UW hosts EKU in final game before break
December 13, 2013 | Men's Basketball
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Dec. 16 - 22
Up Next: UW hosts EKU in final game before break
Winners of 11 straight and nation’s longest active winning streak, the Badgers play their final game before a 14-day break for final exams on campus and the holidays by hosting Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, Dec. 14, at Noon on ESPN3.
Following a 14-day break, UW will close the non-conference portion of its schedule by hosting Prairie View A&M on Saturday, Dec. 28 at 1 p.m. on ESPNU.
| Game 12 | Eastern Kentucky (7-3) at #4/6 Wisconsin (11-0) | |
| Date | Saturday, Dec. 14 | Noon (CT) |
| Location | Madison, Wis. | Kohl Center (17,249) |
| TV | ESPN3 (Kevin Lehman & Wayne Randazzo) | ESPN3.com  |
| Radio | Badger Radio Network | Listen Live  |
| Live Coverage | Live Stats | Gameday Live | @BadgerMBB  |
| Game Notes | Wisconsin  |
KEY NOTES TO CONSIDER
1 GOOD START: At 11-0, UW has equaled its best start in the modern era (since 1946), matching the 1993-94 season. Ranked No. 4, this is just the 2nd-ever season in which UW has climbed into the AP top 5 (the 2006-07 team reached No. 1).
2 STRONG RESUME: The Badgers are the first team in the nation to reach 11 wins and have gone 11-0 against teams with a combined record of 64-27 (.703) in all other games. UW already owns 5 wins over the ESPN.com RPI top 50 and 9 wins over the RPI top 100. No other team has won more than 3 RPI top-50 wins (page 3).
3 MR. 300: With the win at Virginia, Bo Ryan became the 9th coach to win 300 games at a Big Ten school. His .727 win percentage is 2nd to only Bobby Knight (.734) among those nine.
4 BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY: UW has proven it can win in any style this season, topping 80 points in three games and grinding out a defensive battle at Virginia. The Badgers’ scoring average (73.6 ppg) is up 8.6 ppg from last season, while the 38 points allowed at UVA were UW’s fewest given up in a road game since 1957.
5 DOUBLE-DEKKER: Sophomore Sam Dekker has posted a double-double in 2 of his last 4 contests including a team-high 20 points and 10 rebounds in last Saturday’s win over Marquette. A preseason Top-50 candidate for both the Wooden and Naismith Player of the Year awards, Dekker is averaging 14.2 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds.
6 BREAK OUT SEASON FOR KAMINSKY?: Junior Frank Kaminsky is one just 6 players ranked among the top 16 of the Big Ten’s scoring and rebounding lists (Dekker is also), leading UW with 14.7 ppg and 5.7 rpg. Kaminsky is the owner of the highest single-game scoring effort in Div. I this season with 43 points in a win over North Dakota.
7 BALANCING ACT: All five of UW’s starters have led the team in scoring in at least one game this season and the Badgers are the only team in the Big Ten to have 5 players averaging 9.7 ppg or more.
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ALL-TIME VS. EASTERN KENTUCKY
• Wisconsin and Eastern Kentucky will meet for the 2nd time Saturday, a rematch of a double-overtime thriller at the 2005 Paradise Jam Tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• The Badgers are 11-1 all-time against members of the Ohio Valley Conference. The most recent meeting was a 72-58 win over Belmont in the opening game of the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
BEST RESUME IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The Badgers are off to one of their best starts in program history. See for yourself:
• UW is 11-0 for the first time in 20 years, equaling the best start in the modern era (since 1943).
• UW is the first Div. I team to reach 11 wins.
• UW owns the nation’s longest winning streak at 11 games.
• UW is ranked No. 4 in the AP poll, No. 6 in the coaches poll and No. 2 in the ESPN RPI rankings.
• UW has played the 19th-toughest schedule in the nation according to ESPN’s RPI.
• UW’s 11 opponents are a combined 64-27 (.703) in the games not against the Badgers.
• UW is 5-0 against the RPI top 50. No other team has more than 3 wins.
• UW is 9-0 against the RPI top 100. No other team even played more than 6 games vs. the top 100.
• UW has 5 road/neutral wins, trailing only Milwaukee (6) and Harvard (6) for most in the nation.
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NOTES FROM UW'S LAST GAME:
#4 WIS 78, UWM 52 - 12/11/13 - Kohl Center
• Wisconsin completed a sweep of its three in-state foes, defeating Milwaukee, 78-52, Wednesday night at the Kohl Center. The win also moved UW to 11-0, equaling the best start in the school’s modern-era history.
• The Badgers shot 9-for-13 (.692) from 3-point range in the first half, the highest first-half percentage in the Big Ten this season. The Badgers finished 10-for-26 from outside the arc, their 5th game with at least 10 triples this season.
• UW shot 50.8% from the field, the third time the Badgers have shot better than 50% this season.
• The Badgers forced Milwaukee into 19 turnovers (taylling a season-high 12 steals), the most for a UW opponent on the year, while coughing it up just 8 times themselves.
• Wisconsin had 4 players score in double figures for the 7th time in 11 games, led by 18 from Ben Brust, 16 by Frank Kaminsky and 12 each from Sam Dekker and Traevon Jackson.
POLL CLIMBING
• With a perfect 11-0 start, the Badgers have climbed to No. 4 in the AP Top 25 and No. 6 in the coaches poll.
• This marks UW’s highest AP ranking since a 12-week stretch in the top 4 from Dec. 18, 2006 to March 5, 2007. That included a stop at No. 1 on Feb. 19, 2007.
• This is just the second-ever season UW has appeared in the AP top 5. It is the 13th week in the top 5, with the other 12 all coming in 2006-07.
RYAN RISES TO 300 LEVEL
• With the win at Virginia, Bo Ryan won his 300th game at Wisconsin, becoming just the 9th coach to reach that plateau at a Big Ten school.
• Among the 9 coaches with 300 wins, Ryan’s .728 win percentage trails only Indiana’s Bobby Knight (.734).
Big Ten's 300-Win Club (with Big Ten school)
| Head Coach | Wins | Losses | Pct. | |
| 1 | Bobby Knight (IND) | 661 | 240 | .734 |
| 2 | Gene Keady (PUR) | 512 | 270 | .655 |
| 3 | Tom Izzo (MSU)* | 446 | 179 | .714 |
| 4 | Lou Henson (ILL) | 423 | 224 | .654 |
| 5 | Ward Lambert (PUR) | 371 | 152 | .709 |
| 6 | Branch McCracken | 364 | 174 | .677 |
| 7 | Jud Heathcote (MSU) | 340 | 220 | .607 |
| 8 | Harry Combes (ILL) | 316 | 150 | .678 |
| 9 | Bo Ryan (WIS)* | 302 | 113 | .728 |
| *active |
• Ryan is one of just 8 active coaches at a major conference school to earn 300 wins with his current team joining Jim Boeheim (929), Mike Krzyzewski (891), Tom Izzo (446), Billy Donovan (421), Rick Barnes (366), Rick Pitino (318) and Bill Self (306).
