Badger men prepare to meet Montana in NCAA hoops tourney

The Wisconsin men’s basketball team is getting a crash course on Montana as it gets ready to play the Grizzlies on Thursday in the NCAA tournament.

Greg Gard, the Badgers associate head coach, says any of Montana’s starters are capable of lighting up the scoreboard.

Junior guard Will Cherry averages 16 points a game. He also averages almost three steals per contest and was named the Big Sky Conference defensive player of the year.

Sophomore guard/forward Kareem Jamar averages 14 points a game. He scored 23 when Montana won the Big Sky tournament last weekend over Weber State.

Junior forward Mathias Ward also had 23 in that game. He averages 11 points per night.

Montana is 25-6 with a 14-game winning streak. Assistant coach Freddie Owens, who played for the Badgers in college, said his Montana team is anxious to show what it can do on the big stage.

Some pundits, including ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb, think Montana will beat the Badgers, who come in at 24-9.

Thursday’s game starts at 1:10 p.m. from Albuquerque, N.M. About 25 minutes later, the Marquette men are scheduled to play either BYU or Iona in Louisville.

WIAC establishes Hall of Fame

The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has named 30 people to its inaugural Hall of Fame class.

The hall is being created as part of the league’s 100th anniversary celebration. The inductees will be honored at a banquet on August 4 in Madison.

The class includes some former pro athletes and coaches who’ve moved on to bigger schools. Former Major League pitcher Jarrod Washburn of UW-Oshkosh is part of the new Hall of Fame, along with NBA player and coach Terry Porter of UW-Stevens Point and former NFL player Clint Kriewaldt of the Pointers.

Wisconsin men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan and UW-Milwaukee men’s coach Rob Jeter were both honored for their years at UW-Platteville.

Former Badger women’s coach Lisa Stone was named for her coaching years at UW-Eau Claire. The class also includes Max Sparger, the WIAC’s commissioner from 1971 through 1993.

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