The Badgers have their final non-conference game of the season on Sunday.
The Wisconsin Badgers return from finals week to take on the Detroit Mercy Titans at the Kohl Center on Saturday, December 22nd at 1:00 P.M. CT.
The Badgers got back into the win column with a critical 83-74 win over Butler at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Nolan Winter continued his improvement in his second year as a Badger, as the sophomore forward scored a career-high 20 points in the win. Winter’s front-court teammate, Steven Crowl, answered Greg Gard’s challenge to be more aggressive and finished with 18 points and six rebounds.
What should Badger fans know about Detroit Mercy?
Opponent Preview
Former Northern Illinois head coach and Michigan State assistant Mark Montgomery is in his first season as the Titans’ head men’s basketball coach, and he enters Saturday’s game with a 5-8 record. It’s an improvement, if you want to call it that, from a 1-31 season last year that led to Mike Davis and the school parting ways.
The Titans ranked 318th in KenPom, are also short-handed due to injury.
Detroit Mercy has announced that it will be without three starters as senior Mak Manciel and junior Jared Lary will miss the rest of the season and graduate senior Emmanuel Kuac is out indefinitely. #DetroitsCollegeTeam ⚔️
https://t.co/S2zo2YtVqH pic.twitter.com/iMvqVzt9hD
— Detroit Mercy Men’s Basketball (@DetroitMercyMBB) December 12, 2024
Eastern Michigan transfer guard Orlando Lovejoy has been the Titans’ catalyst this season. Lovejoy leads the team in four categories: points (13.7), rebounds (4.4), assists (4.4), and steals (1.9). He will undoubtedly earn Horizon League conference honors if he keeps this up.
Next to Lovejoy are guards Nate Johnson and Grant Gondrezick II. Johnson, a true freshman, has started in 12 of the Titans’ 13 games this season and averages 7.2 PPG. Gondrezick II comes to Detroit Mercy as a transfer from Elon University and earned a starting spot after his 22-point outing in Detroit Mercy’s 98-89 overtime win at Eastern Michigan on November 30th.
At forward, Legend Getter, another Eastern Michigan transfer who started the last five games, leads the team in three-point percentage at 54.5%. His 22-point performance, including a game-winning three-pointer, gave the Titans their first Horizon League win of the season at home against Purdue-Fort Wayne. Finally, 6’ 10 forward Miles Mitchell has started the last two games for the Titans. Through thirteen games, Mitchell averages a mere 2.7 PPG and 3.6 RPG.
Score Prediction
There will be some rust and a lack of attentiveness in the early part of this game. After all, Wisconsin students are coming off finals week. That said, Detroit Mercy is an outmatched opponent against Wisconsin, especially with three Titan starters injured. There’s a reason ESPN analytics gave the Badgers a 99% chance of winning this game.
Prediction: Wisconsin 92-61.