Wisconsin Tangles with W. Illinois Ahead of Grueling Stretch

Wisconsin men's basketball warms up ahead of matchup with Western Illinois

Wisconsin will be looking to extend its three-game winning streak when it hosts Western Illinois on Monday in Madison before the Badgers enter a gauntlet against ranked opponents.

Wisconsin (4-2) overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to rally past SMU 69-61 on Wednesday in the championship game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Western Illinois (2-4) lost at Illinois 84-52 on Friday.

After Western Illinois, Wisconsin faces No. 4 Marquette, No. 21 Michigan State and No. 3 Arizona in an eight-day span.

After dominating No. 24 Virginia 65-41 in the Fort Myers opener, the Badgers overcame a dismal first half against SMU with strong play down the stretch, pulling away from a 57-57 tie.

After hitting just 1 of their first 19 three-pointers against SMU, the Badgers hit 4 of their last 5. Wisconsin also held a 40-24 edge in points in the paint and was 12-of-13 from the free-throw line. Tyler Wahl had 14 points and the Badgers had four other players in double figures in winning their third straight.

“We’ve got a long ways in front of us, but we have to take what we’ve learned here in these two games and build upon it and continue to push forward,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said after the SMU game.

The Badgers gave up an average of 76.0 points through their first three games this season, but just 56.7 during their three-game winning streak.

Wisconsin has five players scoring in double figures, led by AJ Storr, a sophomore transfer from St. John’s, at 13.3. Steven Crowl leads with 7.3 boards per game.

Western Illinois had three players in double figures against Illinois, led by James Dent Jr. with 20 points. Drew Cisse had a team-high 12 rebounds and eight points.

Dent averages a team-high 17.7 points and Ryan Myers adds 11.5. Cisse averages 10.5 boards and 8.5 points. The Leathernecks average 70.2 points, while allowing 77.3.

“I’m happy with the way they competed,” Western Illinois coach Chad Boudreau said after the loss to Illinois. “One of the big things, I did not want us quitting. Someone is always watching, someone is always paying attention, we’re doing good things and we kept fighting and kept competing.”

Western Illinois is 2-1 vs. Wisconsin all-time. In their last meeting, the Leathernecks stunned a Badgers team coming off back-to-back Final Four appearances 69-67 in the 2015-16 season opener in Madison.

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Seattle and Grand Canyon will be leaving the Western Athletic Conference and moving to the West Coast Conference starting July 2025.
The nine current members of the conference are private universities with a religious affiliation. Seattle is a Jesuit institution, while Grand Canyon, situated in Phoenix, is a Christian college.
Grand Canyon’s basketball achievements were a significant factor in attracting WCC commissioner Stu Jackson. The team has participated in the last two NCAA Tournaments and three of the previous four under the leadership of coach Bryce Drew.
As the 12th-seeded Antelopes defeated fifth-seeded Saint Mary’s before losing to Alabama in the tournament this season.
Saint Mary’s is currently a member of the West Coast Conference.
The WCC, while also integrating Oregon State and Washington State this autumn (excluding football), will expand from 11 to 13 members by the 2025-26 season.
The future beyond 2026 looks uncertain, with Oregon State and Washington State appearing unlikely to continue with the WCC.
The former Pac-12 schools are under a two-year contract, expiring on June 30, 2026. Sources from CBS Sports suggest that the odds of the two Pacific Northwest institutions staying are slim, with a move to the Mountain West or a new conference formation being more probable.
Following the departures of Sam Houston and New Mexico State last year, Seattle and Grand Canyon’s exit from the WAC will reduce the conference’s membership to just eight by July 2025.
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Former guard of Cal State Fullerton Max Jones has made a decision to join Kansas State for his upcoming collegiate season, according to reports.
Notable alternatives that Jones purportedly pondered were New Mexico, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Florida Atlantic, and Loyola Chicago.
During the previous season with the Titans, Jones maintained an average of 15.3 points and 3.0 rebounds across 24 games, in which he started 21. He secured the second-highest scoring position within the team, alongside being the second in 3-pointers with 42 baskets and 41 steals.
In the season prior, Jones held an average of 12.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in 32 games, amassing 34 three-pointers and 30 steals.
Before making his way to Cal State Fullerton post the 2021-22 season, Jones spent two years at Division II Tampa, where he managed to achieve an average of 21.9 points across 21 games during his sophomore year with the Spartans.
In the recent offseason, Kansas State acquired Dug McDaniel, a former player from Michigan recognized as one of the premier point guards available in this year’s transfer portal.
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Tara VanDerveer’s legacy at Stanford will now be visibly acknowledged, with the school revealing on Thursday that the basketball arena’s floor will bear the name of the esteemed Hall of Fame coach.
At the age of 70, VanDerveer stepped down following her 38th season at the helm of the Cardinal.
She steered Stanford to 14 Final Fours and secured three national championships (1990, 1992, 2021). VanDerveer embarked on her coaching journey at Idaho (1978-80) and later coached at Ohio State (1980-85).
In January, she surpassed Mike Krzyzewski to clinch the title of the most successful college basketball coach in history, across both men’s and women’s teams. VanDerveer concluded with a remarkable 1,216-271 record, boasting a 1,064-220 tally with the Cardinal.
Alongside the unveiling of the Tara VanDerveer Court at Maples Pavilion this November, Stanford also established an endowed position in women’s basketball for an assistant coach in VanDerveer’s honor.
VanDerveer said in a statement, “This endowment will go a long way to strengthening the future of Stanford women’s basketball. I have many wonderful memories of leading the women’s basketball program at Maples Pavilion.”
“It’s an honor, and a little surreal, to know that my name will be linked to both in these ways, and I look forward to celebrating with all our fans this fall.”
Last month, Stanford appointed Kate Paye, one of VanDerveer’s longtime assistant coaches who played for the Cardinal from 1991-95 and began coaching under VanDerveer in 2007, as the new head coach.
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