During a 16-game winning streak last season, the closest margin of victory for the Wisconsin men’s basketball came less than 140 miles away against the Green Bay Phoenix.
Led by senior guard Keifer Sykes, the Phoenix put up a tough fight against the then No. 20 Wisconsin, but thanks to 14 second-half points from Frank Kaminsky, the Badgers ultimately came away from the Resch Center with a 69-66 win.
But as the teams are set to square off for the 16th straight season Wednesday, that game just more than a year ago in Green Bay is one that still sticks out in several of the UW player’s minds.
“Green Bay’s a good program,” Wisconsin junior forward Sam Dekker said. “They almost knocked us off last year. … They knocked us off before I got here but we’re still reminded of that. They always play us pretty tough and pretty well so they’re not a team you can look down upon because they’re a team that can knock anyone off at any time.”
Sykes led the Phoenix in scoring and torched the Badgers for 32 points last season in Green Bay. Earlier this week he was one of 50 players to be named to the Wooden Award – given annually to the nation’s top player – Preseason Top 50 along with Dekker and Kaminsky.
Much like Wisconsin, Green Bay is returning the majority of their team that won the Horizon League Championship last season. Wisconsin redshirt senior guard Josh Gasser knows they’ll be in for a tough non-conference test come Wednesday.
“It’s going to be a battle,” Gasser said. “It will be no different this year. They got Sykes returning who dropped 30-some [points] on us last season and he’s only gotten better. So they got their core group back for the most part, as do we, so I’m expecting another grind it out, great game.”
Entering their second week ranked No. 3 in the AP poll, the Badgers (2-0) are coming off two wins this past weekend to open up their season. Last Friday, Wisconsin took care of Northern Kentucky before disposing of Chattanooga Sunday afternoon.
Wednesday the Badgers will be aided by the return of redshirt senior forward Duje Dukan who will be back after missing the first two games of the regular season due to a NCAA ruling on his eligibility. Dukan will add depth to the UW frontcourt as he will likely be the first or second guy off the bench this season.
Dukan’s forced absence was one that was met with much criticism by his teammates, prompting the “Free Duje” hashtag to make its rounds. Now that he’s back, Dukan’s teammates are anxiously awaiting his return to the court as he can provide yet another threat for this already talented Wisconsin team.
“It’s huge for us,” Gasser said of Dukan’s return. “I mean, Duje’s an incredible player. It just gives us another scoring option that we already have. He’s been waiting for his time so long in his career – freshman, sophomore, his redshirt year – so he was really excited about his senior year, and now I think he’s even more excited to get back at it.”
But as one can imagine, Dukan is the one that is most excited to return to the court. He’s more than ready to ditch the three-piece suit for the cardinal and white of a Wisconsin jersey.
“I can’t wait,” Dukan said. “Can’t even put it into words how excited I am to put the jersey back on and get ready to get out with the guys on Wednesday.”
Wisconsin is a perfect 16-0 against the Phoenix in Madison and own a 19-1 overall record against their in-state rival. The Badgers haven’t had much trouble against other Horizon League teams, posting a 60-3 mark against the conference overall.
Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. Wednesday night from the Kohl Center. The game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
