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.
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.
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.
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.
Eighteen wins. Zero ties, zero losses. Seventy-five goals scored. Nine goals allowed. Ten shutouts.
Every college athlete hears the same thing: “You must be so busy with sports and school, I don’t know how you do it!” I normally smile, shake my head, mutter something about my schedule being hectic and move on with my life.
After the Wisconsin Badgers’ (3-13 Big Ten , 7-19 overall) 90-65 blowout home loss to the Maryland Terrapins in early January, junior power forward Avyanna Young called junior Maryland center Brionna Jones, “probably the best player” she had ever defended after the Terrapins center tallied 22 points and nine rebounds on Young and UW’s frontcourt. And while both Jones and Young are juniors for their respective teams, most of the Badgers’ core is graduating and, after an emotional 71-53 loss to Northwestern on Senior Day, Wisconsin hopes to regroup and finish its season on a high note. The challenge begins Thursday at Maryland for senior guard Dakota Whyte and her teammates.
Ever since the sudden retirement of Bo Ryan in late-December, interim head coach Greg Gard has utilized his bench more and more and has seen noticeable results. Freshmen bench players Khalil Iverson, Charlie Thomas and redshirt sophomore Jordan Hill proved this with their combined 23 points and crucial win over No. 8 Iowa (11-4 Big Ten, 20-7 Overall) 67-59 Wednesday night in Iowa City.
After narrowly avoiding what would have been a devastating home loss to Illinois this past Sunday, Wisconsin heads back out on the road for another opportunity to bolster its NCAA Tournament résumé. The Badgers (9-5 Big Ten, 17-10 overall) will take on No. 8 Iowa (11-3, 20-6) Wednesday night at 8 p.m.
Women’s Hockey No. 3 Wisconsin (24-3-1 WCHA, 30-3-1 overall) finished the regular season by getting swept by No. 2 Minnesota (24-3-1, 29-3-1) 4-0 Friday and 4-3 in overtime Saturday. The Badgers host Minnesota State (0-25-3, 3-27-4) in the first round of the WCHA Playoffs this weekend, and head coach Mark Johnson is excited for the postseason to begin. “I think as a coach, as a player, collectively as a team, it's an exciting time of year."
Matt Hutchins has traveled a bit longer than most to be a Badger—8,489 miles to be exact. The junior swimmer from Christchurch, New Zealand has made the most of his journey that’s taken him across the Pacific Ocean and 66 lengths across the pool every time he swims the 1,650-yard freestyle; an event in which he is currently ranked No. 1 in the country. In August 2013, when fellow juniors Cannon Clifton and Sean Maloney were moving into their dorms, Hutchins was back in New Zealand trying to figure out if and where he would be attending school and swimming in the United States.
Trailing by 13 with just over 12 minutes left in the game, Wisconsin appeared headed for a devastating home loss that would’ve dealt a serious blow to its NCAA Tournament aspirations. The offense had been stagnant all night, Illinois seemingly couldn’t miss in the second half and the Badgers were in dire straits. But thanks to some heroics from Ethan Happ and Co. down the stretch, a disaster was averted for UW. Behind a 28-4 second-half rally, Wisconsin (9-5 Big Ten, 17-10 overall) defeated Illinois (4-10, 12-15) 69-60 Sunday night at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin ended the ACC/Big Ten Challenge with a devastating 6-5 loss to North Carolina State Sunday. For a majority of the game at Dail Stadium, Wisconsin was playing from behind, as the Wolfpack took a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning.
Trying to rebound off of a tough 4-0 loss to No. 3 Minnesota (24-3-1-0 WCHA, 29-1-1 overall) Friday evening, No. 2 Wisconsin (24-3-1-1 WCHA, 30-3-1 overall) managed to bounce back from two goals down, but ultimately fell to the Gophers in overtime by a score of 4-3.
Wisconsin proved to be its own worst enemy Saturday night as they made several mistakes that resulted in a 3-1 Michigan State victory to complete the sweep.
The offensive struggles continued for Wisconsin (5-3 overall) in day two of the ACC/Big Ten Softball Challenge, as it lost to Louisville 5-0 and defeated North Carolina State 2-1 Saturday in Raleigh, N.C.
Thursday’s lackluster performance in a loss to No. 8 Michigan State may have brought significant concern for players and fans, but the reality of the matter is that Wisconsin had an uncharismatic game and was defeated by arguably one of the nation’s top teams.
Coming into this past week’s Big Ten Championships at the University of Michigan, many teams did not really know what to expect from the UW women’s swim team.
The Wisconsin Badgers’ (3-13 Big Ten, 7-19 overall) relatively large senior class didn’t have the storybook ending it wanted.
Following the Feb. 9 departure of defensive backs coach Daronte Jones, head coach Paul Chryst announced Saturday the hiring of former Badger Jim Leonhard to fill Jones’ position.
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