Building the Rivalry: Wisconsin Basketball vs. Rutgers

The hiring of then-Milwaukee head coach Bo Ryan yielded little fanfare outside the city of Madison.

Other than an improbable run to the Final Four in 2000, there had been few bright spots since the Badgers hung their 1947 Big Ten championship banner. Not only were there no Big Ten titles over that 54-year stretch, but Wisconsin also had four times as many losing seasons (32) as top-four finishes in the league (eight). There were just four NCAA tournament appearances, including 47 straight seasons without one.

So, when Dick Bennett abruptly retired in November 2000, he took with him some of the excitement as the Badgers stumbled to a 13-loss season and a first-round upset. Ryan and associate head coach Greg Gard didn’t wait long to change the culture.

Winning back-to-back Big Ten titles in their first two seasons, the Badgers have been dominant in winning 71.1 percent of its games during Ryan’s 14 seasons as head coach and in the last six-plus seasons under Gard (502-204 through Feb.8). UW has won eight Big Ten titles, appeared in 18 of the last 19 NCAA tournaments, and advanced to two Final Fours.

Since Ryan and Gard arrived, Wisconsin has the most Big Ten wins and the best winning percentage in the conference at 251-116 (.684) and has flipped many conference rivalries that had long been one-sided affairs.

Over the course of this Big Ten season, BadgerBlitz will examine Wisconsin’s series with the 13 other conference teams, what it was before Ryan and Gard arrived, what the series looks like now, and some memorable moments along the way.

Today, we look at Wisconsin’s series with Rutgers.

RELATED: Iowa | Maryland | Ohio State | Northwestern | Michigan State | Nebraska | Illinois | Penn State |

Pre 2001-02: Wisconsin led 3-0

Since 2001-02: Wisconsin leads 6-3

Ryan’s Record vs. Rutgers: 2-1* (1-1 in Piscataway, N.J., 0-0 neutral)

Gard’s Record vs. Rutgers: 6-2 (1-2 in Piscataway, 1-0 neutral)

Record when both teams were ranked: Ryan 0-0; Gard 0-0

When Wisconsin was ranked, Rutgers was not: Ryan 2-1, Gard 4-0

When Rutgers was ranked, Wisconsin was not: Ryan 0-0, Gard 0-0

When both teams were unranked: Ryan 0-0, Gard 2-2

*-Wisconsin won a home-and-home series when the Scarlet Knights were in the Big East

The 1949-50 season was a solid campaign for Bud Foster’s Badgers. Wisconsin finished 17-5 overall and in second place in the Big Ten with a 9-3 record. UW played only two true nonconference road games that season but played Rutgers in Iowa City in a late December neutral site matchup that was not a part of any holiday tournament. Playing in the Iowa Field House, UW cruised to a 68-55 victory.

Under Ryan: UW’s home-and-home series against Rutgers was non-descript. The Badgers forced 23 turnovers in a 55-43 home win in 2003 and Mike Wilkinson scored a career-high 26 points in an eight-point road win a year later. The two schools didn’t meet again until 2015. The Badgers were ranked fourth in the country when they travel back to New Jersey in the first meeting between the two schools in Big Ten play.

Most people were more focused on the Packers’ home playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys than the fourth-ranked Badgers played a bad Rutgers team, but UW didn’t have national player of the year Frank Kaminsky (concussion) for the game and lost point guard Traevon Jackson (foot) in the game. Kaminsky’s absence around the rim helped Rutgers shoot almost 67 percent in the second half and no Jackson saw the Badgers go 5-for-19 from 3-point range in a surprising 67-62 upset.

It's one of the ugliest losses in UW’s history, considering Rutgers lost its next 15 games to end the season 10-22. The defeat ultimately didn’t hurt the Badgers, who swept the Big Ten titles and advanced to the national title game.

Under Gard: Gard’s first Big Ten victory as a head coach was against the Scarlet Knights in 2016, and his team won its first three contests in the series and all four home games. Strangely, the Badgers have continued to struggle at the Rutgers Athletic Center. UW lost, 64-60, in 2018 to a Rutgers team that finished last in the conference (3-15) and on its next visit in December 2019, at the time marking its fifth straight road/neutral loss to open the season.

The Badgers did recover just shy of three months later with a 79-71 home victory, one of eight straight victories to close the season that propelled them to a share of the conference title.

Last season, UW finally got a road conference victory in the series. Despite shooting 35.2 percent, finishing minus-15 on the glass, and giving up 42 points in the paint and 20 offensive rebounds, the Badgers put four players in double figures in a 60-54 win.

Overall, Ryan/Gard went 2-0 against Gary Waters, 1-1 against Eddie Jordan, and 5-2 against Steve Pikiell.

Gard on how Rutgers has changed under current head coach Steve Pikiell

“Steve has done a terrific job there in a short time. He started by convincing them and getting them to believe in how hard they have to play. Now he’s added talent. They play physical, they get on the glass, and they understand how hard they have to play."

In the last six meetings between the two schools, the average margin of victory has been 6.2 points.

No.15 Wisconsin was selected to participate in the Big Ten’s Super Saturday promotion, a conference basketball and hockey doubleheader in Madison Square Garden, in January 2017. In ‘the world’s most famous arena,’ Ethan Happ shined the brightest.

Happ scored 32 points – including seven of his career-high total in overtime – to lead the Badgers to a 61-54 victory.

“It's always special to play in MSG but once you get going it turns into a basketball game,” the sophomore forward said. “But when you get a curtain call in Madison Square Garden you're not going to turn it down.”

Happ was the only player for the Badgers (18-3, 7-1 Big Ten) to shoot above 50 percent, and the team finished at 33.3 percent for the game (20 for 60), including 3 for 25 from 3-point range. Happ was 12 for 18. He scored eight of Wisconsin’s points in the 13-4 rally to close regulation, including the basket that tied it at 45 with 2 seconds left.

“No one could throw it in the ocean for most of the game,” Wisconsin guard Bronson Koenig said. “But we keep battling when things aren't going our way. We get in the post to Ethan and he's a great player and made the right reads.”

Rutgers finished with a 44-41 rebound advantage but the Scarlet Knights committed 19 turnovers that turned into 17 points for the Badgers.

“We had to find other ways to win besides scoring,” Gard said. “The maturity of this group was evident. They didn't panic in the huddles. Credit our guys for the way they gutted it out defensively.”

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