BUFFALO, N.Y. — When Ethan Happ, Zak Showalter and D’Mitrik Trice watched tape in preparation for No. 8 seed Wisconsin’s (26-9) matchup with No. 1 seed Villanova (32-3) Saturday afternoon, they recognized what they were seeing. “They remind us of us,” Trice said.
ST. CHARLES, Mo. — After falling in the semifinals the past three seasons, No. 1 Wisconsin (33-2-4) began the season with an all-in mentality towards a national title.
The No. 2-seed Badgers (20-14-1) battled No. 3-seed Ohio State (21-11-6) for the fifth time this season and broke a 2-2 series tie with a tight one-goal victory to advance to the Big Ten Championship.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — After missing the final two games of the Big Ten Tournament due to multiple deaths in his family, sophomore swingman Khalil Iverson returned to the floor in style Thursday night. Literally.
The Badgers had set themselves up perfectly. Sitting on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament, Wisconsin went into two hostile environments in Minneapolis and State College and earned two straight splits.
BUFFALO — Like elite runners in a 4-man relay race, the No. 8 seed Wisconsin Badgers (26-9) know the importance of a good handoff. Senior guard Bronson Koenig might have carried UW’s baton for most of its 84-74 victory over Virginia Tech (22-11) Thursday night, but when the Badgers needed a play most, Koenig passed the baton off to senior forward Nigel Hayes and let Hayes take Wisconsin to the finish line. Leading by only one point with 2:25 to play, Hayes received a pass from sophomore swingman Khalil Iverson on the left block.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Bronson Koenig has made some big three-pointers in the NCAA tournament throughout his four years at Wisconsin.
In each of the last three years, Wisconsin has advanced to the Frozen Four, needing just two wins in three days to capture a national title. And in each of those three years the Badgers have lost to archrival Minnesota. It’s a history that’s inescapable for Wisconsin (32-2-4 overall), even as they prepare to face a new semifinal opponent, the Boston College Eagles (28-5-5). It’s also a history that the team has embraced in their preparations for this year. “We're running stadiums in the summertime and our strength coach is yelling about doing one more just to make it past the semifinal game,” senior defenseman Jenny Ryan said.
Saturday afternoon’s action saw the No. 33-ranked Badgers host the No. 32 Golden Gophers in an exhilarating matchup fitting for a meeting of two highly ranked teams. Though it came in ranked one spot below Minnesota, Wisconsin’s confidence was put on full display as it has been all season.
BUFFALO, NY — With blistering winds and constant snowfall, No. 8-seed Wisconsin’s (25-8 overall) trip to Buffalo certainly isn’t the most warm or inviting location for a Spring Break trip.
After entering the Top 25 rankings last Tuesday for the first time since 2014, Wisconsin softball more than proved that they deserved to be there this weekend at the Colorado State Classic.
The No. 12 Wisconsin Badgers come into this meet with top-ten aspirations and a stacked team, which is a welcome change from previous years.
The Minnesota football case was a microcosm of many of the issues surrounding athletics and sexual violence. Most profoundly evident in both the disturbing reports of the incident and in the boycott itself was the potential danger of that close-knit, familial bond among teammates. Jessica Luther, author of “Unsportsmanlike Conduct: College Football and the Politics of Rape,” says that when that team mentality goes unsupervised, it can have horrifying consequences.
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” No, Andy Williams was not referring to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament in his cult classic.
With seniors Bronson Koenig, Nigel Hayes, Vitto Brown and Zak Showalter playing in their last NCAA Tournament for Wisconsin, the team will have some extra motivation to make a deep run this March. However, for that to be possible, there are some facets of play that Greg Gard’s team needs to emphasize in the immediate future.
After a head-scratching 2016 NCAA Tournament slate wherein nine supposed underdog teams were projected to be favorites in the first round, the selection committee likely heard the complaints of The Daily Cardinal.
With some calling to expand college football’s four-team playoff, I say why not go whole hog and play an exact replica of this year’s March Madness bracket on the gridiron. I’ll be deciding these games by examining the 2016 resumes of the teams in the tournament, and close calls are my personal opinion. With none of the four College Football Playoff teams in this tournament field, it’s wide open for the taking.
“My head’s in the game, but my heart’s in the song” sings fictional basketball phenom Troy Bolton.
If you are looking for calm, levelheaded rationalizations as to why Wisconsin maybe deserved to be a No. 8 seed, then you have come to the wrong place.
How far will Wisconsin go? Zach Rastall: Round of 32 Wisconsin’s play in the Big Ten Tournament inspired renewed hope that they could make a little run in the NCAA Tournament, only to have that optimism promptly squashed into tiny bits by the selection committee.
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