2012-’13 Potential Breakout Wisconsin Athletes
By Ryan Hill and Rachel Fettig and Samy Moskol | Jun. 8, 2012Melvin Gordon: Redshirt freshman running back
Melvin Gordon: Redshirt freshman running back
1. Badgers beat Spartans in inaugural Big Ten Title Game—December 3, 2011
The Wisconsin men’s basketball team revealed Wednesday its loss against Syracuse can be attributed not to a botched final possession or inability to shoot anything other than three-pointers, but instead to the wrong Ryan Evans suiting up for the Badgers.
Forgive the average fan of Wisconsin men’s basketball if he or she isn’t overly excited about the Badgers being one of only 16 teams still alive for a national title. After all, Sweet 16 appearances are nothing new in Madison.
There’s something special about this year’s crop of Badgers under head coach Bo Ryan. The usually stoic and unassuming Wisconsin basketball team (26-9) have captured the hearts and minds of the Badger faithful everywhere with the right combination of hard work, determination and charm.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— Having gotten over the sting of Saturday’s loss to top-seeded Michigan State in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament, the Wisconsin men’s basketball team is now set to begin the second season that is the NCAA Tournament.
INDIANAPOLIS—Any time a college basketball player puts up 30 points in a game, he is going to command attention. When that player enters the game averaging 3.1 points per game, attention becomes an understatement.
INDIANAPOLIS—Rob Wilson’s Wisconsin career hasn’t exactly been the stuff of legend. While the senior guard came to Madison as a highly touted recruit, his four years in a Badger uniform had not exactly lived up to expectations.
The Wisconsin women’s basketball team (5-11 Big Ten, 9-19 overall) hopes that its emotions and momentum following Sunday’s Senior Night win against Illinois carries into the Big Ten Tournament, as the Badgers face off against Minnesota (6-10, 14-16) in the first round.
The No. 14/15 Wisconsin men’s basketball team (10-6 Big Ten, 21-8 overall), fresh off a resume-padding win against Ohio State in Columbus, will now set its sights on longtime rival Minnesota (5-11, 17-12) in the first of two consecutive home games to finish out the regular season.
The No. 16/15 Wisconsin men’s basketball team (9-5 Big Ten, 20-7 overall) looks to get an important road win against Iowa (6-8, 14-13) in Iowa City on Thursday.
The Wisconsin women’s basketball team (4-10 Big Ten, 8-18 overall) is in the midst of its second-longest losing streak. The Badgers hope to finish their up-and-down season in the home stretch of the regular season on a strong note Thursday against Indiana (0-14, 5-22) at Assembly Hall.
The No. 15/17 Wisconsin men’s basketball team (9-5 Big Ten, 20-7 overall) rebounded from a disappointing loss at Michigan State Thursday night to beat the Penn State Nittany Lions (4-11, 12-16) Saturday, 65-55.
Coming into Sunday’s road game against No. 16 Nebraska, the Wisconsin women’s basketball team was 0-7 against top-25 ranked opponents. The Cornhuskers ensured that the Badgers remained winless against ranked teams this season, taking home a 68-59 victory at the Devaney Center in Lincoln, Neb.
In late January, the Wisconsin women’s basketball team (4-8 Big Ten, 8-16 overall) pulled off a string of quality conference wins against Northwestern, Minnesota and Michigan to pull itself right into the middle of the Big Ten standings.
When the No. 15/17 Wisconsin men’s basketball team (8-4 Big Ten, 19-6 overall) takes on Penn State (3-10, 11-15) Sunday the athletic department will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the 2002 Badgers team.
The No. 21/22 Wisconsin men’s basketball team (7-4 Big Ten, 18-6 overall) looks to rebound off its streak-snapping loss to first place Ohio State Thursday night when it travels to The Barn in Minneapolis to play the border rival Golden Gophers (5-6, 17-7).
The Wisconsin women’s basketball team (4-7 Big Ten, 8-15 overall) hopes to end its two-game losing streak against No. 18/21 Penn State (8-3,18-5), which stands in fourth place in the Big Ten standings.
As head coach of the No. 21/22 Wisconsin men’s basketball team (7-4 Big Ten, 18-6) Bo Ryan is all about improvement. That’s why before the Badgers battled Penn State to a hard fought 52-46 conference victory, Ryan handed his players an article by Pulitzer prize winning columnist and author Thomas Friedman about the pitfalls of not having a college degree as a worker in the 21st century.
Ohio State senior guard Samantha Prahalis scored a career-high 34 points to lead the Buckeyes to a 72-58 victory over the Wisconsin women’s basketball team Monday night at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.