The top-seeded Wisconsin Badgers’ quest for a national title begins this weekend in Omaha, Neb., where they’ll likely still be without the services of senior guard Traevon Jackson.
This column originally ran March 26, 2009.
The Badgers entered the 2014-’15 season with the highest expectations in program history. A team fresh off a Final Four appearance that lost only one major contributor will create that hype.
MIDWEST
CHICAGO—With their thrilling Big Ten Tournament Championship, No. 6 Wisconsin earned its first NCAA Tournament 1-seed in program history, and enters a region that’s going to carry a whole lot of deja vu.
March Madness is the best playoff system of any sport at any level, and it isn’t even close. The combination of a huge number of teams and the single-game elimination system makes it unpredictable every year. So unpredictable, in fact, we haven’t seen two No. 1 seeds make the championship since 2008, the only year where all four No. 1s made the Final Four. And there haven’t been multiple 1-seeds in the Final Four since 2009, when Connecticut and North Carolina were the only two.
Wisconsin’s Big Ten Championship win gave all watchers a preview of what college basketball in March is going to bring.
After putting together arguably its best half of the season to cruise past Purdue, the stage is all set for Wisconsin.
The situation was worrisome at halftime. Purdue led 35-30 and had held off an impressive UW push to tie the game going into the locker room. The Boilermakers’ star center A.J. Hammons was dominating on both sides of the floor, scoring 10 points and holding Big Ten Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky to just four points. Purdue had played an excellent half of basketball and it was definitely possible they could keep it up and shock the nation.
CHICAGO–While shooting around before the game, Duje Dukan received a warm welcome from a group of United Center security guards. That moment was just the beginning of what ended up being a special homecoming for the redshirt senior forward, who grew up in the Chicago area.
Working to become the top dog in the Big Ten is a tiring task, but it carries a reward UW will be grateful to have as it embarks upon the next step of becoming one of this program’s great teams.
Spoiler alert, the Badgers are the odds-on favorite to win their first Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament since 2008. Here are how the rest of the tournament’s top seeds stack up against UW.
When you think of Wisconsin athletics, several things immediately come to mind.
After quite possibly the most successful regular season in program history, the Badgers were appropriately rewarded by the rest of their conference in the Big Ten basketball honors.
With the Big Ten tournament looming and a chance at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament still in play, the sixth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers wanted to make a statement in the final game of the regular season.
They say it gets lonely at the top, which means the Badgers are about to enjoy some solitude thanks to a strong, clinching win in their rival’s own house.
One trophy down, two to go.
Following yet another major knee injury, Chicago Bulls star guard Derrick Rose has elected to undergo an experimental procedure in which both of his knees will be completely removed.
When Traevon Jackson went down early in the second half against Rutgers, Wisconsin looked lost. They were outscored by 17 in the half while blowing a 12-point halftime lead, prompting rumors they may not be the top dog in the conference.
Often overshadowed by stars Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker, Nigel Hayes is regularly forgotten as one of the integral pieces in the Badgers’ frontcourt. After winning the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year last season, Hayes has continued to develop as a solid-all around forward.
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