Wisconsin (6-3 Big Ten, 28-6 overall) will take on No. 22 Nebraska (6-2, 28-8) this weekend in a three-game series in Lincoln, Neb.
When the Badger men’s tennis team takes to the court Friday night at Nielsen Tennis Stadium against No. 58 Purdue, it will be looking to reverse a month’s worth of lackluster performances.
As I contemplated what to write my column about this week, I came to a standstill. Should I write about the mess at Rutgers and the mind-boggling severance package head coach Mike Rice received? Eh, perhaps. What about the allegations regarding the 2010 Auburn national title championship team? No, allegations surrounding championship programs should be old news by now. While I could have torn Rutgers and Auburn a new one, I had the odd urge to be nostalgic and sentimental with my column for the mere reason to shy away from the norm.
As great as the NCAA Tournament is, March Madness comes packed with a brutal reality: one misstep and its all over. With one half of poor shooting, Wisconsin found that out the hard way, falling to 12th-seeded Ole Miss to bring a quick end to a postseason run many thought had a chance to go the distance.
Possibly my favorite weekend of the year is the opening rounds of March Madness. This particular weekend happened to coincide with my birthday this year, so when my dad suggested spending this weekend in Las Vegas, I seized the opportunity. While I did not spend my days there dazed, confused and incoherent, a la Hunter Thompson, I did take advantage of my “of ageness,” which complemented (or caused) my rowdiness when yelling at the television screen quite nicely.
As the calendar turns over into April, football fans everywhere gear up for what is arguably the most important day of the NFL year: the draft. While free agency has made the practice of building a winner a more expedited process, you can look at the roster of any successful team and see that their corps was put together on a late April day.
The Wisconsin men’s tennis team lost a pair of road matches this weekend against No. 5 Ohio State and Penn State, to extend their losing streak to seven. With the defeats, the Badgers fell to 10-9 (1-6 Big Ten) on the season. They last won March 16, a 4-3 victory over South Florida at home.
The Wisconsin softball team (6-3 Big Ten, 28-6 overall) travelled to the Twin Cities this weekend to face off against conference foe Minnesota in a three-game series. The Badgers looked to build upon a hot start to their Big Ten schedule winning five of their first six conference games against Illinois and Iowa.
While the weather outside is delightful, the Wisconsin men’s tennis team’s (1-4 Big Ten 10-7 overall) recent performances have been frightful—like Ryan Evans’ free throws frightful. On the tail end of dropping five straight matches—none of which have really been close—and subsequently dropping out of the rankings, the Badgers travel to Columbus Friday to try to pull off a shocker against No. 5 Ohio State (5-0, 20-2). Even though the Badgers have been able to pull off several upsets against Ohio State in other sports, this one appears to be a longshot. The Buckeyes have five nationally ranked singles players, led by No. 4 Peter Kobelt, which does not bode well for the struggling Badgers’ singles squad, as they have combined to earn only one win in a singles match in their last thirty. Even the Badgers’ solid doubles lineup will have a tough time earning the point as Ohio State boasts three nationally ranked doubles pairs. However, in the past, travelling to Columbus has not scared the Badgers too much, as they 14-15 overall at Ohio State, a very respectable record considering Ohio State has not lost a home meet in 10 years. Yes, you read that right, Ohio State has not lost a home meet since April 5, 2003, going for their 164th straight win at home Friday. While defeating Ohio State will require nothing short of a perfect performance, the Badgers have a meet on Sunday that might not necessitate that kind of effort. The Big Ten boasts many strong teams this year, with nine of the twelve teams ranked. However, the Badgers get to face one of those unranked teams Sunday against Penn State (1-4, 7-11) in University Park. The Badgers will not overlook this match, as they will need to make sure they defeat the weaker teams in the conference, especially at University Park, where the Badgers have had success, owning an overall 6-4 record there against the Nittany Lions. Penn St. will also be looking to strengthen their conference record, after just recording their first conference win last week over Iowa. Fully entrenched in conference play, the Badgers will look to make a huge statement to the rest of the Big Ten this weekend as they attempt to even their conference record back to .500.
The Wisconsin softball team (5-1 Big Ten, 27-4 overall) finally earned a spot in the top 25 rankings of various polls this week, following road trips to Illinois and Iowa. The Badgers will look to continue their good start to conference play this weekend at Minnesota (4-2, 21-12).
While the weather was freezing the past few months, the Wisconsin men’s tennis team started off its season hot, going 10-2 in its first 12 meets. But last week, while many students ventured to warmer regions, it was the tennis team that went, not cold, but freezing, getting demolished in five meets.
The Badger softball team (5-1 Big Ten, 24-7 overall) began conference play this past week, taking on Big Ten opponents Illinois (1-5, 11-7) and Iowa (1-5, 20-13) in two separate away tournaments. Wisconsin was scheduled to play two same-day games at home against Northwestern (16-13, 2-3) March 27, but both were postponed due to poor weather conditions.
With the calendar finally turning the page into April, NFL fans everywhere know that the draft is fast approaching, and if there is an overabundance of one thing on the Internet, it is certainly prognosticators telling us which player will go where and why they will succeed or flop in the pros.
After crushing first-round losses in both the men’s hockey and men’s basketball NCAA tournaments, Badger fans were left wondering what had happened. Was it just a bad night? Were the teams unprepared?
Sunday afternoon could not have been a better day for the Michigan men’s basketball program. The Wolverines dismantled Florida from start to finish in their Elite 8 game, en route to a 79-59 win and their first Final Four appearance since 1993.
The Badgers (5-1 Big Ten, 24-7 overall) began conference play this past week, taking on Big Ten opponents Illinois (1-5, 11-7) and Iowa (1-5, 20-13) in two separate away series. Wisconsin was scheduled to play two same-day games at home against Northwestern (2-3, 16-13) Wednesday, but both were postponed due to poor weather conditions.
As many college basketball fanatics expected, the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament was indeed filled with “madness.” While it was highlighted by the unexpected Sweet 16 berths of many double-digit seeds like Florida Gulf Coast University, Oregon and LaSalle, the pageantry, excitement and passion of the games was somewhat negated in nature by the bone-headed comments and overall arrogance of Ole Miss guard Marshall Henderson.
This past weekend, I was asked by a friend—one who is in no a way a fan of any athletics whatsoever—what do I love so much about sports? If I am honest, I didn’t have an immediate answer. I couldn’t put my finger on just what made sports so great. Fortunately though, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team explained it for me.
After earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with three wins in three days in the WCHA Final Five, the No. 14 Wisconsin men’s hockey team (13-8-7 WCHA, 22-12-7 overall) has learned that they will take on No. 5 UMass-Lowell in Manchester, N.H., next weekend.
180 minutes. Nine periods. Three games. One weekend.
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Solutions by The State News
