The 2017–18 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team represented the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
in the
2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
The 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 10, 2017. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic and the season ended with the Final Four in San Antonio on April 2, 2018. Practices officially began on September 2 ...
. The Badgers were led by third-year head coach
Greg Gard
Gregory Glen Gard (born December 3, 1970) is an American college basketball coach for the Wisconsin Badgers . Gard took over on December 15, 2015, after Bo Ryan announced his retirement as head coach of the Badgers. Gard is a native of Cobb Wisco ...
and played their home games at the
Kohl Center
The Kohl Center is an arena and athletic center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, United States. The building, which opened in 1998, is the home of the university's men's basketball and ice hockey teams, and the women's basketball team. ...
as members of the
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
. They finished the season 15–18, 7–11 in
Big Ten play to finish in ninth place. They defeated
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
in the second round of the
Big Ten tournament before losing to
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
in the quarterfinals. The Badgers failed to make the
NCAA tournament for the first time since
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
, ending their streak at 19 years.
Previous season
The
Badgers
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by the ...
finished the
2016–17 season 27–10, 12–6 in
Big Ten play to finish in a tie for second place. They defeated
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
and
Northwestern in the
Big Ten tournament, but lost to
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the
NCAA tournament, their 19th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, as a No. 8 seed in the East region. The Badgers defeated
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...
in the First Round and upset No. 1 overall seed
Villanova to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth consecutive year. In the Sweet Sixteen, they lost to 20th-ranked
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
.
Offseason
Departures
Recruiting classes
2017 recruiting class
2018 recruiting class
New Zealand/Australia trip
The Badgers undertook trip to
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
where they played five games against New Zealand and Australia professional teams. The 12-day trip began August 12, 2017 and helped determine the roster as the Badgers look to replace four departing seniors from last year. The Badgers won four of the five games they played on the trip. A different player led Wisconsin in scoring in each of the games and none of them was first-team All-Big Ten forward Ethan Happ, who did average 12.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.4 steals. Coach Greg Gard was impressed by the balanced scoring of his team on the trip.
Preseason
Wisconsin junior forward Ethan Happ was selected as a first team All-American by the Blue Ribbon Yearbook in its annual preseason publication.
Roster
Schedule and results
, -
!colspan=12 style=, Australia/New Zealand exhibition trip
, -
!colspan=12 style=, Exhibition
, -
!colspan=12 style=, Regular season
, -
!colspan=9 style=,
Big Ten tournament
Player statistics
''Updated through February 16, 2018''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2017-18 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team
Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball seasons
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
Badgers men's basketball team
Badgers men's basketball team