Instant Take: Purdue 60, Wisconsin 57

1/28/10 9:29 PM

Posted by Scott Kellogg Wisconsin could not have asked for a better chance to win tonight. The nine-point underdogs had the ball with six seconds remaining under the Purdue basket down by one point. The inbound pass went outside to Hughes, who promptly attacked the basket, beat his defender and shot a runner close to the basket that ricocheted off the backboard, and just went off the rim to seal Wisconsin's fate and hand Purdue another home win against Wisconsin. It was a trying day for Hughes, who shot 3-for-11 from the field, and perhaps more importantly, 3-for-8 from the free-throw line. Four of those foul shot misses came down the stretch, making the misses even more frustrating. Sophomore guard Jordan Taylor also struggled tonight, shooting 4-for-12. It...

Men's hockey No. 2

1/26/10 9:38 AM

Posted by Parker Gabriel After taking three out of four points from the top-ranked Denver Pioneers this weekend, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team moved up one spot to No. 2 in this week’s USCHO (US College Hockey Online) National Rankings. Miami (Ohio) reclaimed the top spot and received 37 votes, while the Badgers collected eight votes. This is the first time this season that UW has received votes for the top spot.  The Badgers have a chance to claim the number one spot this weekend with a successful series. They will be on the road for another top-10 matchup, this time with No. 9 Minnesota-Duluth.  The Badgers and Bulldogs are just two of six WCHA squads ranked in the Top 11 this week. The others are:  #3 Denver Pioneers (5 votes) #4 North Dakota...

AP Poll reflecting women's basketball's rise

1/18/10 6:07 PM

Posted by Mark Bennett For the first time since the 2001-02 season, the Wisconsin women’s basketball team has received votes in the Associated Press poll for consecutive weeks. The Badgers (5-3 Big Ten, 15-4 overall) are currently riding a four-game winning streaking after a convincing defeat of Illinois last night. They received 37 votes and are the first team in the “receiving votes” category. Essentially, Wisconsin is the No. 26 team in the nation, just 14 points behind No. 25 Virginia.  The Badgers, who were picked by some to finish 10th in the Big Ten this season, currently sit in 3rd place in the conference standings. The team plays just one game this week, Thursday night at the Kohl Center, against Penn State, the team that currently sits in second place....

Best case/worst case: NFC

1/5/10 4:20 PM

Posted by Scott Kellogg   Philadelphia Eagles   Best case: Eagles recover from a sorry week 17 performance at Dallas and turn around and blow away the Cowboys. Then Philly makes a run similar to last season by beating Minnesota on the road, and then squeaking out a win against the high-powered Saints' offense. The run finally stops in Miami against Indy.   Worst case: The Eagles lay another stinker in Big D and go one-and-done.   Green Bay Packers   Best case: Rodgers looks like an elite quarterback once again in Arizona as the Pack blow away the Cardinals once again. Green Bay gets a third chance against the Favre and the Vikes. This time they stay in the game early, putting up a better fight the third time around, but a pumped up...

Best case/worst case: AFC

1/5/10 2:54 PM

Posted by Scott Kellogg After a vacation in the desert (which included going to a joke of a football game with Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay obliterating a pathetic looking Cardinals team) I'm back In York with a week to go before I fly back to Madison. The Badgers' men's basketball team has a huge week coming up with games against two top-10 teams (MSU & Purdue) and the hockey team prepares to play its way into the NCAA Tournament, but to me the next several weeks will be all about the NFL playoffs. And I plan on shamelessly using this blog as a platform to write about all things NFL as my favorite part of my favorite league approaches.   I'll start off with a feature ESPN.com usually runs before the NCAA Tournament, playing out the best- and worst-case...