The bar for entry to this year's NBA Draft Combine was a high one. A few names that stood out to scouts as players they'd expected to get invites but didn't: Wisconsin's Ethan Happ, BYU's Yoeli Childs and Hofstra's Justin Wright-Forman. The Combine takes place in Chicago this month after the NBA Lottery.
Payton Pritchard scored 19 points, Kenny Wooten protected the rim with four blocks and 12th-seeded Oregon extended its surprising March run by beating No. 5 seed Wisconsin 72-54 Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Wisconsin star Ethan Happ, a 2nd-team All-American, closed out his college career with an underwhelming finale in the loss to Oregon. Happ finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds — both below his season averages of 17.5 and 10.1, respectively — and also had five turnovers and had his shot blocked three times. He also finished the night with a game-worst -22 plus-minus rating. Without him playing at his best, the Badgers simply didn't have enough to counter Oregon's diversified attack.
Oregon, which *had* to win the Pac-12 tournament to earn its NCAA tournament bid, has looked like one of the nation's best teams in the last month. The Ducks have now won nine straight games, outscoring their opponents by nearly 18 points a game and holding them to 34.6 shooting. Their first-round win over Wisconsin pretty much followed that same script — with an 18-point victory and the Badgers shooting only 32.2 percent.
The unquestioned star of the second half for Oregon has been sophomore forward Kenny Wooten, who has three dunks in the second half and a block of Wisconsin star Ethan Happ — followed by a little trash talk — that finally made Ducks fans get loud here in the SAP Center. Wooten's high-wire act has easily been the most entertaining thing about an otherwise low-wattage affair.
As predicted, Oregon and Wisconsin are struggling to score in their first-round matchup here in San Jose. The Ducks are shooting 40.7 percent from the floor (22.2 from 3) while the Badgers are doing even worse at 37.5 percent (18.2 from 3). The only player who's shown any semblance of offensive explosiveness so far is Oregon guard Payton Pritchard, who's scored 12 points and continuing the kind of play that earned him Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Meanwhile, Wisconsin's Ethan Happ — a second-team All-American who averages 17.5 points and 10.1 rebounds — has only 4 points and 3 rebounds at the half.
Had a brief tussle over a loose ball at mid court between Oregon's Ehab Amin and Wisconsin's Will Richardson that had to be separated by the refs. It ended up being Wisconsin's ball but Amin gave it a good fight. Pretty much symptomatic of a game fought more between the tackles than the baselines, so far.
The Blue Devils are a great team, but they're also overvalued. We take a look at the picks that offer much better value in this year's tournament.
ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi's team of bracketologists examines the 2019 NCAA tournament outlook for the Wisconsin Badgers.
Cassius Winston scored 21 points and Kenny Goins keyed Michigan State's fast start, helping the sixth-ranked Spartans beat No. 19 Wisconsin 67-55 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals on Saturday.
Nate Reuvers scored 14 points, D'Mitrik Trice hit a clutch 3-pointer with 58 seconds left and No. 19 Wisconsin beat pesky Nebraska 66-62 on Friday to advance to the Big Ten tournament semifinals.
Khalil Iverson had a career-high 22 points and 14 rebounds as No. 21 Wisconsin survived Ohio State's second-half rally and won 73-67 in overtime on Sunday.
Which of the top 16 teams can make a Champ Week, bracket-improving move?
Ethan Happ had 21 points and 14 rebounds in his final home game to help No. 21 Wisconsin beat Iowa 65-45 on Thursday night.
Brevin Pritzl scored 17 points on 5-for-5 shooting, helping No. 19 Wisconsin beat Penn State 61-57 on Saturday.
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 16-4 | - | 32-7 |
| Purdue | 16-4 | - | 26-10 |
| Michigan | 15-5 | 1 | 30-7 |
| Wisconsin | 14-6 | 2 | 23-11 |
| Maryland | 13-7 | 3 | 23-11 |
| Iowa | 10-10 | 6 | 23-12 |
| Minnesota | 9-11 | 7 | 22-14 |
| Ohio State | 8-12 | 8 | 20-15 |
| Indiana | 8-12 | 8 | 19-16 |
| Rutgers | 7-13 | 9 | 14-17 |
| Penn State | 7-13 | 9 | 14-18 |
| Illinois | 7-13 | 9 | 12-21 |
| Nebraska | 6-14 | 10 | 19-17 |
| Northwestern | 4-16 | 12 | 13-19 |
| AP | COACHES |
|---|---|
| 21 | 24 |
| NAME | POS | STATUS | GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler Wahl | SF | Signed | - |
| Final Fours | 4 |
| Tournament Record | 38-22 |
| Championship Seasons | 1941 |
| Tournament Appearances | 23 |
