Journal Sentinel beat writer analyzes Wisconsin’s win over Washington
Journal Sentinel beat writer John Steppe shares some quick thoughts from Alaska Airlines Arena following Wisconsin’s convincing win over Washington.
- Wisconsin has taken time zone changes into account when planning West Coast trips like the recent one to Oregon and Washington.
- Oregon and Washington were ‘super hospitable’ to the Badgers when they were traveling from Feb. 23-28.
- Wisconsin’s Lindsay Lovelace and Eli Wilke have done a “really good job” in their operations roles.
SEATTLE – Wisconsin men’s basketball’s day that ended with a resounding 90-73 win over Washington did not exactly have a resounding start.
After loading the bus at the team’s downtown Seattle hotel before the Feb. 28 game roughly four miles away at Alaska Airlines Arena, there was a slight issue.
The bus broke down.
But the Badgers had another bus and were only delayed “maybe 10, 15 minutes at the most.”
“All the managers and everybody moved all the bags onto the other bus,” said Lindsay Lovelace, Wisconsin’s assistant director of basketball operations. “So thankfully we had that second bus, and then the bus company did a really good job of getting us another one really fast.”
Wisconsin’s quick pivot was part of the extensive efforts that have gone into an extended road trip like what the Badgers recently concluded against Oregon and Washington.
“Knowing where we’re going, we reserve flights in July and August,” Lovelace said. “Once we finalize game times and stuff, then we can finalize our flight times and everything. And then I started booking hotels for every trip in September-ish, I would say – September, early in October.
“It kind of starts with those big pieces, and then about a month, month-and-a-half out, we start doing meals and scheduling with itineraries.”
The pair of West Coast games made for a six-day, five-night trip as the Badgers played at Oregon on Wednesday, Feb. 25, and at Washington on Saturday, Feb. 28. It was just UW’s second time this season staying on the road between road games, albeit not nearly as long as the 11-night stay in Salt Lake City and San Diego in the nonconference schedule.
“It seems like it’s a big trip, but it’s essentially just two trips, two days each basically,” said Eli Wilke, who is in his first season as Wisconsin’s operations coordinator after previously working as a graduate manager.
As UW did for the Salt Lake City/San Diego trip earlier in the season and the Los Angeles trip last season, the Badgers arrived two days before the first game instead of the typical one day for shorter road trips on the Big Ten schedule.
“We all decided that it’s just the best to get out there one night earlier, try and get their sleep adjusted as best as possible and then give them a day to sleep in and get up and then practice,” Lovelace said.
Lovelace, who has been in her role since 2021, had the benefit of leaning on last season’s Los Angeles trip and past postseason trips. But the Oregon-Washington trip marked the Badgers’ first road game at Washington since 1955, and it was the Badgers’ first regular-season road game at Oregon since 1990.
The Badgers did have a blueprint for traveling to Eugene following their 2023 NIT game against the Ducks. This trip naturally allowed for much more planning time, too, than a postseason game.
“I said to [UW general manager] Marc [VandeWettering], ‘I remember liking the hotel that we stayed at for the NIT,’” Lovelace said. “And he agreed. The food was good, and the setup they had was really good. It was pretty close to the arena.”
Lovelace also turned to her counterparts who work with Wisconsin football and volleyball, which have similarly been adjusting to the new Big Ten cities. UW volleyball made its first trip to Seattle during the 2025 season, and both UW football and volleyball played in Eugene.
“I talked to John [Richter, UW’s director of football operations] a little bit, but a lot with Jess Williams from volleyball,” Lovelace said. “And she kind of gave me some pointers on traffic and making sure you plan ahead for Seattle because traffic can be really busy at times.”
Wisconsin’s men’s basketball operations staff got a helping hand, too, from Oregon and Washington’s operations personnel.
“Especially with these West Coast trips, these teams are used to it now with these teams doubling up,” Wilke said. “Because they’re all super hospitable and trying to help us out.”
That hospitality includes everything from laundry service to logistical information such as parking and practice options.
Wisconsin secured two practice times in the two days leading up to the Wisconsin-Washington game at Alaska Airlines Arena. The Badgers practiced at Matthew Knight Arena in Oregon the day before and had a shootaround the day of the very late game.
The Badgers were at the mercy of whenever Alaska Airlines Arena was available, though, which turned out to be on a Thursday evening and Friday evening before a Saturday early-afternoon game.
“We know that we really have to be flexible on what they give us,” Lovelace said. “I think everybody wanted to practice at Alaska Airlines Arena. … If we wanted to have an earlier practice, we could have looked elsewhere for gym time, too.”
Washington provided laundry service for Wisconsin on the Badgers’ first night in Seattle. The courtesy is not something to be taken for granted either after what nearly happened when the Badgers traveled to San Diego.
“I was looking at all the laundromats,” Wilke said, following the suggestion of the tournament organizers.
That’s when Nick Boyd – UW’s team leader in points and assists – delivered a big off-the-court assist after playing with his connections at San Diego State, where he played in 2024-25 before transferring to the Badgers.
“Nick connected with one of his old managers, who connected with the current manager at San Diego State and helped connect us with their equipment person who was willing to help us out,” Wilke said. “We got lucky with Nick there.”
The extended trips often come with a larger travel party and the added responsibility of managing logistics for non-basketball excursions. The activities help “keep guys fresh and keep loose,” Wilke said.
The San Diego trip earlier in the season involved a visit at the zoo. The year before, Wisconsin went to an NBA game while in Los Angeles for the USC and UCLA games. This time, UW toured a joint military base in the Seattle-Tacoma region on Feb. 27.
This is Lovelace and Wilke’s first season spearheading Wisconsin’s men’s basketball operations together. VandeWettering was the team’s director of basketball operations for eight seasons before being promoted to a new general manager role in the summer.
UW then promoted Wilke to operations coordinator, all while he continues to finish his master’s degree in sports leadership. He has yet to miss an assignment although he does “cut it very close.” When Wisconsin played Iowa on Feb. 22, he had an assignment due that day.
“I was writing my paper as our guys were doing pregame warmup shots,” Wilke said. “One of the event staff was just laughing behind me because they saw me. I’m just typing away.”
Coordinating operations specifically at a place like Wisconsin “makes my life easier,” Wilke said.
“I don’t really have to worry about guys forgetting things because they’re pretty on top of it,” Wilke said. “I think that’s kind of how the culture of the program’s been over the last few years.”
Even when life is not so easy – an already-loaded bus uncharacteristically breaking down might be one of the top examples – UW’s operations duo has earned rave reviews.
“There’s a lot of moving parts, and there’s going to be hiccups,” VandeWettering said. “And I think you just got to understand that there are going to be things beyond your control, and you just got to be able to roll with it. I think they’ve both done a really good job of continuing to do that to the best of their ability.”
