1993–94 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team

The 1993–94 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1993–94 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Head coach Stu Jackson completed his second and final season coaching the Badgers. The team played its home games in Madison, Wisconsin at the Wisconsin Field House. Wisconsin finished the season 18-11, 8-10 in Big Ten play to finish in seventh place. The Badgers earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed in the West Region, defeating No. 8 seed Cincinnati before losing to No. 1 seed Missouri in the Round of 32.

1993–94 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
1993–94 record18-11 (8-10 Big Ten)
Head coach
Associate head coachStan Van Gundy
Assistant coaches
Home arenaWisconsin Field House
(capacity: 11,500)
1993–94 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 3 Purdue14–4 .778  29–5  .853
No. 11 Michigan13–5 .722  24–8  .750
No. 18 Indiana12–6 .667  21–9  .700
No. 23 Minnesota10–8 .556  21–12  .636
Michigan State10–8 .556  20–12  .625
Illinois10–8 .556  17–11  .607
Wisconsin8–10 .444  18–11  .621
Penn State6–12 .333  13–14  .481
Ohio State6–12 .333  13–16  .448
Northwestern5–13 .278  15–14  .517
Iowa5–13 .278  11–16  .407
Rankings from AP Poll
*Minnesota vacated all NCAA tournament games due to sanctions against the program.
Disputed record (22-13)

Season summary

A breakthrough season for Wisconsin culminated in its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1947. Highly-touted freshman center Rashard Griffith joined fellow Chicago natives Tracy Webster and preseason All-American Michael Finley to form arguably the most talented trio of teammates in program history.

Though Jackson's reputation was as an uptempo coach, Wisconsin adjusted its style with Griffith on the court. The Badgers posted an 8-1 record when they scored at least 85 points, but generally played at a slower pace than the previous season. The differences from 1992-93 were most notable during conference play. Wisconsin averaged four fewer points-per-game (69.8), back near the bottom of the league. But it countered with a stingy defense that allowed 70.8 points-per-game to Big Ten foes, ranking just behind league-leader Michigan State. This was an eight-point improvement from the previous season's defense (78.9). The team led the conference in field goal defense (.428) and blocks, with 79. Webster paced the league with 40 steals and Griffith led in blocks-per-game (2.57), swatting 36 in only 14 Big Ten games.

Offensively, a prolific three-point shooting offense led by Finley, Webster and Andy Kilbride shot and made more from long distance than any other Big Ten school, though it only converted on 34.9 percent as a team.

Griffith debuted in spectacular fashion in the season opener versus UW-Milwaukee, posting 27 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in 32 minutes of a 106-84 win. The team scored 100 points the next game as well, a win at Loyola Marymount. The Badgers went undefeated through the non-conference schedule, which included a road win over reigning SWC champion Texas Tech and a home win over ranked rival Marquette. In early January, 11-0 Wisconsin ascended to No. 12 in the country, its highest ranking ever in the AP Poll, following a home victory over Ohio State.

A visit to No. 18 Minnesota the next game resulted in the team's first loss, 90-53. Wisconsin bounced back to beat Glenn Robinson and No. 9 Purdue, 75-69, in a tense matchup of Top 15 teams. Then the Badgers began to succumb to the rigors of the Big Ten.

Two weeks later, Griffith injured his knee and missed two games, starting with a February 2nd rematch with Michigan State. Led by Finley's 32 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, the Badgers blew out the Spartans, 87-62, to move to 14-3 (5-3) on the season. However, Griffith would miss two more games with back spasms while the team slipped to 6-6 in conference. Minnesota remained a thorn in its side, blowing out Wisconsin for a second time. The Gophers outscored the Badgers 199-132 in two games.

Riding a four-game losing streak into a matchup with the Fab Five and No. 3 Michigan at the Field House, Wisconsin responded with a resounding 71-58 victory on March 2, 1994. The monumental win essentially saved the team's NCAA Tournament aspirations. The unranked Badgers dropped two of their final regular season games on the road to finish with a losing conference record, yet still received a bid to the Big Dance.

