Despite starting its season opener with an energized ceremonial tribute to last years men’s basketball squad, the No. 17 Wisconsin Badgers (0-1) received the misfortunes associated with Friday the 13th and fell 69-67 to the Western Illinois Leathernecks (1-0).
The Badgers open their season Saturday against the Louisiana Tech Techsters. Saturday serves as the return of sixth-year senior Michala Johnson to the Kohl Center floor. Johnson is back in Madison after bypassing the pro ranks for one final season with UW and, at age 24, is one of the oldest players in college basketball.
The raising of Wisconsin’s second straight Final Four banner Friday night at the Kohl Center will be both a bittersweet and symbolic moment for fans, players and coaches alike.
No. 11 Wisconsin (11-4 Big Ten, 19-6 overall) won their rematch against Michigan (6-9, 16-10) 25-20, 25-19, 25-19 at Cliff Keen Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich., sweeping the Wolverines for the second time in five days.
This weekend, No. 1 Wisconsin (8-0-0 WCHA, 10-0-0 overall) returns to action by traveling to face conference opponent Minnesota-Duluth (2-4-0, 4-6-0) after a needed break.
With most of the key figures from Wisconsin’s back-to-back Final Four runs now gone, the Badgers will be relying heavily on a crop of young players to step up this season.
No. 11 Wisconsin (10-4 Big Ten, 18-6 overall) will be looking to extend its winning streak to seven games on Wednesday when it travels to Ann Arbor on Michigan (6-8, 16-9) for the second time in a week.
Coming off a blowout win in their exhibition opener against Minnesota State Mankato, Wisconsin head coach Bobbie Kelsey’s goal for tomorrow’s exhibition game against Division III opponent UW-Eau Claire remains the same.
After one possession of the Wisconsin’s exhibition opener against Minnesota State Mankato Sunday, the Badgers seemed eerily similar to the team that went 9-20 last year. Senior guard Nicole Bauman threw an errant pass trying to feed freshman Marsha Howard in the post, which led to the Badgers immediately scurrying back to defense. But that was Bauman’s lone mistake in the Badger’s 84-48 win over the Minnesota State Mavericks in the Badgers’ first of two preseason games this season. It was an outlier in what appeared to be a very different Badgers team in both style of play and physical makeup.
With one controversial game-winning touchdown, Nebraska might have not only killed Michigan State’s playoff hopes, but also potentially influenced the Big Ten’s own standing within the college football landscape. While Michigan State had been hanging on to its undefeated season by a thread all year, squeaking out numerous close calls, that thread finally broke, providing what might be a fatal blemish to their once historically promising season. However, one must ask if that horrific “L” on their schedule actually is a fatal blow to the Spartan’s quest for a College Football Playoff berth. This foreshadows a much larger question at hand as well: Could a one-loss Big Ten champion be deserving of a College Football Playoff spot?
Wisconsin hung in to the bitter end, but ultimately couldn’t generate enough offense to keep its hopes of a Big Ten tournament alive.
In some games, a team can rely on one player or one unit to carry them to victory. A running back or an impenetrable defense can win a lot of games on their own in college football. For the Wisconsin Badgers, they needed all three phases to beat the Maryland Terrapins 31-24 Saturday in College Park, MD.
When redshirt junior running back Corey Clement took the field for the Badgers just two minutes into last Saturday’s game against Rutgers, the home crowd let him have it. After he scored his first touchdown of the season just under five minutes later, he let the crowd have it back, tossing the ball in the air and earning an excessive celebration penalty.
Don’t call it a comeback. No, seriously guys, actually don’t—we haven’t even left.
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Solutions by The State News
