UW gears up for postseason conference tournaments
By Andrew Haffner and Eric Shor | Mar. 3, 2015With winter sports regular seasons wrapping up, postseason preparations are in full swing.
With winter sports regular seasons wrapping up, postseason preparations are in full swing.
After losing six straight games, Wisconsin (5-13 Big Ten, 9-19 overall) finally broke its streak with a 62-56 win against Penn State (3-15 Big Ten, 6-23 overall) to wrap up the regular season.
It’s an exciting time for UW sports as the diving and track and field teams are preparing to compete for Big Ten titles, and the men’s basketball team seeks to clinch a share of the Big Ten title.
With their last home game of the season, the Wisconsin Badgers (4-12 Big Ten, 8-18 Overall), fell 86-83 to the Northwestern Wildcats (11-5 Big Ten, 21-6 Overall) in thrilling overtime fashion.
Another high-scoring game and another loss for Badgers’ women’s basketball (4-11 Big Ten, 8-17 overall), as they fell 81-70 to No. 5 Maryland (15-0, 24-2) Thursday night at the Kohl Center.
The Badgers (4-10 Big Ten, 8-16 overall) fell 70-63 to Nebraska (8-6, 18-7) Sunday afternoon in Lincoln despite stellar performances from senior forward Jacki Gulczynski and senior guard Nicole Bauman.
Despite having five players score in double digits, Wisconsin (4-9 Big Ten, 8-15 overall) came up short Wednesday against Minnesota (8-5, 18-6), losing 93-82.
The Badgers (4-8 Big Ten, 8-14 overall) head to Minneapolis this Wednesday to square off against a Minnesota team (7-5, 18-6) sporting the fourth best overall record in the Big Ten. The two teams last played each other in early January, with the Golden Gophers winning 72-60.
The Badgers are all coming off a high note as they head into their upcoming games. The men’s and women’s basketball teams hope to use their latest conference victories as fuel to improve. The men’s hockey team is looking to avenge a pair of losses against Penn State earlier this season and the women’s hockey team looks to repeat victories against Minnesota Duluth.
Nicole Bauman played her heart out for UW, scoring a career-high 31 points and setting a school record with eight 3-pointers, but it wasn’t enough as Wisconsin (3-8 Big Ten, 7-14 overall) lost 85-73 to Ohio State (7-3, 15-7) in their fourth consecutive defeat.
The Badgers (3-6 Big Ten, 7-12 overall) look to bounce back from three straight losses Thursday against Ohio State (5-3, 13-7) and electrifying freshman guard Kelsey Mitchell at the Kohl Center at 8 p.m.
Overcoming challenges was the key theme among three Badger head coaches at Monday’s press conference. The men’s basketball team has had to deal with multiple injuries this season, but look to overcome them.
Wisconsin snapped its five game losing streak as they dominated Marquette, 89-64, Saturday in Madison. The Badgers led 37-34 at half. UW broke the game open in the second half, outscoring the Golden Eagles 52-30 and led by 28 at one point in the second half.
Usually when a team has a field goal percentage north of 50 percent, the team pulls away with a win or keeps the game relatively close.
After a victory in their season opener on Sunday, the Badgers (1-0) look to win their second straight game as they face a tough SEC opponent in Vanderbilt (2-0) Thursday at the Kohl Center at 7 p.m.
The Wisconsin women’s basketball team (4-2 overall) will try to improve their home court perfection this Thursday against Boston College in the seventh annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
The Wisconsin women's basketball team (3-13 Big Ten, 11-18 overall) will need a win against Illinois (9-7, 16-12) to keep their season alive. History is not on the side of the Badgers, as they have lost to the Illini all three times they have met up in the Big Ten tournament and have lost the teams' two meetings this season.
The Wisconsin women’s basketball team (3-13 Big Ten, 11-18 Overall) will only have one more chance to “finish strong,” as it says on bracelets worn during each practice. The Badgers’ regular season came to an end Sunday in a 54-48 loss at Michigan State (10-6 Big Ten, 22-7 Overall).
Having lost three out of its last four games, the Wisconsin women’s basketball team (3-11 Big Ten, 11-16 overall) looks to finish its regular season slate on a high note as Nebraska (11-3, 21-6) comes to Madison for UW’s final home game before the Big Ten conference tournament.
Wisconsin (3-11 Big Ten, 11-16 overall) could not hold on to the lead Saturday and fell to Northwestern (5-9, 13-14) in a 54-52 thriller.