Sports

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SPORTS

Jordan Smith finally gets his moment in the spotlight

By Zach Rastall | Feb. 29, 2016

Jordan Smith isn’t used to the spotlight. Throughout his five years in Madison, the redshirt senior guard has lived in relative anonymity when compared to most of his teammates, a group that includes some of the best players to ever slip on a Wisconsin uniform. With only 16 points and 52 minutes of game action to his name, Smith isn’t exactly the first guy fans think of when it comes to Badger basketball. But on Sunday afternoon, Jordan Smith had the spotlight all to himself. As the sole senior on UW’s roster this season, Smith was the total focus of the Senior Day festivities.

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SPORTS

Big second half pushes Badgers past Michigan on Senior Day

By Zach Rastall | Feb. 28, 2016

Wisconsin’s starting lineup did most of the heavy lifting for the Badgers in a 68-57 win over Michigan, but Sunday night belonged to Jordan Smith. The redshirt senior guard, the lone senior on UW’s roster this season, took center stage for a Senior Day ceremony prior to tip-off.

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SPORTS

Badgers grab fifth place at Big Ten Championships

By Kelly Ward | Feb. 28, 2016

When the results for the 200-yard freestyle preliminaries came out Friday morning, it was pretty easy to say that Brett Pinfold and his teammates were excited.

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SPORTS

Miller, Badgers down UNLV in final day of tournament

By Kelly Ward | Feb. 28, 2016

The Badgers won their final game in the USF Under Armour Classic early Sunday morning, beating the UNLV (8-8), 6-3.

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SPORTS

Purdue runs away from Wisconsin, spoils regular-season finale

By Ben Pickman | Feb. 28, 2016

After the Wisconsin Badgers (3-15 Big Ten, 7-21 overall) fell to the Northwestern Wildcats last Saturday afternoon, head coach Bobbie Kelsey straightforwardly summed up the most important part of basketball: “Basketball is about making shots,” Kelsey said. And Sunday afternoon against the Purdue Boilermakers in the Badgers’ regular season finale, Wisconsin struggled to make shots and, not surprisingly, fell to Purdue in underwhelming fashion 68-48. Saying the Badgers struggled to make shots Sunday afternoon might be giving them too much credit.

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SPORTS

Schobert, Stave impress, Marz struggles at NFL Combine

By Lorin Cox | Feb. 28, 2016

Wisconsin offensive tackle Tyler Marz, quarterback Joel Stave and outside linebacker Joe Schobert participated in the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis this weekend with the hopes of improving their draft stocks in advance of the NFL Draft in late April.

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SPORTS

Badgers disappoint in weekend series in Columbus

By Bobby Ehrlich | Feb. 28, 2016

The Badgers (1-11-4 Big Ten, 6-16-8 overall) squandered an opportunity to climb out of the Big Ten cellar this weekend, allowing late-game goals to the Buckeyes (5-8-3, 10-17-3) in both games, resulting in a tie and a loss.

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SPORTS

NCAA Tournament implications on the line in Badgers' home finale against Michigan

By Matt Tragesser | Feb. 28, 2016

With its final home game Sunday, Wisconsin (10-5 Big Ten, 18-10 overall) will look to all but seal up an NCAA Tournament bid against the Michigan Wolverines (10-6, 20-9). Winning nine games out of its last 10, the Badgers have been one of the most impressive squads in the entire nation over the past month and a half, owning wins over Michigan State, Indiana, Maryland and Iowa. Getting a victory Sunday will essentially clinch an NCAA Tournament spot for UW and will serve as another résumé booster.

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SPORTS

Desbiens sets NCAA record, Badgers move on to WCHA Final Face-off

By Ryan Weinkauf | Feb. 27, 2016

It was a momentous Saturday for the No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers (32-3-1), as they defeated Minnesota State (3-29-4) 6-0, earning a series sweep and booking their place at the WCHA Final Face-Off next weekend, along with junior goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens recording her 18th shutout, breaking the single season NCAA record, all in front of a sold out crowd at LaBahn Arena in Madison.

