OMAHA, Neb.—The Wisconsin Badgers’ performance Friday night wasn’t their best or most exciting of the season, but it was still more than enough to send them into the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament.
It is fitting that the last two rounds of the NCAA tournament are called the Frozen Four. As the Badgers fell to the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Wisconsin had a frozen four of their own - their senior forwards. Brittany Ammerman, Blayre Turnbull, Karley Sylvester and Katy Josephs each put shots on the net, but none of them could put points on the board in their team’s 1-3 loss.
The top-seeded Wisconsin Badgers’ quest for a national title begins this weekend in Omaha, Neb., where they’ll likely still be without the services of senior guard Traevon Jackson.
DETROIT—Wisconsin’s season ended Thursday night much the way it went all year: being outplayed and outscored. The Badgers (2-15-3 Big Ten, 4-26-5 overall) lost 5-1 to Michigan (13-8-0, 21-14-0) in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Wisconsin (13-13 overall) will look to carry the momentum from last weekend’s strong four-win performance into Big Ten play. The Badgers begin their conference season in a three-game series at Purdue (19-9) this weekend.
Brian Urlacher, Patrick Willis and Ray Lewis. When you think of the great middle linebackers of our era, those three come to mind. They were game-changing players who are headed to the hall of fame.
Former Wisconsin linebacker Chris Borland told “Outside the Lines” Monday that he is retiring from the NFL after just one season with the San Francisco 49ers, citing unease about the potential long-term health effects of brain trauma as the reason for his departure.Borland, who was primed to start at inside linebacker for the 49ers after a strong rookie campaign and the retirement of veteran linebacker Patrick Willis last week, told “Outside the Lines” that he’s currently in good health. His primary concerns centered on living a normal life after football, without being hampered by neurological diseases that have struck former NFL players."I'm concerned that if you wait till you have symptoms, it's too late ... There are a lot of unknowns. I can't claim that X will happen. I just want to live a long healthy life, and I don't want to have any neurological diseases or die younger than I would otherwise,” Borland told “Outside the Lines.”The 24-year-old Borland’s announcement comes as a shock to both 49er and Badger fans alike, but the implications for the NFL’s handling of brain-related injuries could be enormous.The NFL recently scuffled in its plan to reach a class action settlement with former players who have filed suit with the league seeking compensation for neurological diseases that have developed as a result of playing football. Borland’s decision could be one more step in young players deciding to never have to be on the bad end of that negotiating table.
A horrendous regular season finally came to an end this weekend for Wisconsin, one that could bring about some major changes in the offseason.
The Badgers entered the 2014-’15 season with the highest expectations in program history. A team fresh off a Final Four appearance that lost only one major contributor will create that hype.
MIDWEST
CHICAGO—With their thrilling Big Ten Tournament Championship, No. 6 Wisconsin earned its first NCAA Tournament 1-seed in program history, and enters a region that’s going to carry a whole lot of deja vu.
March Madness is the best playoff system of any sport at any level, and it isn’t even close. The combination of a huge number of teams and the single-game elimination system makes it unpredictable every year. So unpredictable, in fact, we haven’t seen two No. 1 seeds make the championship since 2008, the only year where all four No. 1s made the Final Four. And there haven’t been multiple 1-seeds in the Final Four since 2009, when Connecticut and North Carolina were the only two.
Wisconsin’s Big Ten Championship win gave all watchers a preview of what college basketball in March is going to bring.
For the eighth time in program history, Wisconsin is headed to the Frozen Four. The Badgers dominated Boston University in the NCAA Quarterfinal, defeating the Terriers 5-1 to set up a rematch with rival Minnesota next Friday.
After putting together arguably its best half of the season to cruise past Purdue, the stage is all set for Wisconsin.
The situation was worrisome at halftime. Purdue led 35-30 and had held off an impressive UW push to tie the game going into the locker room. The Boilermakers’ star center A.J. Hammons was dominating on both sides of the floor, scoring 10 points and holding Big Ten Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky to just four points. Purdue had played an excellent half of basketball and it was definitely possible they could keep it up and shock the nation.
CHICAGO–While shooting around before the game, Duje Dukan received a warm welcome from a group of United Center security guards. That moment was just the beginning of what ended up being a special homecoming for the redshirt senior forward, who grew up in the Chicago area.
In the last tournament before the conference schedule begins, the Wisconsin Badgers (9-12 overall) will look to continue their momentum following last weekend’s success with five games in the College of Charleston Invitational in Charleston, N.C., starting Friday.
Despite not having a season worth remembering, Wisconsin’s seniors will take the ice looking to come away with a win in their final home games.
It’s not often that two conference rookies of the year face each other in the same game. That’s what’s happening Saturday as Annie Pankowski and Wisconsin take on Victoria Bach and Boston University in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.
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