Tag: Wisconsin Men’s Basketball

Former Wisconsin high school star enters transfer portal

Wisconsin pursued him coming out of high school:

Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin native Seth Trimble announced his decision to enter the transfer portal via Instagram on Tuesday.

At 6-foot-3, Trimble played his first two seasons of collegiate basketball for head coach Hubert Davis at the University of North Carolina. The Wisconsin native averaged 17.1 minutes per game in 35 appearances during the 2023-2024 season.

Wisconsin offered Trimble on February 17, 2021, but he elected to commit to the Tar Heels program shortly after receiving an offer in June of 2021. He was 247Sports’ No. 30 player in the class of 2022, No. 7 point guard and No. 1 recruit from the state of Wisconsin.

At Menomonee Falls High School, Trimble earned Gatorade Player of the Year and Mr. Basketball in Wisconsin in 2022 after averaging 27.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.3 swipes as a senior. That summer, he won a gold medal with USA Basketball’s U18 Men’s National Team in the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas Championship in Mexico. 

Trimble ultimately saw his role diminish at Chapel Hill – he averaged under five points and started in just three of 68 total games while at North Carolina.

Given his Wisconsin roots, Trimble could be a prime target for Greg Gard and Wisconsin’s staff. Even though UW’s backcourt already boasts supreme talent, the hyper-athletic guard could compliment Chucky Hepburn and John Blackwell nicely in Madison. 

Wisconsin basketball 2024 signee climbs high school scoring leaderboard

Wisconsin basketball 2024 signee climbs high school scoring leaderboard

Jack Robison, a Wisconsin men’s basketball signee, moved up to third on Lakeville North Basketball’s all-time scoring list following his senior season. 

The 247Sports three-star committed to the Badgers’ program on Nov. 11, 2023, after being recruited by head coach Greg Gard and assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft. The 6-foot-6 small forward visited UW five times from October 2021 to October 2023. 

The Lakeville, Minnesota native also snagged offers from Minnesota, Nebraska, Northern Iowa and South Florida. 

Robison’s high school is notorious for producing future Wisconsin men’s basketball players. Nate Reuvers, a member of the 2019 Big Ten title team, started over 100 games for Greg Gard. Fifth-year player Tyler Wahl and freshman big man Nolan Winter also donned the Panthers’ uniform before collegiate hoops.

Through March 15 of this past season, Robison averaged 21.9 points per game off 52.5% from the field. The future Badger could bolster Wisconsin’s wing next season alongside Max Klesmit and AJ Storr.

Vanderbilt basketball lands coach who vanquished Wisconsin in NCAA Tournament

James Madison head coach gets new job:

Vanderbilt University’s men’s basketball program is hiring former James Madison University head coach Mark Byington as its next head coach.

The news broke Monday, two days removed from the Dukes’ 72-61 victory over Wisconsin in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Byington led James Madison to a record-setting 32 wins and the program’s first bid to March Madness in over 40 years. JMU kick-started its 2023-2024 campaign with 14 consecutive triumphs and punched its ticket to the tournament with a win over Arkansas State in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament title game.

On March 23, the 12-seeded Dukes held a lead against No. 5 Wisconsin for the entire contest en route to an 11-tally win. Byington’s group would drop its next game to Duke in the Round of 32, but his postseason run certainly garnered the attention of the Commodores’ decision makers. 

Byington is slated to replace Jerry Stackhouse, a former NBA All-Star. Stackhouse manned Vanderbilt’s sidelines for five seasons and led the Commodores to 22 wins in 2022-2023 without an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Wisconsin Basketball: Statistical history of No. 5 vs. No. 12 seeds in the NCAA Tournament

Is Wisconsin on upset alert against James Madison?

The 12-seed vs. 5-seed matchup has emerged as one of the more interesting March Madness matchups since the tournament expanded in 1985.

There have been 12 upsets in No. 12 vs No. 5 games since 2014. The most recent arrived in 2022 when New Mexico State defeated UConn 70-63.

Wisconsin enters this year’s tournament as a No. 5 seed with a first-round matchup against James Madison. Although the Badgers are favored by 5.5 points, the history behind 12-5 matches in March Madness cannot be understated. 

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

In 2019, the Badgers dropped their opening game of the tournament to No. 12 Oregon 72-54. The same year, future NBA All-Star Ja Morant dropped a triple-double for 12-seeded Murray State en route to a 83-64 victory over 5-seed Marquette.

Here is a quick overview of all the essentials you need to know for the iconic 12-5 matchup. It doesn’t mean great things for the Badgers.

Facts:

  • Since 1985, 12-seeds have defeated 5-seeds 53 times. Ahead of 2024’s tournament, the lower seed boasted a 53-99 mark (34.87 win percentage) 
  • In 32 of the last 38 years, the 12-seed stole at least one first round game.
  • Other 12-5 games featuring Wisconsin:
    • 2009: Wisconsin defeats No. 5 Florida State 61-59
    • 2013: Ole Miss defeats No. 5 Wisconsin 57-46

All-time seed-seed records: first round

  • 1 vs. 16: 150-2
  • 2 vs. 15: 141-11
  • 3 vs. 14: 130-22
  • 4 vs. 13: 120-32
  • 6 vs. 11: 94-58
  • 7 vs. 10: 92-59
  • 8 vs 9: 74-78

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On This Date: Wisconsin’s Bronson Koenig nails buzzer-beating to push Badgers into Sweet 16

Favorite Wisconsin March Madness memory?

In just two days, Greg Gard’s No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers will look to generate some magic against No. 12 James Madison in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Ahead of its 27th tournament appearance in program history, Wisconsin has experienced its share of electricity during March Madness. Whether it be Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker leading the charge in 2015 or the unexpected Final Four appearance under head coach Dick Bennett in 2000, the Badgers have traditionally known what it takes to win.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

Perhaps the most memorable late-game tournament moment arrived on this day eight years ago when Wisconsin guard Bronson Koenig nailed a buzzer-beater to lift the No. 7-seed Badgers over No. 2 Xavier. The corner snipe clinched the Badgers’ spot in the Sweet Sixteen — a round the program hasn’t reached since 2017.

Wisconsin found itself trailing Xavier by nine points with just under six minutes to spare in the contest. The Badgers would go on to tie the game at 63  after a quick run led by Nigel Hayes, Ethan Happ and Jordan Hill. 

Then, with the game tied and two seconds remaining, Greg Gard called an inbounds play to Koenig in the corner. The rest is history.