam Mack as he’s averaging 12.5 points per game over Big Ten play and against Wisconsin earlier in the season he finished with 14 points on 5-for-15 shooting from the field.

Mack has struggled with his shot over the last three games for Nebraska. In those three games, he has only reached double figures once, as he only scored four points against Maryland and was held scoreless against Penn State. In that span, Mack is averaging 5.6 points on a combined 6-for-28 shooting from the field.

D’Mitrik Trice will likely draw the defensive assignment against Mack and Trice has been one of Wisconsin’s most consistent defenders this year. Trice’s defensive effort against Mack will be needed considering even if his shot isn’t falling he still has been able to set up his teammates for offensive success. Mack’s 7.2 assists over conference play lead the league making it important that not only does Trice try and disrupt Mack’s shot attempts but also takes away his passing lanes too.

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Game Day Grades: Wisconsin vs. Ohio State

What grades did Wisconsin earn in their 70-to-57 home victory over Big Ten foe Ohio State?

Offense: A

Wisconsin and Ohio State went back and forth to begin the game as the two teams traded baskets. Waiting for a team to take control of the game. That moment for Wisconsin came following a made three by Ohio State’s Andre Wesson to cut the Badgers lead to 22-20 with 4:37 to go in the game.

The Badgers proceeded by ending the first half on a 16-0 run on 5-for-9 shooting from the field. The Badgers over there scoring run were led by Brevin Pritzl and D’Mitrik Trice as each scored six points both coming off of two made 3-pointers while Aleem Ford made a layup and Nate Reuvers made a pair of free throws to round out the scoring.

In particular, Pritzl was excellent for Wisconsin off the bench as he led Wisconsin in scoring with 19 points, which includes him going 5-for-6 from 3-point range and shot 7-for-13 from the field overall.

Ford was the only other Badger to reach double figures with 10 as he shot 3-for-8 from the field. As six different Badgers scored at least eight points for Wisconsin as Micah Potter who started his first game for the Badgers finished with nine points, Nate Reuvers also scored nine points, Trice and Trevor Anderson each had eight points.

Wisconsin was able to create balanced scoring thanks to the Badgers ability to consistently working the basketball around on the offensive end. Wisconsin was able to register 17 assists on their 24 made field goals. Overall Wisconsin shot 24-for-58 (41.4 percent) from the field and 12-for-32 (37.5 percent) from three.

The Badgers were also able to help their offense by finding ways of taking care of the basketball only turning it over nine times in addition to generating second chance opportunities. Wisconsin finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds and was able to capitalize on their second chances by turning them into 15 points.

Ford led the way with four offensive rebounds as he was a rebound shy of registering the first double-double of his career. Ford was active throughout the game and his hustle on the offensive end helped lead to Wisconsin having an extra attempt on the offensive end. 

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3-Point Shot Wisconsin vs. Michigan State

What are three things Wisconsin needs to do in order to have success against the Spartans on Saturday?

It’s been a rough week for the Wisconsin men’s basketball program. Despite everything that has happened this week the Badgers will need to move on quickly as they prepare to welcome in a talented Michigan State team as they attempt to snap their current eight game losing streak to the Spartans.

In this Badgers Wire feature, we will look at the three keys or questions for Wisconsin as they prepare to play Michigan State on Saturday.

LAYUP: CAN WISCONSIN LIMIT MICHIGAN STATE’S BALL MOVEMENT?

In the first meeting against Michigan State the Spartans did an excellent job of rotating the basketball around and creating open shots for themselves. As the Spartans registered 20 assists on their 27 made field goals.

In fact, over Wisconsin’s last three games the Badgers have struggled to consistently stop ball movement as over that stretch the Badgers defense has allowed an average of 15.6 assists a game while Wisconsin’s opponents have averaged 26.6 made field goals a game.

If Wisconsin wants to have a chance against the Spartans on Saturday the Badgers defense will need to be active and finding ways of slowing down ball movement.

As one of the reasons why Wisconsin has gone 1-2 over their last three games is they’ve allowed their opponents to shoot in rhythm. With the Spartans shooting 44.6 percent (254-for-570) from the field over Big Ten play, which leads the league Wisconsin can’t make it easy for the Spartans on the offensive end.

MID-RANGE: LIMITING MICHIGAN STATE IN TRANSITION

In Wisconsin’s loss to Iowa, the Badgers allowed the Hawkeyes to score 25 fast break points the most they have allowed this season.

That’s not good news considering the second highest amount of points the Badgers allowed off of fast break points is 19, which was scored by Michigan State.

The Spartans are going to want to create an up tempo attack against the Badgers making it important Wisconsin’s defense consistently gets back in order to avoid the Spartans from generating high percentage shots.

