The 2015–16 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was Bo Ryan's 15th season as head coach at Wisconsin, before he resigned 12 games into the season. On December 15, 2015, Ryan announced he would retire effective immediately leaving associate head coach Greg Gard as interim head coach. The team played their home games at the Kohl Center and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 22–13, 12–6 in Big Ten play to finish in a four-way tie for third place in conference. Shortly after the regular season, Greg Gard had the interim tag removed as he was announced as the permanent head coach. The Badgers were upset by Nebraska in the second round of the Big Ten tournament. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, their 18th straight appearance in the Tournament. They defeated Pittsburgh and Xavier to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the third consecutive year. In the Sweet Sixteen, they lost to Notre Dame.
Previous season The Badgers finished the 2014–15 season with a record of 36–4, 16–2 in Big Ten play to win the Big Ten regular season championship. They defeated Michigan, Purdue, and Michigan State to win the Big Ten tournament and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. This marked the Badgers' 17th straight trip to the Tournament. In the Tournament, they defeated Coastal Carolina and Oregon to advance to their second straight Sweet Sixteen. They defeated North Carolina and Arizona to reach the school's fourth Final Four. By upsetting unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Kentucky 71–64 in the Final Four in Indianapolis, the Badgers moved on to play Duke in the National Championship Game, going for their first title in 74 years. However, Wisconsin lost the game 68–63.
Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes 12 G 207 Westerville, OH Graduated/Signed by Washington Wizards 13 F 218 Deerfield, IL Graduated/Signed by Sacramento Kings 15 F 230 Sheboygan, WI Declared for NBA draft/Drafted 18th overall by Houston Rockets 21 G 192 Port Washington, WI Graduated/Signed by Brooklyn Nets Riley Dearring 35 G 181 Minnetonka, MN Transferred (midseason)44F242Lisle, ILGraduated/Drafted 9th overall by Charlotte Hornets
2015 commitments
Roster
Season news
The first major news of the 2015–16 season came on June 29, 2015, when head coach Bo Ryan announced he would retire at the end of the season. However, on August 13, he backed away from his previous announcement, telling reporters that he would make a final decision by the end of 2015.
On December 15, 2015, following a win over Texas A&M Corpus Christi in Madison, Ryan announced he would be retiring effective immediately. Assistant Coach Greg Gard was named as interim head coach.
Schedule and results Source
!colspan=12 style="background:#cc1122; color:#ffffff;"| Exhibition
!colspan=12 style="background:#cc1122; color:#ffffff;"| Non-conference regular season
!colspan=12 style="background:#cc1122; color:#ffffff;"| Big Ten regular season
!colspan=12 style="background:#cc1122; color:#ffffff;"|Big Ten tournament
!colspan=9 style="background:#cc1122; color:white;"| NCAA tournament
Rankings
Player statistics +Individual player statisticsMinutesScoringTotal FGs3-point FGsFree-ThrowsReboundsPlayerGPGSTotAvgPtsAvgFGFGAPct3FG3FAPctFTFTAPctOffDefTotAvgATOBlkStlBax, Jackson3020.700.000.00000.00000.0000000.00000Brown, Vitto353588825.43409.7130292.4453895.4004255.764601141745.029401919Dearring, Riley3062.020.702.00002.000221.0000220.70200Decorah, Will4030.800.001.00000.00000.0001010.30100Happ, Ethan353598228.143412.4163303.53800.000108168.643881902787.944763263Hayes, Nigel3535126736.255115.7161438.36839133.293190258.736691352055.8104791439Hill, Jordan30146715.6872.93387.3791751.33346.6671428421.4241919Illikainen, Alex3303249.8712.22663.413928.3211015.6671633491.5131136Iverson, Khalil34044313.0872.63370.471212.1671936.5282439631.921312012Koenig, Bronson3535122234.945913.1151385.39283213.3907497.7631384972.88452614Moesch, Aaron160483.040.312.50000.000221.0002350.31102Pritzl, Brevin1044.000.000.00000.00000.0000000.00100Schlundt, T.J.5040.800.000.00000.00000.0000000.01000Showalter, Zak3535109931.42627.590198.45537107.3464556.804261081343.87648736Smith, Jordan8091.140.513.33300.00023.6671120.30110Thomas, Charlie3102829.1722.32773.370415.2671430.4672142632.035115Team63511143.219Total357050237367.88161917.426229656.349512728.703398830122835.1400386114205Opponents357050223363.87941862.426201539.373444626.709318803112132.0371419116190 Legend GP Games played GS Games started Avg Average per game FG Field-goals made FGA Field-goal attempts Off Offensive rebounds Def Defensive rebounds A Assists TO Turnovers Blk Blocks Stl Steals High Team high
Season highs PlayerGameDatePoints32Nigel Hayesvs. Milwaukee December 9, 2015Rebounds16Vitto Brownvs. Texas A&M–Corpus Christi December 15, 2015Assists7Nigel Hayesvs. North Dakota November 17, 2015Nigel Hayesvs. Prairie View A&M November 25, 2015Zak Showalterat Northwestern January 12, 2016Steals6Ethan Happvs. Illinois February 21, 2016Blocks3Khalil Iversonvs. Western Illinois November 13, 2015Ethan Happat Syracuse December 2, 2015Ethan Happvs. Milwaukee December 9, 2015Ethan Happvs. Texas A&M–Corpus Christi December 15, 2015Vitto Brownvs. Green Bay December 23, 2015Khalil Iversonvs. Xavier March 20, 2016
See also 2015–16 Wisconsin Badgers women's basketball team
References