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Greg Gard does not have rebuilding to tackle during his first full-time season as the head coach of the Wisconsin mens basketball team.Gard took over as interim head coach when Bo Ryan abruptly quit last season after 12 games. An assistant to Ryan for 14 years at Wisconsin, Gard had the interim tag stripped from his job title in March with a five-year contract.The ninth-ranked Badgers begin the regular season with a four-game home slate on Friday when they host Central Arkansas at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.Wisconsin returns its entire starting lineup and 99 percent of offense from a team that finished 22-13 overall and reached the NCAA Sweet 16.The roster boasts four starting seasons, including forward Nigel Hayes, who was named the Big Ten Conference preseason player of the year. Hayes averaged 15.7 points and 3.0 assists per game during his junior campaign.Gard said Hayes maturity, along with experience of other veterans, will be impactful to begin the season. Wisconsin lost its season opener in 2015-16, and six games in total before Ryans departure.They had to dig themselves from (out of) a hole and mature and grow, Gard said. They understood how important the process is and how the everyday of it goes.It helps when you have a mature group. When you have four seniors leading the way ... your best-coached teams are always your player-coached teams. This group has taken on a leadership and ownership of that locker room.The Badgers also will lean heavily on senior guard Bronson Koenig for his 3-point prowess, and redshirt sophomore forward Ethan Happ for attacking the boards. Koenig contributed 13.1 points per game and shot 39 percent from 3-point range as a junior, while Happ led the team in rebounding with 7.9 rebounds per contest. Happ averaged 12.4 points and 1.8 steals per game.Senior guard Zak Showalter and senior forward Vitto Brown also bring a wealth of experience to Wisconsins starting lineup.The Badgers are fresh off a secret scrimmage at Northern Iowa on Nov. 5, which gave freshmen the opportunity to participate in a game-week preparation, complete with a scouting report on the Panthers. The event marked the second year that the two teams played a scrimmage that was closed to the media.Unlike Wisconsin, rebuilding is a priority for Central Arkansas.The Bears, members of the Southland Conference, posted a 7-21 overall record, an improvement from the 2014-15 season when Central Arkansas won just two games. Russ Pennell, a former Bears player, starts his third season at the coaching helm.The offense will run through Bears guard Jordan Howard, who averaged 20.2 points per game last season. Howard is joined by guard Derreck Brooks (12.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and Mathieu Kamba (10.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg).Pennell said he hopes to build depth and improvement on defense with more options off the bench, after four players redshirted last season. He said he likes the Bears competitiveness in practices.We can go different ways (with lineups) because most of our guys are multi-position, Pennell said. We can mix and match, and thats the thing I like. I just believe that we will be able to keep quality players on the floor the entire game. . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. . Three came down to the fourth quarter while quarterbacks continued to shine in all four games; so important to the overall quality of the game. . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.Ospreys maintained their unbeaten home record this season with a 35-17 Guinness PRO12 victory over Welsh rivals Newport Gwent Dragons. The home side, who have now beaten the Dragons 10 times in a row, registered five tries in the victory with 19-year-old wing Keelan Giles crossing twice to take his tally to eight tries in four games.Flanker Dan Lydiate, a former Dragon, and hooker Scott Baldwin started for Ospreys after being released by Wales. However Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb, Sam Davies and seven forwards were absent because of International commitments. Tavis Knoyle looks for a way through on his first start for Newport Gwent Dragons Without fly-halves Biggar and Davies, centre Josh Matavesi stepped up to wear the number 10 jersey and he finished the afternoon having converted all of his sides tries. The Dragons were without three Wales squad players but former Welsh international Tavis Knoyle made his first start for the visitors after being released by Cardiff Blues.Ospreys went into half-time 14-3 up - but they did not have things all their own way in the opening quarter.First Nick Macleod kicked a peenalty within the opening five minutes following a high tackle, before prop Dmitri Arhip was handed a yellow card for leading with the arm.ddddddddddddThe card put the home side on the back foot but Dragons failed to make the most of the one-man advantage.Back to 15 men, Ospreys scored their opening try on 22 minutes when Tom Habberfield squeezed over after darting down the blindside off a five-metre scrum. Scott Baldwin scored one of Ospreys five tries Ospreys continued to pile on the pressure but the second try did not come until the 40th minute when Scott Baldwin crashed over after coming off the back of a drive from a lineout.After the break, Giles immediately made his impact felt with a brace. First, he was on the end of a skillful offload from Matavesi and next, he kicked a loose ball up field and showcased his pace to secure the bonus-point score.Replacement Brendon Leonard ran in for Ospreys fifth try before Dragons struck back as they continued to work hard for the full eighty.The visitors reward for their endeavour came in the form of two tries, one from Matthew Screech and Pat Howard, but it was too little, too late. ' ' '
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