Postseason

Wisconsin earned a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament's West Region and faced No. 8 seed Cincinnati in a first round game in Ogden, Utah. Finley and Griffith pitched in 22 points apiece and the Badgers got nine points in 16 minutes from freshman Jalil Roberts to outlast the Bearcats, 80-72. "We were fighting uphill all the way," Cincinnati head coach Bob Huggins said following the game.[1]

In the second round, the team lost a fast-paced duel to Missouri, the West Region's No. 1 seed, 109-96. Finley scored a career-high 36 points, but the usually dependable Wisconsin defense was torched by the Tigers' 68 percent shooting. Webster added a season-best 27 points to seven assists and no turnovers in his final game as a Badger.

Awards and honors

All-American

  • Michael Finley - 2nd team (Basketball Times), honorable mention (AP and USBWA)

All-Big Ten

  • Michael Finley - 2nd team (coaches and media)
  • Tracy Webster - Honorable mention (coaches and media)

Big Ten Player of the Week

  • Michael Finley - Week of January 10, 1994

Roster
1993–94 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
G 3 Jason Johnsen 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)190 lb (86 kg) RS Sr New Hope, MN
F 4 Brian Kelley 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)240 lb (109 kg) Jr Decatur, GA
G/F 5 Jalil Roberts 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)185 lb (84 kg) Fr Jersey City, NJ
G 10 Darnell Hoskins 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)165 lb (75 kg) Fr Dayton, OH
G 11 Tracy Webster (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)185 lb (84 kg) Sr Harvey, IL
G 12 Chris Conger (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)180 lb (82 kg) Sr Green Bay, WI
G 15 Andy Kilbride 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) Jr Kankakee, IL
F 22 Otto McDuffie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)200 lb (91 kg) So Milwaukee, WI
F 24 Michael Finley (C) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)205 lb (93 kg) Jr Maywood, IL
F 34 Howard Moore 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr Chicago, IL
F/C 43 Jeff Petersen 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)225 lb (102 kg) Sr Mequon, WI
C 52 Grant Johnson 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)245 lb (111 kg) RS Sr Plymouth, MN
C 54 Rashard Griffith 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)265 lb (120 kg) Fr Chicago, IL
C 55 Greg Timmerman* 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)220 lb (100 kg) So Dickeyville, WI
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

[2] *transferred to Div. II North Dakota after fall semester[3]

