Sunday afternoon Wisconsin held its annual Red vs. White Scrimmage at the Kohl Center, giving fans their first look at a team that will look far different from the one that made two consecutive Final Four appearances (runners-up last season). Frank Kaminsky, Josh Gasser, Sam Dekker and Traevon Jackson have all moved on, leaving juniors Bronson Koenig and Nigel Hayes as the leaders for Bo Ryan’s 2015-16 squad.
It would be Hayes who provided the end of game heroics Sunday, as his contested step-back three from the left corner in the final seconds gave the Red team a 47-45 victory over the White. They had a little help down the stretch too, as a dubious technical foul was assessed to make it a one-possession affair ahead of Hayes’ game-winner.
Zak Showalter led the winning team with 11 points and two assists, with freshman Andy Van Vliet chipping in with eight points, nine rebounds and four blocks in his Kohl Center debut. Koenig paced the White team with a game-high 14 points to go along with three rebounds and three assists, and redshirt freshman Ethan Happ chipped in with eight points and eight rebounds.
Wisconsin, which has finished no worse than tied for fourth in the Big Ten since Ryan took over as head coach, opens its regular season November 13 against Western Illinois. Above are highlights from the scrimmage, along with Ryan’s explanation of the technical foul, courtesy of Wisconsin Athletics.