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.
For Michala Johnson, the training room became the place she resided during games almost as much as the bench.
Ever since his return last Saturday, junior running back Corey Clement has been the talk of the town.
Filling the production void left on offense by the departure of Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker will be one of the biggest challenges facing a young Wisconsin squad this season. A significant amount of that responsibility falls on the shoulders of redshirt freshman forward Ethan Happ, who many are expecting to have a breakout year for the Badgers. His performance Wednesday night certainly won’t cause anyone to temper their lofty expectations for the redshirt freshman. Happ recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and six different players reached double-digit scoring as No. 17 Wisconsin rolled to a 101-45 exhibition win over Division-III UW-River Falls at the Kohl Center. Happ in particular impressed for the Badgers, scoring his 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field in 19 minutes of game action.
After a much-needed sweep of Arizona State last weekend, Wisconsin (2-3-3) will take its momentum West as it prepares for the nation’s top-ranked team, North Dakota (6-0-2), Friday and Saturday.
The Badgers recorded their first home victory of the season Wednesday as they spoiled Northwestern’s chances at a share of the Big Ten title, winning 2-1.
No. 13 Wisconsin (8-4 Big Ten, 16-6 overall) will be looking to extend its four-game Big Ten win streak when it hosts No. 25 Michigan (6-6, 16-7) and Michigan State (6-6, 14-9) this weekend.
Frank Kaminsky was the best player in Wisconsin basketball history. By the time he left for the NBA, he ranked ninth all-time in total points, eighth in field goals, seventh in field-goal percentage, first in blocks, 11th in rebounds and, believe it or not, 11th in assist-to-turnover ratio. All this despite playing nearly 500 fewer minutes than anyone in the top 10. He played just 8.9 minutes per game in his first two seasons with the Badgers.
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