For much of the season, eight teams—Kentucky, Duke, Virginia, Arizona, Wisconsin, Villanova, Kansas and Gonzaga—have dominated the NCAA men’s basketball polls and storylines. These teams have combined for just 22 total losses, with Kansas owning seven of those against the nation’s toughest schedule.
After quite possibly the most successful regular season in program history, the Badgers were appropriately rewarded by the rest of their conference in the Big Ten basketball honors.
Nine games after the NBA trade deadline, it would be easy to criticize the Bucks’ deal that sent leading scorer Brandon Knight to Phoenix in a three-team swap.
After three straight years of losing in the semifinals, the Badgers are finally WCHA Final Face-Off Champions. Wisconsin was powered by sophomore forward Sarah Nurse, who scored four times in two games and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
With the Big Ten tournament looming and a chance at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament still in play, the sixth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers wanted to make a statement in the final game of the regular season.
Despite finishing a mediocre eighth place as a team, Wisconsin wrestling claimed an individual conference champion at this weekend’s Big Ten Championships in Columbus, Ohio.
The Badgers (2-14-2 Big Ten, 4-24-4 overall) have had many instances of offensive futility this year, but this weekend’s series was their low point, shut out by Michigan State (9-6-2, 15-4-2) in both games in East Lansing.
With the Big Ten season just two weeks away, Wisconsin (9-12) traveled to Tampa, Fla. to get warmed up for conference play in the USF Under Armour Invitational. Wisconsin left looking much improved from its mediocre season start, with a 3-2 record in the tournament and a play that will easily make the season highlight reel.
They say it gets lonely at the top, which means the Badgers are about to enjoy some solitude thanks to a strong, clinching win in their rival’s own house.
After a strong first half of play, Wisconsin looked like a possible cinderella team in this year’s Big Ten Tournament. Then, a second half collapse wiped out any chance of that happening as the Badgers (5-13 Big Ten, 9-20 overall) fell to Purdue (3-15, 11-19) 58-56 in a tightly contested match at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
Wisconsin head coach Mark Johnson may or may not believe in déjà vu, but as his team advances to the WCHA Final Face-Off for the fifth straight season, it may be time to start believing. For the third consecutive year, the Badgers will face North Dakota in the semifinals.
One trophy down, two to go.
By Bobby Ehrlich
Wisconsin has five more games to determine if this season will end with a bang or a whimper.
Kentucky basketball makes for an easy villain.
When Traevon Jackson went down early in the second half against Rutgers, Wisconsin looked lost. They were outscored by 17 in the half while blowing a 12-point halftime lead, prompting rumors they may not be the top dog in the conference.
Wisconsin (5-13 Big Ten, 9-19 overall) opens up the Big Ten Tournament Tuesday at 7:20 p.m. against the struggling Purdue Boilermakers (3-15, 10-19).
With winter sports regular seasons wrapping up, postseason preparations are in full swing.
Often overshadowed by stars Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker, Nigel Hayes is regularly forgotten as one of the integral pieces in the Badgers’ frontcourt. After winning the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year last season, Hayes has continued to develop as a solid-all around forward.
Let me start off by saying I am and always will be a Big Ten fan. It is home to my future alma mater (unless I pull a Bill Gates and transfer to Harvard, fingers crossed) and represents my hometown region of the Midwest.
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