MADISON, Wis. – Using the metrics, Wisconsin basketball's home game against Morgan State was slated to be the Badgers’ easiest contest since the opening week of the season, an early Christmas gift for the program to fine-tune chemistry and rotations.

Instead, the Badgers have booked themselves another tough mid-major opponent in George Mason for tomorrow night at the Kohl Center (6 p.m./Big Ten Network).

“We didn’t have to do any educational instruction on location or who they were when we brought that to the team (Wednesday),” head coach Greg Gard said. “They know it’s going to be a heck of a challenge for us.”

Much like last season when No.24 Wisconsin (9-2) had to scramble to rearrange its schedule because of COVID complications, the virus has again wreaked havoc on the college basketball landscape with postponements and cancelations rapidly piling up.

When Morgan State informed UW that they wouldn’t be able to travel to play because of a COVID outbreak within their program, Gard, his assistants, and the Wisconsin support staff took to the phones, internet, and even Twitter to evaluate options.

“It’s been literally every 15 minutes over the last two days refreshing Twitter,” Gard said. “If Twitter does have a positive, that was one benefit of it.”

There were many scenarios and potential dates that were considered. Wisconsin looked at making up the canceled nonconference game on New Year’s Eve, but that wasn’t ideal considering the Badgers are scheduled to travel to No.3 Purdue on January 3. That would mean UW would be playing three games in six days after going two weeks between its last game (Dec.15) and its next scheduled one (Dec.29).

“Going into Big Ten play, that’s not something we were really too fond of,” Gard said.

UW also looked at local teams or the opponents of local teams who would be willing to piggyback their trip with a game at the Kohl Center. Another problem Wisconsin ran into was that teams were sending its players home for the holiday break, causing staffs to be reluctant about organizing their return or potentially causing an outbreak.

George Mason (7-5) became a team on Wisconsin’s radar after the Patriots had their Thursday home game against Coppin State canceled because of COVID protocols within the Eagles’ program. The Patriots played Tuesday, registering a 67-44 victory over American.

The two programs agreed verbally earlier in the week and signed the contract late Tuesday.

“When we stepped back, it made sense that we need to play (this week),” Gard said. “To have a quality team like this is a bonus.”

Rated No.126 in KenPom’s rankings (191 spots higher than Morgan State), the Patriots have four players averaging at least 10 points per game and are 2-1 in true road games, highlighted by victories over No.20 Maryland and Georgia and a three-point loss to James Madison.

In the victory over the Terrapins, George Mason was led by a pair of graduate students in D'Shawn Schwartz and Devon Cooper. Schwartz had 24 points, went 6-for-10 from 3-point range, recorded nine rebounds, and three assists. Cooper finished with 16 points, five assists, and two steals.

In the victory at Georgia on December 18, the Patriots shot 51.9 percent from the floor, 42.3 percent from 3-point range, and had 23 assists on 28 made baskets, The Bulldogs shot just 33.9 percent, were outscored by 10 (32-22) in the paint, and only forced nine turnovers.

Morgan State is 0-6 away from home, including a 90-53 loss at George Mason on November 14.

“I don’t see any easy ones coming in the Big Ten and this will be another one to get us ready,” Gard said. “We learn from it, regardless of what the outcome is. They are going to challenge us in a lot of ways, and I think they do some good things defensively.”

The good news for Gard is that Wisconsin is fully healthy for the first time since the beginning of the season, having dealt with various injuries and the flu. The latter took out sophomore guard Johnny Davis last week, the team’s leader in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. UW is 1-1 without Davis, who missed the Badgers’ loss to Providence in mid-November.

After taking Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday off due to finals, Gard said he had a full roster available to him the last two days.

“It was crowded at practice,” Gard said. “I had to take attendance because I couldn’t believe they were all here.”

The quick turnaround has limited the game prep, as Wisconsin cobbled together parts of a game plan on Tuesday’s practice and expanded it Wednesday. However, Gard warned that the staff is guarding against “over thinking” things with such a short window.

“It’s basketball,” he said. “We’re going to have to do what we do well. They do some things really well, specifically shoot it from three. They have really good players and experienced players. The preparation is one thing, but you’re not going to reinvent the wheel. You’re going to try and stay true to what you’re about and try to minimize some things they do well.

“Our guys want to play. It was unanimous. They want to play good teams and they want to be challenged. They’re going to have that tomorrow night.”

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