Before Tuesday night, Ian Markolf and Jared Berggren were in the same situation.

The two roommates were both fairly set on playing for the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team rather than redshirting this season, assuming they could work their way into coach Bo Ryan's rotation.

So, not surprisingly, the two freshman big men's responses when asked about the topic last week were similar as well.

"Coaches are talking about looking for that last guy to fill in a spot to get some playing time," Markolf said. "So I think if I just keep working hard I'm going to have a shot at it."

"Just kind of seeing how it goes, and that's what Coach (Ryan) told me is just we'll see how things work out and I'm just going to keep working hard and try to earn my place," Berggren said.

Of course, both still had to earn a spot or they'd end up redshirting anyway.

But after UW's 88-58 rout of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, this much is clear: Markolf will indeed play as a freshman.

The 7-footer from San Antonio played the final 2-plus minutes, scoring off an inbounds play on the first possession he was in and picking up an assist.

Where that leaves the 6-10 Berggren is unclear, though he said last week that Ryan told him he wouldn't "jeopardize my redshirt by throwing me in at the end of the game or something like that."

"Ian's big, and he's strong," Ryan said when asked after the game about his decision to use Markolf this season. "Sometimes younger guys might be developing at a little different rate. … I don't think he's going to grow any more. And he's worked hard in practice and he got his chance to get in there and get a few minutes. How much more just will depend on … how guys develop and the battles go in practice with the bigs."

The Badgers could use some depth down low behind senior Marcus Landry and sophomores Keaton Nankivil and Jon Leuer. Senior Kevin Gullikson has experience, but is 6-7.

Right now the contenders are Markolf, Berggren and sophomore J.P. Gavinski, a former Wisconsin Dells athlete who played 5 minutes against Edwardsville.

That drop off in experienced size from last year's team, which featured 6-foot-11 seniors Brian Butch and Greg Stiemsma, could come into play at this weekend's Paradise Jam tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Should UW make the final, it could see second-ranked Connecticut and 7-foot-3 junior center Hasheem Thabeet.

Markolf, the more physically imposing of the two freshman pivots, would certainly give the Badgers a presence in the paint. But he'll only see time if he continues to earn it.

Markolf mentioned footwork on both ends of the floor — a common struggle for young big men — as an area where he needed to improve.

"Coach (Ryan) isn't going to play a guy just to play a guy," associate head coach Greg Gard said last week when asked what Markolf and Berggren needed to do to earn time. "He's going to have to be serviceable out there and make sure he understands how important that the defensive end is to us and that, especially from a big guy's standpoint, that you're usually around the rim, that he's got to take an ownership in that paint and that rim and make sure that nobody gets there. And if they do it's got to be awful tough to for them to score on them."