Friday, March 22 was an overwhelming day for the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball program.
The Badgers’ 72–54 loss at the hands of the Oregon Ducks brought with it the end of an up-and-down season that never saw Wisconsin reach its full potential.
It was also the final game of Ethan Happ’s career — a career that logged over 4,000 minutes and a number of individual achievements. Most recently, Happ was named a consensus second-team AP All-American, becoming the first UW player to make an All-America team in multiple seasons.
But Wisconsin’s loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament also signified a marked improvement from a 2017-18 season in which the team failed to make the big dance for the first time in 20 years.