Schedule
Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular Season
11/27/1993*
 UW-Milwaukee W 106-84  1-0
  27 – Griffith  12 – Griffith  10 – Webster  Wisconsin Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
12/4/1993*
 No. 24 at Loyola Marymount W 103-67  2-0
  24 – Finley  9 – Kelley  10 – Webster  Gersten Pavilion (2,259)
Los Angeles, CA
12/8/1993*
 No. 19 UW-Green Bay W 64-50  3-0
  19 – Webster  7 – Finley  5 – Finley  Wisconsin Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
12/11/1993*
 No. 19 at Texas Tech W 91-88  4-0
  27 – Finley  7 – Griffith  6 – Webster  Lubbock Municipal Coliseum (4,487)
Lubbock, TX
12/13/1993*
 No. 18 Eastern Michigan W 94-68  5-0
  18 – Finley  12 – Griffith  7 – Webster  Wisconsin Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
12/23/1993*
 No. 17 Mississippi Valley State W 115-79  6-0
  21 – Finley  14 – Griffith  8 – Hoskins, Webster  Wisconsin Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
12/27/1993*
 No. 17 Stanford W 80-73  7-0
  21 – Finley  12 – Griffith  5 – Finley, Webster  Wisconsin Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
12/29/1993*
 No. 17 Grambling W 103-83  8-0
  20 – Griffith  7 – Griffith  7 – Hoskins  Wisconsin Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
1/2/1994*
 No. 17 No. 24 Marquette W 71-52  9-0
  14 – Finley  6 – Finley  6 – Webster  Wisconsin Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
1/6/1994
 No. 15 at Penn State W 71-56  10-0
(1-0)
  23 – Finley  11 – Griffith  6 – Finley  Rec Hall (6,253)
University Park, PA
1/8/1994
 No. 15 Ohio State W 69-55  11-0
(2-0)
  21 – Finley  12 – Griffith  4 – Webster  Wisconsin Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
1/12/1994
 No. 12 at No. 18 Minnesota L 53-90  11-1
(2-1)
  15 – Finley  8 – Finley  5 – Webster  Williams Arena (14,413)
Minneapolis, MN
1/15/1994
 No. 12 No. 9 Purdue W 75-69  12-1
(3-1)
  25 – Finley  16 – Griffith  4 – Webster  Wisconsin Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
1/19/1994
 No. 14 at Michigan State L 60-70  12-2
(3-2)
  17 – Finley  9 – Finley  3 – Webster  Breslin Center (14,211)
East Lansing, MI
1/25/1994
 No. 16 Illinois W 66-56  13-2
(4-2)
  17 – Finley  9 – Griffith  7 – Finley, Webster  Wisconsin Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
1/29/1994
 No. 16 at No. 15 Michigan L 75-79  13-3
(4-3)
  30 – Finley  6 – Kelley  10 – Webster  Crisler Arena (13,548)
Ann Arbor, MI
2/2/1994
 No. 16 Michigan State W 87-62  14-3
(5-3)
  32 – Finley  11 – Finley  6 – Webster  Wisconsin Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
2/5/1994
 No. 16 at Ohio State L 57-73  14-4
(5-4)
  18 – Finley  5 – Finley, Kelley  4 – Kilbride, Webster  St. John Arena (13,276)
Columbus, OH
2/9/1994
 No. 21 Penn State W 77-65  15-4
(6-4)
  19 – Finley  6 – Finley, Petersen  7 – Webster  Wisconsin Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
2/12/1994
 No. 21 No. 23 Minnesota L 78-109  15-5
(6-5)
  25 – Finley  6 – Petersen  6 – Webster  Wisconsin Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
2/16/1994
 No. 24 at No. 9 Purdue L 64-67  15-6
(6-6)
  20 – Kilbride  8 – Kelley  6 – Webster  Mackey Arena (14,123)
West Lafayette, IN
2/19/1994
 No. 24 Northwestern L 71-75  15-7
(6-7)
  16 – Webster  7 – Griffith  7 – Webster  Wisconsin Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
2/27/1994
 at Illinois L 65-76  15-8
(6-8)
  27 – Finley  7 – Petersen  4 – Webster  Assembly Hall (16,321)
Champaign, IL
3/2/1994
 No. 3 Michigan W 71-58  16-8
(7-8)
  20 – Finley  12 – Griffith  5 – Webster  Wisconsin Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
3/5/1994
 at Northwestern L 54-66  16-9
(7-9)
  13 – Griffith  9 – Griffith  5 – Webster  Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Evanston, IL
3/9/1994
 Iowa W 95-71  17-9
(8-9)
  27 – Finley  12 – Finley  9 – Webster  Wisconsin Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI]]
3/12/1994
 at No. 18 Indiana L 65-78  17-10
(8-10)
  11 – Kilbride  10 – Griffith  5 – Finley  Assembly Hall (17,338)
Bloomington, IN
NCAA Tournament
3/17/1994*
 (9) vs. (8) No. 25 Cincinnati
First Round - West Region		 W 80-72  18-10
(8-10)
  22 – Finley, Griffith  15 – Griffith  6 – Webster  Dee Events Center (12,126)
Ogden, UT
3/19/1994*
 (9) vs. (1) No. 5 Missouri
Second Round - West Region		 L 96-109  18-11
(8-10)
  36 – Finley  7 – Finley  7 – Webster  Dee Events Center (12,126)
Ogden, UT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Rankings
Main article: 1993–94 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Final 
AP NR 25 24 19 18 17 17 15 12 14 16 16 21 24 NR NR NR NR Not released 
Coaches 22 NR 21 19 20 17 15 12 15 17 16 22 23 NR NR NR NR NR NR

[4][5]

