Men’s Hockey
Coming off a weekend split with the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Badgers (5-3-0 Big Ten, 14-7-1 overall) face two big challenges in the coming week.
First, they travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., for two games against conference foe Michigan (4-2-0, 12-6-2) after having swept the Wolverines at home earlier in the season.
But perhaps their bigger concern is in regard to their health, as senior forward Tyler Barnes left Saturday night’s game after a big collision.
“He won't play this weekend,” head coach Mike Eaves said. “As far as I know, it's kind of a week-to-week deal. He won't play this weekend.”
However, there was some good news on the injury front, as Eaves updated the status of sophomore forward Nic Kerdiles, who has been sidelined for almost a month.
“There is a chance [he plays this weekend], yes,” Eaves said.
Approaching the halfway point of Big Ten play this season, Eaves is focused on getting his team prepared to gain as many points as possible. With three points now awarded for a win in regulation, as opposed to two before the formation of Big Ten hockey, the Badgers will have many opportunities to close the seven-point gap between them and first-place Minnesota (7-0-1, 18-2-4).
“It is a little bit like being able to hit a three-run homer in baseball. You're down by three, and you've got one swing at the bat. If you can get that one win, you get three points. So it's a little bit like that,” Eaves said. “Things can change like that, which makes this exciting as well.”
Men’s Basketball
After three consecutive losses following their perfect 16-0 start to the season, the Badgers (4-3 Big Ten, 17-3 overall) got back on track with a win Saturday at Purdue (3-4, 13-7), marking the first time they have won at Mackey Arena two years in a row.
Part of the reason UW was able to get back on track was the defense, which held Purdue to just 58 points after allowing at least 70 in its last five games. But head coach Bo Ryan still hopes to improve on that front going forward.
“Well, you have a different type of team in Purdue. All teams are different. There's still a lot of things that our guys need to work on defensively, as all teams do,” Ryan said.
Next up for the Badgers is a Northwestern (3-5, 10-11) team they defeated easily Jan. 2, winning 76-49. Their second meeting will be Wednesday night in Madison, but Ryan believes the Wildcats will be a stronger opponent than when the two last met.
“They're much improved. They're playing well. You take away maybe eight minutes, eight, nine minutes of that game against Iowa. And people will tell you in the league they're playing as well as anybody,” Ryan said. “We know what we have coming in here.”
Women’s Basketball
Hoping to end a three-game losing streak, the Badgers (2-5 Big Ten, 9-10 overall) will take on the Michigan State Spartans (5-2, 13-7) Thursday night in East Lansing, Mich.
However, head coach Bobbie Kelsey is not discouraged by the team’s recent play.
“I'm encouraged by the kids' attitudes and their ability and willingness to continue to improve. We've had some lulls before, so we know how to get through them,” she said. “We're encouraged by the fact that we're going to keep fighting and try to get some games here to go our way.”
While improving their actual play is a goal, Kelsey stressed that it is also important to just keep a positive attitude in the midst of these kinds of slumps.
“When you lose, it's easy to be, ‘negative.’ Even if you're not, [the players] take it that way from coaches. So you have to be really careful to make sure that you still are letting them know you believe in them, that you know things are going to turn around,” she said. “If we don't believe it as coaches, our players—you will see it. I think you'll see our kids still play hard.”
As for UW's upcoming game, Kelsey emphasized playing smart basketball and holding onto the ball.
“We're trying not to dig ourselves a hole. We try not to turn the ball over," she said. "Those are the two things we can control. We're going to do the things we can control. And the other stuff, we're not going to worry about it.”