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SPORTS

Badgers finish regular season at Purdue looking for momentum heading into Big Ten Tournament

By Ethan Levy | Feb. 27, 2016

After a hard-fought 77-83 loss to Maryland (15-2 Big Ten, 26-3 overall) last Thursday, the Badgers (3-14, 7-20) travel to Purdue (9-8, 18-10) to find a way to generate more momentum in their last regular-season game before the Big Ten Tournament. Last Thursday against Maryland, the Badgers played one of their most complete games of the season.

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SPORTS

Badgers, Bulls split doubleheader in Tampa

By Jake Nisse | Feb. 27, 2016

Wisconsin split its two games against the University of South Florida Saturday, winning the first 9-5 before falling by a score of 10-2 in the second. The first game, played at 10:30 a.m.

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SPORTS

A statistical breakdown of Wisconsin's bid for a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament

By Tommy Valtin-Erwin | Feb. 27, 2016

Percentages in parentheses are calculated using KenPom.com and represent the chance of that outcome occuring.

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SPORTS

Anatomy of a win: Supporting cast production leads Wisconsin past No. 8 Iowa

By Zach Rastall | Feb. 27, 2016

With a 67-59 win on the road against No. 8 Iowa Wednesday night, the Badgers all but locked up their spot in the NCAA Tournament for an 18th consecutive year. To do so, they relied on major contributions from their supporting cast and a barrage of 3-pointers to get the job done. Throughout Wisconsin’s remarkable turnaround over the last month and half, junior forward Nigel Hayes and redshirt freshman forward Ethan Happ have been the key cogs on offense most nights.

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SPORTS

Badgers pull away in third period, move within a game of advancing in WCHA playoffs

By Ryan Weinkauf | Feb. 26, 2016

The No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers (31-3-1) were able to quickly forget their sweep against Minnesota last weekend, as they defeated the Minnesota State Mavericks (3-28-4) Friday night 4-0, winning the opening game in the first-round series of the WCHA playoffs. The last time Wisconsin faced off against Minnesota State was on Senior Day Feb.

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SPORTS

Kansas, UNLV prove to be too much on first day of USF tournament

By Ben Leadholm | Feb. 26, 2016

Wisconsin (5-6) dropped its first two games of the USF Under Armour Showcase to Kansas (5-6 overall) 2-1, and to UNLV (8-4) 14-3 Friday in Tampa, Fla. The Badgers continued their early season trend of scoring first, jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning after an RBI double from freshman catcher Melanie Cross scored senior infielder Ashley Van Zeeland. Kansas tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning on a solo home run. UW missed two opportunities in the late innings.

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SPORTS

Badgers head to Columbus to take on struggling Ohio State

By Eric Shor | Feb. 25, 2016

The Badgers will travel to Columbus this Friday and Saturday for a two-game series against a struggling Ohio State team. The Buckeyes’ defense has allowed at least four goals in five of their last six outings.

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SPORTS

Maryland pulls away from Wisconsin after tight first half

By Ethan Levy | Feb. 25, 2016

With 45 seconds left to play in the first half, the Badgers (3-14 Big Ten, 7-20 overall) were remarkably down only one point to a Maryland (15-2, 26-3) team who currently ranked second in the Big Ten and sixth in the nation.

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SPORTS

Cardinal Zone - 2.25

By The Daily Cardinal sports staff | Feb. 25, 2016

In this week's episode of the Cardinal Zone podcast, sports editors Jake Powers and Zach Rastall chatted with men's basketball beat writer Thomas Valtin-Erwin about Wisconsin's huge win over Iowa Wednesday, its chances in the Big Ten tournament and its March Madness outlook.

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SPORTS

After tough regular-season finish, Badgers hone in on WCHA Playoffs

By Jessi Schoville | Feb. 25, 2016

The No. 3-ranked and WCHA champion Badgers (24-3-1 WCHA, 30-3-1 overall) commence their postseason campaign at home this weekend versus Minnesota State (0-25-3, 3-27-4) at LaBahn Arena.

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SPORTS

Frank finds familiar territory in NBA

By Ben Pickman | Feb. 25, 2016

Less than 12 months ago, Frank Kaminsky drooped on a podium chair between guard Josh Gasser and head coach Bo Ryan with his left hand buried in his messy black hair.