Women’s Basketball
With the bye weekend behind them, the Wisconsin women’s basketball team (1-6 Big Ten, 9-11 overall) will host No. 8 Penn State (7-0, 17-2) followed by Illinois (3-3, 10-8) Sunday afternoon.
Head coach Bobbie Kelsey recounted her team’s mistakes in their last matchup against the Nittany Lions a week and a half ago, and the challenges they face in this week’s game.
“In all areas of the game, we were really not poised and not executing our offense the way we should, and then that led to some turnovers,” she said. “Once Penn State gets going, they’re very hard to stop because they have a lot of guards that can really hurt you in a number of different ways.”
One aspect of the Badgers’ game that is a bright spot is their free-throw percentage, ranking them among the national leaders. “Sometimes we’ll do a free-throw challenge, which everybody gets one opportunity to step up. We try to do different things to put a little pressure on them. Sometimes we do a game called Survivor Island, [when] they have to swish it. To break up the monotony of just shooting, we try to do fun things.”
Sophomore guard AnnMarie Brown will be out for at least four weeks with a knee injury. The ball drops against Penn State at 7 p.m. Jan. 31.
Men’s Basketball
The Badgers men’s basketball team (5-2 Big Ten, 14-6 overall) will head to Columbus to take on Ohio State (5-2, 15-4) Tuesday after taking down their border-rival Minnesota in a 45-44 victory Saturday.
Head coach Bo Ryan spoke to the media Monday about his team’s strong defensive performance that has countered their weaker offensive one.
“What they are doing is they are really hustling and working so hard to limit looks and to not give teams second shots,” he said. “We’ve got to stay as solid as we can because I don’t think there’s any team, when they do their scouting report, shudders and shakes when they look at us offensively. I don’t think we’re intimidating anybody.”
If the Badgers want to pull off the upset in Columbus, they will need to shut down Buckeyes’ junior forward Deshaun Thomas.
“He can score in so many different ways,” Ryan said of Thomas. “He can score around the basket. He’s shooting better from the perimeter, at least in the clips I’ve been looking at. He’s a threat out on the three, and he’s so strong and long.”
The Fort Wayne, Ind., native is averaging 20 points and 6.5 rebounds per game this season—both team highs for Ohio State.
Badger junior guard Josh Gasser is out the remainder of the season with an injury, but Ryan mentioned that he has still contributed to him team from the bench.
“He’ll say some things to the players. He’s not one of those guys that stands there and barks things out. His presence, especially to the guys that have played with him, they know how tough he is.”
Men’s Hockey
Riding high on a 10-game win streak within the WCHA, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team (8-5-5 WCHA, 11-8-5 overall) will hit the road this weekend to take on conference-foe North Dakota (8-5-5, 13-8-5).
The Badgers and Fighting Sioux are currently in a fourth-place tie in WCHA standings, a mere four points behind first-place St. Cloud State.
Despite their frustrating start to the season, head coach Mike Eaves is pleased with his team’s turn-around, especially their sweep of Alaska-Anchorage this past weekend.
“We were pretty solid,” Eaves said. “We’ve found a good way to answer the riddle and get it done.”
Wisconsin and North Dakota have a heated rivalry, one that Eaves knows can wind up players on both squads.
“Kids will be elevated in their emotions and their want and everything like that,” he said. “We just have to fine tune that. Probably pull in the reins a little bit, get a good game plan together and go from there.”
Last season, the Badgers swept the first series with UND, posting 5-3 and 5-4 victories. Wisconsin would not be so fortunate in the two teams’ second series however, as they were swept in North Dakota.
“It’s a great place to play, first of all,” Eaves said. “If I’m a college athlete or just an athlete in general, you’re playing in front of 11,000 fans, and the rink is designed such they’re right on top of you. They’re a good team. There’s a great rivalry.”
Senior forward Derek Lee is still recovering from a concussion, having passed a cognitive test but is still dealing with some mild headaches.
“He still has some residual headaches, so those have to dissipate before he can get on the bike,” Eaves said. “At this point, we’re hopeful. The fact that he passed the cognitive was a good step. He won’t go on the ice today, and tomorrow we’ll come back and see where he’s at.”
Freshman defensemen Eddie Wittchow and redshirt senior forward Ryan Little will both be back practicing in full this week.
The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday.
