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Wisconsin Basketball: Badgers to take summer trip to Australia, New Zealand

By Trevor Jossart

BUFFALO, NY - MARCH 16: Bucky Badger, the Wisconsin Badgers mascot, performs in the first half against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at KeyBank Center on March 16, 2017 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - MARCH 16: Bucky Badger, the Wisconsin Badgers mascot, performs in the first half against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at KeyBank Center on March 16, 2017 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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The Wisconsin Badgers announced they will travel overseas this summer.

On Monday, the University of Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball program announced they will be heading “Down Under” this summer, booking a trip overseas to Australia and New Zealand.

According to the NCAA, college basketball teams are allowed to travel internationally during the summer every four years, and fortunately for the Badgers basketball team, the year 2017 marks four years since the program last traveled out of the United States, when they visited Canada back in 2013.

During that trip in 2013, it was sought out to be a rebuilding year for the Badgers as they were faced with many newcomers and lost a lot of veteran talent the year before. Of course, all know what happened the following year in 2014: The Badgers made it to their first of two Final Fours in the next two-year window.

Hopefully this year can be the beginning of the same for the young Badgers, who saw the likes of Zak Showalter, Nigel Hayes, Bronson Koenig, and Vitto Brown depart from the program after four successful years.

“With such an influx of newcomers on the roster this year, this is really an ideal time for a trip like this,” head coach Greg Gard told UW Badgers. “The experience we’ll gain is invaluable. The extra practices and travel experiences can expedite team bonding and chemistry and then obviously the games will give our guys a great chance to get their feet wet.”

Also according to the post by UW Badgers is the team’s international schedule that they will endure.

From UW Badgers:

WISCONSIN’S INTERNATIONAL SCHEDULE
Aug. 15 – vs. New Zealand Breakers
Aug. 17 – vs. Tauranga City Basketball
Aug. 19 – vs. Hawthorne
Aug. 20 – vs. Melbourne United
Aug. 22 – vs. Sydney Kings

Their first game on August 15 against the New Zealand Breakers will feature a matchup against former Wisconsin player Kirk Penney. This will be Penney’s 15th season playing professional basketball.

Visit the UW Badgers post to learn more about the upcoming trip. More details are to follow.

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