The Badgers aren't made up of future NBA stars, their gritty style of play doesn't earn many style points outside the Dairy State, and they seem to be the team most frequently put on upset alert since the start of the NCAA tournament.

And you should see them off the court.

"I don't know where to start," junior swingman Joe Krabbenhoft said when asked to describe the players' frequent get-togethers away from basketball.

"It's not like we're immature to the point where it's ridiculous; we just have fun. We sit on the bus and say, 'Do you think Kansas or UCLA does some of the weird stuff we do?' "

The cohesion and unity of the Badgers on the court has been well-chronicled during a 31-4 season that has taken them to a Sweet 16 appearance against Davidson (28-6) Friday night at Ford Field. UW coach Bo Ryan has called this team the most unselfish he has ever coached.

It turns out the Badgers are like that off the court, too. It starts at the apartment building where six players share two apartments, just down the hall from each other. Those two spots are the gathering places.

Krabbenhoft and senior center Greg Stiemsma are in one. Sophomore guard Jason Bohannon, junior forward Kevin Gullikson, senior guard Tanner Bronson and freshman guard Brett Valentyn are in the other.

"It's kind of like we have one big suite," Stiemsma said. "We go back and forth, interact, hang out in each other's living room, mess with everybody when they're doing homework, sneak in on them.

"You kind of come and go as you please. They usually come and raid our fridge a little more than we get theirs, because we're usually the ones with the food."

You would think, with as much time as the players spend with each other at practice, lifting weights and in meetings, they might get sick of hanging around each other. But these players genuinely seem to enjoy each other's company.

"It's really a unique group," Bohannon said. "Everyone's always together, always having fun together. There's not too many teams like that across the country, I don't think."

A fun bunch

When they're together, the Badgers do the things typical of college students: They play video games, watch television, go to movies and, mostly, just goof on each other.

"Joe and Greg, they're always up to no good, I'll tell you that right now," Bronson said. "You've got to watch out. They're the pranksters You've got to watch your back."

One time, someone suggested they go play laser tag and when they showed up, the place was filled with second- and third-graders. So, all those gigantic basketball players jumped right in with the little kids and had a blast.

"This team has come so far on the court it's amazing," Krabbenhoft said. "But off the court, I wish people could spend a day with us. We're the most normal group (for a) fifth-ranked team in the country there could ever be."

When the players get together, they all are equal. The guys who don't get much playing time are treated no differently than anybody else.

"It's one to 16 and everyone's the same, whether you get minutes or you don't get minutes," said Bronson, who gets most of his playing time in mop-up duty, but plays a vital role on the scout team in practice, getting the starters ready. "I think everyone appreciates each other's roles on the team and understands what their roles are."

United in their goal

Several players, including senior forward Brian Butch, call it the most close-knit team they ever have been on.

Junior guard Michael Flowers said it goes back to a 10-day tour of Italy in the summer of 2006. "Road trips are a great way to get to know somebody on a more personal level," he said.

The disappointing ending to the record-setting 2006-07 season also made the players tighter. The Badgers ascended to No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for the first time in school history and finished with a school-record 30 wins, which has been eclipsed by this year's team.

But they failed to win the Big Ten Conference regular season or tournament titles, then were ousted as a No. 2 seed in the second round of the NCAA tournament by UNLV.

"Having the success we had last year, winning 30 games, but having nothing to show for it as far as championships or any type of hardware, you go into this year and you see the carryover," UW assistant coach Howard Moore said. "It's that collective mind-set that allows you to carry it forward."

It's always easy to cite good chemistry on successful teams. But the players insist the closeness on this team is unique. Stiemsma said it has not always been this way.

"My freshman and even kind of my sophomore year — not taking away from any of my teammates or anything — but we weren't that close," Stiemsma said. "We played hard together and we played well on the floor together. But once it got to be off the floor, we really didn't see each other a whole lot.

"We had some different stuff going on and we had some older guys in that group. This group, I think we've been pretty fortunate to live close together. We almost kind of rely on each other. I thought it was just important to keep everybody together and have that relationship."

A matter of trust

The players believe their closeness off the court has tangible benefits when they are playing together.

"The trust factor, knowing you can count on those guys to have your back on defense, if you get rubbed off on a screen," Krabbenhoft said. "It's hard to connect screwing around off the court with on-the-court trust in your teammates, but in a weird way, it does work out. This team, because of how close we are, I think it plays a lot into the success we've had."

Maybe the biggest factor in being so close is the players start to play for each other, instead of themselves. The last thing they want is to let down their friends.

When that happens, a team can elevate itself beyond the sum of its parts, which this group has done.

"When you care about somebody, you don't want to have them look at you in a disappointing way," Flowers said. "You don't want to be the guy that let them down. You want to be the guy who (brought) them up and picked them up and helped them achieve their dreams."