One area where Michigan State is dangerous in transition is if there’s an opportunity they are willing to attempt a three. As it will be important that Wisconsin doesn’t lose any of the Spartans in transition allowing for the Spartans to kick the basketball out for a wide open three.

The Spartans are going to have their opportunities of generating points in transition against the Badgers but if the Spartans do miss their field goal attempt the Badgers will need to be able to clean up their miss.

3-POINTER: MAKING EACH OFFENSIVE POSSESSION COUNT

With the loss of Kobe King and Brad Davison being suspended by the Big Ten conference the Badgers are going to have make each offensive possession count.

Wisconsin has struggled to score at times and due to the length of the Spartans, it isn’t going to get any easier. Not to mention the Spartans held the Badgers to shoot 35.6 percent (21-for-59) from the field when the two teams played the first time.

Making it important that Wisconsin runs its offensive sets well and try to generate a quality look each time they have the basketball.

Michigan State is going to try and force Wisconsin’s offense to get sloppy with the basketball at times but Wisconsin only turned the basketball over nine times in the first meeting.

As D’Mitrik Trice and Trevor Anderson will be counted on not turning the basketball over and not allowing the Spartans to try and speed them up.

Trice is coming off likely his best game of the season against Iowa and he has done well of taking care of the basketball as he’s averaged 1.7 turnovers a game. Trice’s ability to set up his teammates and continue to take care of the basketball will be important but he’ll also be counted on to crash the glass.

If Trice can help attack the offensive glass and keep offensive possessions alive will go a long way for Wisconsin’s offense. It will also force the Spartans to play additional defense and prevent them from getting out in transition.

3 Badgers who must step up with Kobe King and Brad Davison out

Wisconsin basketball

It’s a matter of simple math for Greg Gard and the Wisconsin Badgers: This Saturday against Michigan State, they need 200 total minutes from their roster. Every game requires 200 minutes, with five players on the court at all times. Those are the rules. I don’t make them.

Five players won’t play 40 minutes apiece. The bench has to fill in enough minutes. With Kobe King and Brad Davison both out of the picture for this crucial Michigan State home game at the Kohl Center, simple math demands that at least two, probably three, players will have to play a lot more minutes than they have in recent weeks.

First, let’s give you the minute totals for the Iowa game this past Monday night: D’Mitrik Trice played 37 minutes. Brevin Pritzl played 31, Nate Reuvers 29, Tyler Wahl 26, Aleem Ford 19, Micah Potter 15, and Trevor Anderson 10.

You’re adding those numbers and not getting 200 total minutes. Those seven numbers add up to 167. Correct. That’s why I left one other player out of that list so his impact can be more fully appreciated: Brad Davison played 33 minutes. These are the 33 minutes Gard must find from his roster against Michigan State, since Davison has been suspended for Saturday’s contest.

If Gard has to find 33 minutes, he can’t use Trice or Reuvers. They are already carrying a substantial workload. Wahl got the start at Iowa due to Kobe King’s absence, so he already shouldered more of a responsibility for the team. Maybe he can play four or five more minutes against Michigan State, but not 10 or 12. Wahl is not a 35-minutes-per-game player.

With Kobe King out, Gard’s rotation was shortened from nine to eight players against Iowa. King’s 28.5 minutes per game had to be redistributed to other players. Wahl picked up some of those minutes, and as we have already noted, he can’t really play more than a few extra minutes against Michigan State. Pritzl picked up a lot of them, so if he plays 31 more minutes against Michigan State, he will be doing close to the maximum in terms of playing time. Pritzl isn’t going to be the outlet through which Gard finds 33 extra minutes versus Tom Izzo’s team.

The players who will make up these 33 extra minutes are clear: Aleem Ford, Micah Potter, and Trevor Anderson. At 19, 15, and 10 minutes against Iowa, these three Badgers can reasonably be expected to get substantially more playing time versus the Spartans. The question is how Gard chooses to allocate their minutes, and in which lineups.

It would seem unavoidable that Anderson is the safest bet for a much larger role versus MSU, given that Davison and King are both guards. Anderson will need to take up the ball-handling chores to a degree. He, Wahl and Pritzl will share duties so that none of the three are individually overburdened.

The real intrigue here will involve how Gard juggles Ford’s and Potter’s minutes. Ford has been a regular member of the starting five but hasn’t always played extended minutes. He has played fewer than 20 minutes in three of his last five outings, averaging 17 minutes per game in those five contests. We have discussed Potter a lot this season. His flawed defense has kept him from getting more minutes, but he is the most efficient scorer on the team in terms of points per minutes played. A Wisconsin team without Davison, a relentless defender, can’t expect to win a 55-53 grinder. It will need Potter’s offense to win a game played in the high 60s or low 70s.

