Suspension, transfer test Wisconsin’s mettle

Wisconsin coach Greg Gard got a phone call from Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, a few hours after the Badgers got rocked with a couple of unpleasant surprises.

Kobe King, the secondleading scorer at Wisconsin, announced Wednesday that he intends to transfer two days after not traveling with the team to a game at Iowa.

A few hours later, the Big Ten Conference suspended Brad Davison for one game for a flagrant foul he committed late in the Badgers’ loss against the Hawkeyes. Davison will not play against No. 14 Michigan State at home Saturday and he also was reprimanded for violating the league’s sportsmanship policy.

It was more bad news in a tough season for Gard and the Badgers (12-9, 5-5 Big

Ten), who have lost two in a row with the first-place Spartans up next.

“He called me late last night,” Gard said Thursday. “I’ve been reached to [by] other elder statesmen in the profession, and it’s good to hear their thoughts, experiences and opinions on a variety of topics.”

The King departure is a perplexing situation, given the timing. Junior D’Mitrik Trice said King’s disappointment came to the fore Jan. 24 in the Badgers’ 70-51 loss at Purdue. King didn’t score in 27 minutes.

“You could see some frustration, especially during the Purdue game,” Trice said. “You could physically see that. He was kind of physically crying, and tears were coming down his face during halftime, and even after the game.

“Everybody was shocked and a little bit confused . ... At the end of the day, it was really his decision.”

Gard said King’s decision to leave was his alone, and that he will “love the kid like one of my own.”

South Carolina

The No. 1-ranked Gamecocks women dismantled host Mississippi, which is winless in the Southeastern Conference, 87-32. The Rebels failed to score a point in the first quarter and put up just two in the second, trailing, 32-2, at halftime. The offense came to life — comparatively speaking — in the second half with 30 points. Mississippi (7-14, 0-8) was 13 of 50 (26 percent) from the field and 0 of 10 on 3-pointers.

Laeticia Amihere led South Carolina (20-1, 8-0) with 16 points and three blocks off the bench.