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.
The No. 4 seeded Wisconsin men's hockey team continued its hot streak Friday, riding three unanswered goals to a 4-1 victory over No. 1 seed St. Cloud State at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul Minnesota.
The Wisconsin softball team (22-3 overall) will begin Big Ten play Friday as it travels to Champaign, Ill., to play three games in three days against conference foe Illinois. The Fighting Illini (10-12) carry a four-game wining streak into the weekend and look to knock off a Badger squad that is off to its best start in school history.
The Wisconsin men's hockey team will play Minnesota State in the quarterfinals of the WCHA Final Five on Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
After four months of ups and downs, buzzer beaters and heartbreaking defeats, we are finally here. March Madness has finally arrived. But before you toss yet another tear-soaked bracket into the trash following Thursdays opening round of games (yes I still call them opening round games because that’s what they are; Tuesday’s play-in games do not constitute a “first round”), take a step back and look at just how wide open this year’s tournament is.
The Steubenville rape trial, and Sunday’s verdict, has shed some light on the out-of-control direction which athletics in this country seem to be heading.
The hardest games to win are the ones to end another team’s season.
The Wisconsin softball team (22-3 overall) ended the non-conference schedule with a bang this weekend at the Louisville Classic. The Badgers won all four games they played, against North Carolina (18-8), Ball State (12-10) and Eastern Michigan (8-12) twice, after the final game against hometown Louisville was cancelled due to poor weather conditions.
CHICAGO- Storybook endings are nice but in the world of sports, they rarely come to fruition. After three games against top-10 competition this weekend in Chicago, the slipper finally fell off of Cinderella’s foot as No. 22 Wisconsin (12-6 Big Ten, 23-11 overall) went without a field goal over the final 7:03 that turned a 41-39 lead into a 50-43 loss at the hands of No. 10 Ohio State (13-5, 26-7).
Wisconsin arguably benefited the most from the Big Ten’s single-play cycling schedule this season, drawing both Indiana and Michigan only once during the regular season slate.
Wisconsin (18-3 overall) tries to continue their six-game win streak in the Louisville Classic starting this Friday, where will they take on four teams in three days.
After earning a win last weekend when it mattered the most, the No. 14 Wisconsin men’s hockey team will host Minnesota-Duluth in a best-of-three series at the Kohl Center this weekend.
Men's Hockey
It’s 7:00 on a Friday night, and as the lights dim over the Kohl Center ice and Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” fades in, five words flash across the big screen, juxtaposed over a highlight reel of the season’s biggest moments: “Wisconsin, this is your team.”
Bo Ryan has done it again. The Badger men’s basketball coach received his third Big Ten Coach of the Year honor Monday after leading Wisconsin (12-6 Big Ten, 21-10 overall) to a fourth-place finish in arguably the best conference in college basketball.
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