Wisconsin Basketball Downplays Altitude Effect in March Madness
Denver, CO – En route to a runner-up finish in the Big Ten Tournament, Wisconsin basketball took the court four times in four days. Just minutes after the buzzer sounded on a Michigan Wolverines 59-53 victory over the Badgers in the title game, UW learned its NCAA Tournament fate.
The Big Ten Tournament has long been the lead-in to the March Madness selection show. The two teams that find themselves in the championship never have long to recover before the big dance. This year, the Wisconsin Badgers (26-9) are dealing with short rest and the compounding factors of the environment.
Wisconsin, the East Region’s No. 3 seed, is in Denver, Colorado, for the tournament’s first weekend. After a brief 48-hour stop in Madison, the Badgers traveled from one tournament to another. UW played in a championship game on Sunday and plays in the first game inside Ball Arena on Thursday.
Add in the mile-high altitude, and the importance of proper recovery is elevated even more.
Wisconsin Basketball Coach on Mile-High Elevation: ‘I Don’t Think it’s a Big Deal’
Mar 19, 2025; Denver, CO, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Greg Gard during a press conference at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
© Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Perched atop 5,280 feet of elevation, the air in Denver is less dense than what UW is used to. At the higher altitude, fewer oxygen molecules exist in each breath of air. Madison sits at an elevation of only 873 feet.
Badgers head coach Greg Gard says his training staff has “done some things to help” his team deal with the conditions, but the two-time Big Ten coach of the year downplayed the environment’s potential impact.
“I haven’t made a big deal about it because I don’t think it’s a big deal,” Gard said in an interview Wednesday. “We’ll acclimate to it and we’ve already been working in that process.
“It’s not going to be any type of excuse you’re going to get from us. We’ve played in a lot of different places. We’ve played in really hot gyms. We’ve played in cold gyms when they couldn’t get the air conditioning shut off. We’ve seen a lot of different environments.”
Sophomore forward Nolan Winter boasted his team’s “youthful legs,” despite Wisconsin’s veteran roster with the 45th-most Division I experience among any team in the country, according to Kenpom.
“We’ve all done a lot of recovery stuff in getting ready for these games and for the altitude and whatever,” the Lakeville, Minnesota native said on his first-ever trip to Denver.
Wisconsin Badgers Guard Max Klesmit: ‘Everybody is Prepared’ for Denver Altitude
Mar 19, 2025; Denver, CO, USA; (from left to right) Wisconsin Badgers players Steven Crowl and Max Klesmit and John Tonje during a press conference at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
