Wisconsin looks to continue its early-season blending of newcomers and veterans when the No. 24 Badgers host SIUE in a nonconference game on Monday night in Madison, Wis.
Wisconsin (3-0), which boasts eight newcomers averaging a combined 120.3 minutes per game, has not played since an 86-55 victory over Ball State on Tuesday.
SIUE (3-1) won 61-59 on Friday at Drake on Ring Malith’s running jump shot with less than two seconds left.
Wisconsin jumped out to a 30-8 lead in the first 10 minutes against Ball State and led comfortably the rest of the way. Nolan Winter had his sixth career double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds in 20 minutes. Nick Boyd and Braeden Carrington, two of the Badgers’ three senior additions, added 12 points apiece.
“Right now, we have enough to work on,” said Wisconsin coach Greg Gard. “I don’t have to search for things. I don’t have to call practice off early because I run out of things to work on. We’ve got plenty to get better at.”
Boyd, a graduate transfer from San Diego State who also played on Florida Atlantic’s 2023 Final Four team, averages a team-high 19.3 points. Wisconsin’s two returning starters, juniors John Blackwell and Winter, average 18.0 and 16.0 points, respectively.
Two other transfers, 6-10 Australian sophomore Austin Rapp and senior Andrew Rohde, also start. Rapp, the Freshman of the Year last season in the West Coast Conference with Portland, averages 10.7 points and has a team-high 10 assists. Rohde, a Wisconsin native who played at Virginia last season, averages 7.7 points in 21 minutes per game.
Wisconsin, which led the nation last season in free throw shooting at 82.6%, hit all eight of its attempts vs. Ball State. The Badgers are shooting 82.8% from the line through three games.
Wisconsin, which had nine turnovers in each of the first two games, had an uncharacteristic 15 turnovers against Ball State.
“Wisconsin’s a beast of a team. They’ve always been,” SIUE coach Brian Barone said following the win over Drake. “Coach Gard’s a phenomenal coach. They have big-time players. But I’m rolling with my team in any arena we’ve got.”
The Cougars, who lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season to Houston, has eight newcomers this season — five transfers and three freshmen.
Malith finished with 20 points in the win over Drake and Myles Thompson had a double-double with 11 points and career-high 13 rebounds.
The Cougars average 78.0 points per game while allowing 58.3 per game with opponents shooting just 34.6%.
Malith averages a team-best 17.8 points and Thompson adds 11.0 points. Thompson and Jo Valrie pace the Cougars on the boards with 7.3 per game.
Gard said his players realize that the schedule is going to get tougher quickly. After SIUE, the Badgers travel to face BYU, which held off Wisconsin 91-89 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
“The guys that have been here understand deep water is coming,” Gard said. “The guys that just got here, that have transferred in, all have played at a high level or understand what is coming. As I told them, Monday will be better because SIU is an NCAA Tournament team.”
