Nebraska (4-10 Big Ten, 13-14 overall) has been more competitive this season than its four conference wins would suggest. While the Cornhuskers have yet to come away with a win against the Big Ten’s upper echelon, they have certainly made things interesting in a handful of such games.
Wisconsin (3-11 Big Ten, 11-16 overall) could not hold on to the lead Saturday and fell to Northwestern (5-9, 13-14) in a 54-52 thriller.
With the Wisconsin men's basketball team trouncing Northwestern by 28 and only allowing 12 first half points, the women's team (3-10 Big Ten, 11-15 overall) is looking to make it a Badger double against the Wildcats (4-9, 12-14).
EVANSTON, Ill.—Though you wouldn’t have known looking at the sea of red in the stands Wednesday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena, the Badgers did indeed pick up a road win in Evanston, defeating the Wildcats (4-10 Big Ten, 13-14 overall) by a final of 69-41. Running out to a 9-0 lead before the first media break, Wisconsin (10-4, 19-8) never looked back, increasing its lead to 28-12 at the half and cruising home to a comfortable victory.
While any Big Ten conference schedule would be a grueling test this season, Wisconsin (9-4 Big Ten, 18-8 overall) might have had the toughest slate of any team in the conference the last 10 games. The Badgers have played six ranked teams during that stretch, more than any other Big Ten team. Further, none of those 10 games came against a team in the bottom one-third of the conference standings.
Any concerns No. 20 Wisconsin (9-4 Big Ten, 18-8 overall) would come out flat with No. 13 Ohio State (8-5, 18-7) in town, went out the door within a few minutes of play Sunday at the Kohl Center. With the two sides knotted up at 6 in the early stages, Wisconsin held the Buckeyes without a field goal (0-of-14) for nearly nine minutes while scoring 18 unanswered points to put things out of reach for OSU. The visitors wouldn’t pull any closer than 13 the rest of the way, dropping a 71-49 contest—their third loss in the last four games.
After falling 58-48 to No. 18 Purdue in a Valentine’s Day match-up, the Badger women’s basketball team (3-9 Big Ten, 11-14 overall) heads to Champaign, Ill., to take on Illinois (7-4, 14-9) Monday night. This is the second game between the two teams in just over two weeks, with Illinois beating the Badgers 64-56 at the Kohl Center Feb. 3.
In over 100 years of basketball at Wisconsin, the Badgers had never played in three consecutive overtime games.
Playing in their twelfth conference game of the season, the Wisconsin women's basketball team (3-9 Big Ten, 11-14 overall) fell to No. 18 Purdue (19-5, 8-3), 58-48.
The last time No. 20 Wisconsin (8-3 Big Ten, 17-7 overall) played the Gophers (5-6, 17-7), both teams were in a must-win situation. The Badgers came in having dropped two consecutive games in response to their upset win at then-No. 2 Indiana, while Minnesota had fallen back into the middle of the Big Ten with its third-straight loss.
“Finish Strong.”
Wisconsin was two last-second shots away from a winless week at the Kohl Center. But what was oh-so-close to the last nail in the Badgers’ coffin ended up becoming a home stand that just may mark the defining moment in a Big Ten title run.
Ben Brust grew up playing basketball in the driveway with his older brothers, and the only time he could get off a clear look was from the “square of relief” in the back of the driveway.
The Wisconsin women’s basketball team got exactly the bounce-back it was looking for.
While you would be hard-pressed to find a Badger player or coach willing to admit it, Wisconsin has had this weekend’s matchup with No. 3 Michigan circled on the calendar for quite some time. Despite losing last weekend in Bloomington, Ind., the Wolverines (8-2 Big Ten, 21-2 overall) could easily be the best team in the nation and remain very much in control in a Big Ten race that is just about as tight as gets.
It had been nearly two full years since the Wisconsin men’s basketball team had beaten Iowa and with six minutes left still facing a nine-point deficit, it looked as if the Badgers were going to add yet another year to the drought.
Thursday night the Wisconsin women's basketball team (2-7 Big Ten, 10-12 overall) will travel to Columbus to take on Ohio state (2-7, 12-10). The last time these two teams met the Badgers walked away with their first conference victory this season, taking down the Buckeyes 68-49 in Madison.
The last time the Badgers (6-3 Big Ten, 15-7 overall) played Iowa (3-6, 14-8), they were coming off a win at then-No. 2 Indiana and atop the conference standings. However, the Hawkeyes jumped out to a 20-point lead in the first half and eventually topped Wisconsin, 70-66, despite a 20-point second-half effort from redshirt freshman guard George Marshall. It was Iowa’s third consecutive win over UW and the first of three Badger losses over a four-game stretch.
Despite notching a 24-point victory in their last meeting with Illinois, the Badgers were anything but comfortable heading to Champaign to face a desperate Illini team. But on the strength of breakout performances from Illinois natives junior Ben Brust and sophomore Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin was able to get back into the win column with a 74-68 victory.
Wisconsin (5-3 Big Ten, 14-7 overall) will travel to Champaign, Ill., Sunday for a tilt against the Fighting Illini (2-6, 15-7). It isn’t difficult to make the argument Sunday’s game is a must-win for the Badgers, who have lost three of their last four games in a conference in which no game is a gimme, especially on the road.
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