Gameday Guide: Wisconsin men's basketball vs. UW-Green Bay preview
The Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team (2-0 overall) is off to an undefeated start, most recently beating Stanford in the Brew City Battle by 10 points last Friday.
With a third non-conference matchup upcoming on Tuesday night against UW-Green Bay, the Badgers are hoping to secure another home victory in the early part of their 2022-2023 schedule.
With that in mind, here is a preview of Wisconsin versus UW-Green Bay to help prepare for Tuesday night's in-state clash.
Game details and television information
- Wisconsin Badgers (2-0 overall) vs. UW-Green Bay Phoenix (0-2 overall)
- Tip time is set for 8 p.m. CST at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
- The game will be aired on BTN
- Matt Lepay will have the call on 1310 WIBA
- Live stats
Betting info
- The Badgers enter the game as 27-point favorites per SI Sportsbook
- The over/under is set at 132
Series history
Wisconsin leads the all-time series against UW-Green Bay 26-1, including a 23-0 record at the Kohl Center. The last time that the Badgers lost to UW-Green Bay was in 2009. The two team's most recently played a year ago, with the Badgers winning 72-34 behind a career-high 18 points by Steven Crowl.
UW-Green Bay season overview
Under the direction of Will Ryan, the Green Bay Phoenix have gotten off to a tough start, dropping the first two games of the 2022-2023 season. With both games on the road, UW-Green Bay fell 80-53 to Indiana State and followed that up with a 92-58 loss on Saturday against Georgetown.
Junior guard Davin Zeigler led Phoenix in points (19) and rebounds (eight) versus Indiana State, while forward Clarence Cummings did the same against Georgetown with a 14-point and five-rebound performance.
Green Bay finished with the second-worst record in the Horizon League in 2021 with a 5-25 mark.
Top scorers
Wisconsin
- Tyler Wahl: 18 points, 7.5 rebounds, and two assists per game
- Chucky Hepburn: 12.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and four assists per game
- Steven Crowl: 10.5 points, seven rebounds, and two assists per game
UW-Green Bay
- Davin Zeigler: 13.5 points, six rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game
- Zae Blake: 11 points, one rebound, and one assist per game
- Clarence Cummings: eight points, three rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game
The biggest question for Wisconsin
In the first two games, the Badgers have tried a few different combinations behind Chucky Hepburn, but could this be the game where Kamari McGee or Isaac Lindsey finally grabs hold of the backup role?
Playing against his former team, this is a significant opportunity for McGee to find his footing with the Badgers.
With Chucky Hepburn averaging 32 minutes per game, there is not a lot of playing time up for grabs, but so far Greg Gard has primarily had Max Klesmit bring the ball up with Connor Essegian at shooting guard when Hepburn takes a rest.
As a result, McGee has been limited to only eight minutes versus South Dakota and two minutes of action versus Stanford. Isaac Lindsey has also played sparingly at point guard. Lindsey is averaging four minutes per game this year.
With the Badgers heavy favorites, the game against UW-Green Bay should allow Greg Gard to give McGee and Lindsey extended minutes. Both are capable players that will undoubtedly be called on at times this season, but the playing rotation will likely tight up when Big Ten play arrives, making non-conference games like this one especially important for players to earn their roles.
Game notes
- Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard is a perfect 6-0 against UW-Green Bay and actually began his coaching career with the Badgers with an 84-79 win in 2015 versus the Phoenix.
- The Badgers have won the last 11 matchups by an average of 19.6 points per game.
- Greg Gard and UW-Green Bay head coach Will Ryan coached together on Bo Ryan's staff at Wisconsin from 2002-2007.
- Wisconsin sophomore point guard Kamari McGee played for the Phoenix a year ago before transferring to the Badgers in the off-season.
- UW-Green Bay assistant Freddie Owens played in 111 games for Wisconsin and helped UW with back-to-back Big Ten regular season titles in 2002 and 2003.
- Former point guard Bronson Koenig will be the honorary captain for the game. Koenig guided the Badgers to a pair of Final Fours during his career at Wisconsin.
Related links:
- Wisconsin basketball signs three scholarship players on National Signing Day
- Game notes and top plays from Wisconsin vs. South Dakota
- Wisconsin men's basketball unveils new alternate uniforms for the 2022-2023 season
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