Last Wednesday the UW men's basketball squad won their first outright Big Ten Title since 1947 in an exhilarating 60-59 victory against Illinois. However, the season is not close to being done yet. The Big Ten and NCAA tournaments await the Badgers yet this season. The Big Ten Tourney has not been favorable for UW since it's inception in 1998, recording a 4-5 overall record and losing their last two.
In the tourney's first year, UW had the No. 10 seed in the conference. In their first round game against No. 7 Penn State, the Badgers came out of it with a one- point squeaker over the Nittany Lions. However, in the quarterfinals, No. 2 Illinois kept the Badgers attack at bay and won 66-61.
The Badgers took a tough loss to eventual-champion MSU in 1999 in the semifinals after beginning the tourney on an upbeat note. In the quarterfinals, UW beat Iowa 74-60. The Badgers shot 61.5 percent from the floor, which is currently third best in tourney history. However, in the semifinals, Michigan State just overpowered the Badgers in UW's 56-41 loss.
UW won two straight in the 2000 Tournament before losing again to Big Ten Tournament Champion Michigan State in the semifinals. In the first round, the Badgers knocked off Northwestern 51-41. UW blocked 12 Wildcat shots in the game, a Big Ten record. In the quarterfinals, the Badgers upset a No. 3-seeded Purdue team 78-66.
Senior Mark Vershaw was 10-12 from the free-throw line to lead the Badgers to victory. In the semifinals, however, Wisconsin could not keep the momentum going as they lost to the Spartans 55-46. Both teams only accumulated four turnovers between the two, a Big Ten Tourney low, allowing MSU to beat the Badgers.
The 2001 tournament was no better for the Badgers as the Indiana Hoosiers knocked UW out in their first game, 64-52. 26 fouls were called in this rough game. Indiana freshman forward Jared Jeffries made 10 free throws in 12 attempts to force UW to quickly exit post-season play.
Last year the top-seeded Badgers lost to a No. 9 Iowa Hawkeye team 58-56 in the quarterfinals. Hawkeye guard Luke Recker had 28 points in the win, but his most important two was when he nailed a shot late to pull off the upset. Wisconsin made 11 of 12 free throws in the loss; a Big Ten Tourney record for free-throw percentage. However, it was not enough.
This year the Badgers hold their own destiny again. On Friday, UW will face the winner of the Ohio State vs. Iowa game from the day before. If they win that game, then UW faces the winner of Purdue vs. MSU game Saturday. If the Badgers get into the finals of the tournament, it will be the first time in school history. All one can hope though is they don't let the regular season championship go to their heads.