Player statistics
Individual player statistics (Final)[6]
Minutes Scoring Total FGs 3-point FGs Free Throws Rebounds
Player GP GS Tot Avg Pts Avg FG FGA Pct 3FG 3FA Pct FT FTA Pct Off Def Tot Avg A TO Blk Stl PF
Finley, Michael 29 29 1046 36.1 592 20.4 208 446 .466 66 182 .363 110 140 .786 56 138 194 6.7 92 75 21 40 67
Griffith, Rashard 25 24 672 26.9 348 13.9 127 236 .538 0 0 - 94 162 .580 74 138 212 8.5 24 61 66 9 67
Webster, Tracy 29 29 897 30.9 332 11.4 120 272 .441 47 119 .396 45 63 .714 11 68 79 2.7 171 72 5 69 55
Petersen, Jeff 29 5 498 17.2 234 8.1 93 157 .592 0 0 - 48 72 .667 56 65 121 4.2 9 33 18 9 69
Kilbride, Andy 29 29 717 24.7 214 7.4 69 164 .421 54 131 .412 22 27 .815 17 59 76 2.6 55 46 0 19 89
Roberts, Jalil 28 0 482 17.2 153 5.5 54 149 .362 25 81 .309 20 32 .625 22 39 61 2.2 20 41 3 12 32
Kelley, Brian 28 24 542 19.4 147 5.3 60 130 .462 3 10 .300 24 38 .632 56 74 130 4.6 21 46 3 11 83
Johnsen, Jason 24 0 247 10.3 76 3.2 26 66 .394 22 55 .400 2 5 .400 5 16 21 0.9 19 8 0 10 25
Moore, Howard 12 0 72 6.0 34 2.8 12 21 .571 0 0 - 10 11 .909 5 12 17 1.4 2 3 2 1 10
Hoskins, Darnell 22 0 245 11.1 60 2.7 18 51 .353 5 23 .217 19 26 .731 4 23 27 1.2 46 30 0 15 23
Johnson, Grant 28 5 305 10.6 41 1.5 17 40 .425 0 0 - 7 18 .389 20 37 57 2.0 7 17 17 4 64
McDuffie, Otto 12 0 49 4.1 17 1.4 8 14 .571 0 0 - 1 5 .200 5 5 10 0.8 4 10 0 1 6
Conger, Chris 10 0 28 2.8 11 1.1 4 9 .444 3 8 .375 0 0 - 0 2 2 0.2 2 3 0 1 2
Total -
Opponents -
Legend
GP Games played GS Games started Tot Total count Avg Average per game  Pts  Points
FG Field goals made  FGA  Field goal attempts  3FG  3-pointers made  3FA  3-point attempts FT Free throws made
 FTA  Free throw attempts Off Offensive rebounds Def Defensive rebounds A Assists  TO  Turnovers
Blk Blocks Stl Steals PF Personal fouls Team high

Records and trivia

Tracy Webster set a Wisconsin single season record for steals, with 69. The senior's assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.38 during the 1993-94 season topped Mike Heineman's nine-year-old record and stood for five more seasons until Mike Kelley's 1998-99 season.

Webster left school as the program's all-time leader in career assists (501) and steals (183), compiling those numbers in just three seasons. His assist total remains a Wisconsin record.

References
  1. Miller, Tom (July 11, 2020). "Miller: Three days in Ogden, Utah, that will always be remembered by Wisconsin basketball fans". GazetteXtra. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  2. "1993-94 Wisconsin Badgers Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
  3. https://madison.com/sports/richard-will-play-at-uwm-the-cuba-city-scorer-takes-a-pass-on-division-ii/article_8b7efc8f-6171-59a2-b5c3-fae43159f047.html
  4. "1994 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll - College Poll Archive - Historical College Football and Basketball Polls and Rankings". www.collegepollarchive.com. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  5. "NCAA Men's College Basketball Coaches Poll for November 17, 1993 | USA Today Sports". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  6. "The University of Wisconsin Collection: Wisconsin 1994-95 media guide: Wisconsin 1994-95 media guide" (PDF). digicoll.library.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
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