Wisconsin Basketball: Role Players Fueling Badgers Win Streak

The Wisconsin basketball team is getting production from all over the rotation

Following a 63-55 win over the Illinois Fighting Illini Sunday night on the road, the Wisconsin basketball team earned its fourth consecutive win and moved above .500 at 5-4 in Big Ten Conference play. That four game win streak wouldn’t have been possible with out several role players stepping into the spotlight and playing tough minutes for Wisconsin.

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The Badgers have certainly gotten production out of their stars. Nigel Hayes has scored a combined 98 points in those four victories (24.5 per game) and Ethan Happ is averaging 13.7 points in that same stretch despite scoring just six against Illinois. Even Bronson Koenig, who has struggled as of late after a 27-point night in the Badgers win over Michigan State, rebounded to score in double digits against the Illini.

The play of that trio has been held together by the likes of Jordan Hill, Alex Illikainen and Khalil Iverson in the past four games. Even Aaron Moesch is starting to see his playing time rise.

Wisconsin Badgers /

Wisconsin Badgers

Against Michigan State, Illikainen played nearly 20 minutes, and though he didn’t score a point, his size was needed. He turned around the Badgers next time out against Penn state and scored nine points in 26 minutes in one of his best performances of the season on the way to a Badgers 6-point victory.

Likewise, Hill, who didn’t score against either Michigan State or Penn State, became the third scoring option in Wisconsin’s three-point win over Indiana. Behind a combined 56 points from Hayes and Happ, Hill scored a career-high 13 points as Zak Showalter played just 20 minutes with foul trouble and Koenig struggled mightily all game. Hill came up big on the defensive end as well.

In the Badgers most recent win, the 8-point victory over Illinois, we saw Iverson’s coming out party, a career-high 10-point performance in 30 minutes of play. Iverson punctuated that performance with several athletic plays, and proved why many expect him to be among the most exciting players in the current freshman class.

The rise of these role players is a sign of good things to come for the Badgers. Wisconsin lost many close games early this season, and in those games the Badgers barely went to the bench. In back-to-back losses to Milwaukee and Marquette in the non-conference schedule, bench players played a combined 20 minutes or less in each game.