G'day mates! The Badgers leave on August 12 for a 12-day, 5-game tour of New Zealand and Australia. Here is what you need to know about the team's trip and how to follow along.
HOW TO FOLLOW
The best way to stay in touch with the Badgers on their trip is right here on UWBadgers.com or through the team's social media channels:
Keep checking UWBadgers.com for game highlights, interviews and footage from Down Under.
Information on live/archived video streams will be updated at a later date.
Â
MADISON, Wis. — College is all about learning, and for the Wisconsin men's basketball team that experience will include a little studying abroad this summer. The Badgers will visit New Zealand and Australia from Aug. 12-24 as part of a 12-day, 5-game tour down under.
College basketball teams are allowed to travel internationally during the summer once every four years, and for Wisconsin the 2017 trip marks the team's first since touring Canada in 2013.
That season, the Badgers were faced with replacing most of their starting lineup and breaking in a host of inexperienced players like Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker,
Nigel Hayes and
Bronson Koenig. The Canadian tour served as a springboard for the team's historic run to the 2014 Final Four seven months later.
This season, Wisconsin is in a similar position as it looks to replace four starters from a year ago and integrate six newcomers to the active roster.
"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 said. "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."
WISCONSIN'S INTERNATIONAL SCHEDULE
Aug. 15 (8:00 p.m.) - vs. New Zealand Breakers
Aug. 17 (6:30 p.m.) - vs. Tauranga City Basketball
Aug. 19 (4:00 p.m.) - vs. Hawthorn Magic
Aug. 20 (3:00 p.m.) - vs. Melbourne United
Aug. 22 (7:30 p.m.) - vs. Sydney Kings
Times are local to location
The Badgers' trip will begin in Auckland, New Zealand, with a contest against the New Zealand Breakers on Aug. 15. One familiar face on the Breakers roster is Wisconsin alum Kirk Penney, who starred at UW from 2000-03 and has spent five seasons playing for his hometown Auckland team. Penney enters his 15th professional season in 2017-18.
From there, Wisconsin will travel south to Tauranga, New Zealand, on Aug. 17 to face host Tauranga City Basketball at the Queen Elizabeth Youth Center.
UW will then fly to Australia for the final three games of the trip, beginning in Melbourne against the Hawthorn Magic on Aug. 19. The Badgers will also take on Melbourne United on Aug. 20 before traveling to the nation's largest city to face the Sydney Kings on Aug. 22 at Bankstown Basketball Stadium.Â
"There were really three reasons when New Zealand and Australia emerged as the best option," Gard explained. "When we started researching the trip, we found that the cost was similar or even less in some cases than a trip to Europe. We also thought that from a safety standpoint this trip made a lot of sense. Then lastly, our connection with Kirk Penney and the ability to use his contacts and expertise of the area was a huge advantage. Hopefully we'll get a chance to play against Kirk, but either way, after talking to him, the decision was pretty clear."
Wisconsin's trip down under will also feature many sight-seeing tours and opportunities to experience to local culture. Among other things, the Badgers' itinerary includes a jet boat tour in Auckland, a hangi celebrating the Maori culture, a visit to a working sheep farm, a cruise around Sydney harbor and a trip to the Australian Wildlife Sanctuary.
In addition to the five exhibition games that come with an international trip, the Badgers are also allowed to hold 10 full-team practices throughout the course of the summer in preparation.
Gard and his staff are using the time to introduce their system to the team's four freshmen,
Brad Davison,
Kobe King,
Walt McGrory and Nathan Reuvers, as well as transfer
Trevor Anderson. Wisconsin also adds redshirt freshman
Aleem Ford to the rotation in 2017-18.
"This summer, our newcomers are being exposed to things they normally wouldn't get until October. The opportunity to learn our terminology and our defensive concepts is priceless," Gard added. "With the two hours per week we get with the team, and now 10 additional practices, our guys will spend a lot of time with each other and will have a big head start by the time the season rolls around."
More information regarding how to follow the Badgers on their adventure to Australia and New Zealand will be announced in the coming weeks.
