Press Conference: A look at the week ahead in Badger sports
By Ryan Weinkauf and Liz Puibello | Nov. 24, 2015Volleyball
Volleyball
No. 1 Wisconsin (10-0-0 WCHA 14-0-0 overall) upended the Lindenwood Lions (1-3-2 CHA, 3-9-2 overall) in Madison by taking away a pair of physical victories this past Friday and Sunday. The Badgers resumed their record-breaking start to the season and continued to impress, both offensively and defensively.
In principle, free throws are supposed to be, well, free. They are undefended and unimpeded by defenders. But nothing for Wisconsin (1-2) in its 87-64 loss against the Dayton Flyers (3-0) came free, especially its free throws.
Despite being outscored by four goals, Wisconsin was able to survive the weekend with only one loss against No.9 Denver after tying the Pioneers Friday night.The Badgers put forward a strong effort in Friday’s 3-3 tie, but ultimately ran out of gas Saturday, falling 6-2.
Faced with its toughest test of the young season, Wisconsin looked more like the team that dropped its season opener to Western Illinois and less like the one that impressed in wins over Siena and North Dakota.
Though the Big Ten West is Iowa’s division to lose at this point, the race for the Big Ten East is far from over.
After the Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Superbowl XLVII, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh summed up his team’s win with an adage that was simple yet expressive: “It’s never pretty. It’s never perfect. But it was us,” he said.
Chaos ruled Week 11 of college football, as eight ranked teams lost and nine more won by 10 points or fewer. It was an especially rough week for teams with Tigers as mascots: Both Memphis and No. 17 LSU lost to lower-ranked teams, while No. 1 Clemson survived a scare from 3-7 Syracuse, which it fended off by just 10 points.
In 2012, the Badgers’ defense was 15th in the nation in yards per game. In 2013 it was seventh and in 2014, the Badgers finished the year ranked fourth overall. This season, the Badgers defensive continues to prove nearly impenetrable.