Often lost in the craziness of all the bowl games and national title talks is just how interesting the matchups can be.
Coming off one of the biggest wins in program history against Minnesota last weekend, the No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers (12-1-1 WCHA, 18-1-1 overall) suffered their first letdown of the season this weekend. Wisconsin failed to score a goal against the No. 9 ranked North Dakota Fighting Hawks (8-5-3, 11-6-3) in either game, losing 3-0 Friday and tying 0-0 Saturday, winning the shootout to earn an extra point in the standings.
Even after Thursday’s loss to the Florida Gators, the Wisconsin Badgers (3-6) were both optimistic and confident heading into today’s game with Green Bay (6-2). But after their 72-58 loss to the Phoenix, the Badgers’ frustration and disappointment put a damper on any cheerfulness they had coming into Sunday’s game.
Despite eliminating a 14-point lead in the second half and having the support of one of the loudest student sections all season, Wisconsin (6-5) lost in the final 30 seconds of the game to in-state rival Marquette (8-2) at the Kohl Center Saturday afternoon.
After suffering yet another stunning loss to an unranked non-conference opponent at the Kohl Center, Wisconsin (6-4) will look to gain new momentum with a home matchup against Marquette (7-2) this Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
The parallels to Wisconsin’s season-opening loss to Western Illinois were too obvious to ignore as the game wore on and the panic level at the Kohl Center continued to rise.
The Wisconsin Badgers (3-4) host the Florida Gators (7-1) Thursday evening in their first home game since Nov. 18.
Nicole Bauman
In Wisconsin’s 77-61 loss to Marquette Sunday, the Badgers (3-4) showed that the only consistent aspect of this 2015 team is they are wildly inconsistent.
With a loud and faithful crowd behind it, No. 6 Wisconsin (16-4 Big Ten, 26-6 overall) swept Iowa State (11-5 Big 12, 19-11 overall) 25-18, 25-15, 25-21 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in front of a sold-out UW Field House Friday night.
The Badgers (3-3) expanded on a positive 1-1 showing in a pair of extremely close games on their road trip to San Diego last weekend, pulling out a gritty 64-51 win over Wake Forest (5-2) Wednesday in the Big Ten/ACC challenge.
Wisconsin (16-4 Big Ten, 24-6 overall) will make its third-straight NCAA tournament appearance as the No. 6 seeded Badgers take on Oregon (10-10 Pac-12, 16-13 overall) in first-round action Thursday night at the UW Field House.
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