Maybe Gard will try to give Ford 13 more minutes (from 19 versus Iowa to 32 against Michigan State) and Anderson 20 more minutes (from 10 versus Iowa to 30 versus MSU), which would mean he could get his 33 extra minutes without increasing Potter’s minutes. That is mathematically possible, but it doesn’t strike me as realistic. Anderson going from a 10-minute workload to 30 in one giant leap seems improbable.

The points I have made about Potter this season now need to be applied versus Michigan State: Gard might not trust Potter with extended playing sequences, but he can play Potter for shorter bursts in more portions of games. Gard has to allow Potter to learn on the job this Saturday. Given that UW already faces an uphill battle, this seems like the ideal time to allow Potter to learn lessons. If UW loses, Potter could still walk away from this game against Michigan State with a much better idea of what he has to do in the rest of February and the season at large.

Greg Gard has to fill 33 minutes. Micah Potter, Aleem Ford, and Trevor Anderson should all expect to carry more of the load for the Badgers. Let’s see if this moment is a growth point for them. If so, this horrible week could still become a source of renewal in the long run.

Game Day Grades: Wisconsin vs. Ohio State

What grades did Wisconsin earn in their second conference win over Ohio State on Friday night?

Offense: C

Wisconsin has had poor shooting games this year but at times couldn’t find a way to come out with a victory even though they gave themselves a chance of winning the game.

On Friday night despite shooting 37.5 percent (21-for-56) from the field the Badgers found a way to register its fourth straight win and second consecutive game on the road this time by beating No. 5 Ohio State to improve to 2-1 in conference play.

Wisconsin was able to receive a variety of contributors in the Badgers upset over Ohio State as Nate Reuvers and Kobe King were the lone Badgers to reach double figures with 17 and 13 points respectively.

Despite leading the team in scoring Reuvers finished the game 3-for-12 from the field and 1-for-4 from 3-point range. However, Reuvers was able to score 10 of his 17 points from the free throw line, which includes making four straight to end the game to help give Wisconsin the victory.

King finished 6-for-7 from the field and made his lone 3-point attempt. King’s aggressiveness at times helped open up other opportunities for himself or his teammates as he shot 3-for-4 on his opportunities in the paint as the Badgers finished the game with 22 points down low.

In particular, Wisconsin got a big boost from its bench as the Badgers finished the game with 20 points marking the fourth game over Wisconsin’s last five games the Badgers bench has scored at least 20 points.

Brevin Pritzl was one of four players to score off the bench as he led the way with nine points on 3-for-8 shooting from the field and went 2-for-5 from 3-point range. Tyler Wahl and Micah Potter each had four points on a combined 4-for-9 shooting from the field while Trevor Anderson chipped in three points.

Pritzl’s second made three of the night was critical in Wisconsin pulling the upset as it came with 1:08 to go in the game to extend Wisconsin’s lead to 55-51. Overall Wisconsin shot 6-for-23 (26.1 percent) from distance as the Badgers only made two total three’s in the second half. 

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Game Day Grades: Wisconsin vs. Rutgers

What grades did Wisconsin earn from there 72-65 road loss to Rutgers?

Offense: D

Turnovers. Turnovers specifically in the first half absolutely hurt Wisconsin as the Badgers turned the basketball over 12 times in the first half resulting in 18-points for Rutgers.

Not to mention on four of Wisconsin’s first five offensive possessions in the game resulted in turnovers as Rutgers turned them into seven points. D’Mitrik Trice committed the first turnover as he was one of three Badgers to commit a team high three turnovers as Trice threw basketball out of bounds as his pass was intended for Nate Reuvers.

On Wisconsin’s ensuing offensive possession Kobe King had the basketball stolen away from him, which was followed by two travels by Aleem Ford and Reuvers.

Wisconsin was able to clean it up in the second half only turning the basketball over twice in the second half but both times Rutgers turned the Badgers mistakes into four points. Overall, Rutgers turned the Badgers 14 turnovers into 22 points.

When Wisconsin wasn’t turning the basketball over the Badgers did shoot the basketball well. The Badgers finished the game shooting 47.9 percent (23-for-48) from the field, which is the Badgers best shooting percentage this season either on the road or in a neutral site game.

King lead Wisconsin in scoring for the second straight game as he finished with 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field. Trevor Anderson was second in points with 11 in 25 minutes. Brad Davison and Ford each finished the game with nine points on a combined 5-for-12 shooting from the field.

Anderson was one of three players to make at least two three’s as the Badgers finished the game 8-for-23 (34.8 percent) from three. Davison and Brevin Pritzl also hit two three’s a piece too.

The Badgers made five of their eight 3-pointers in the first half. With Wisconsin shooting 3-for-12 from distance in the second half the Badgers had to feed the basketball down low as 16 of their 28 points in the paint came in the second half.

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