Sports - The Daily Cardinal

SPORTS

Wisconsin brings momentum into friendly part of schedule

By Matt Tragesser | Jan. 30, 2016

Riding a three-game win streak, Wisconsin (4-4 Big Ten, 12-9 overall) looks to increase its NCAA tournament hopes with a matchup in Urbana-Champaign against Illinois (2-6, 10-11) Sunday. After beating No. 5 Michigan State, Penn State and No. 19 Indiana, the Badgers have looked promising as of late and will enter an easier stretch of conference games beginning with the Fighting Illini.

SPORTS

Kelsey sends strong message to team ahead of matchup with Michigan State

By Ethan Levy | Jan. 30, 2016

After the Badgers (2-7 Big Ten, 6-13 overall) lost to Nebraska Wednesday, head coach Bobbie Kelsey was the most adamantly upset she has been all year.

Ann-Renée Desbiens tied the program record for shutouts with her 39th of her career Friday.

SPORTS

Desbiens earns 13th shutout of the season

By Ryan Weinkauf | Jan. 30, 2016

On the day the 2005-’06 National Championship team was honored in between periods, the No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers (19-1-1 WCHA, 25-1-1 overall) continued their own winning ways, defeating the St. Cloud State Huskies (7-11-3, 11-12-3) 3-0 Saturday.

SPORTS

Wilcox officially hired as defensive coordinator

By Jake Powers | Jan. 29, 2016

After reports surfaced Thursday that Wisconsin had concluded its search for replacement for Dave Aranda, UW officially announced Friday that Justin Wilcox was hired as the team’s new defensive coordinator.

SPORTS

The Cardinal Zone - 1.28

Jan. 29, 2016

On this episode of the Cardinal Zone podcast, Lorin Cox and Andrew Tucker join sports editors Jake Powers and Zach Rastall to discuss Justin Wilcox's hiring as defensive coordinator, Joe Schobert's NFL prospects, Wisconsin's impressive win against Indiana and the NFL Conference Championship games. Check out men's basketball beat writer Matt Tragesser's recap of the Badgers' win against Indiana, and stay tuned to the Cardinal for continued coverage of Wilcox's adjustment to Wisconsin. Subscribe to the Cardinal Zone podcast on iTunes and SoundCloud.

SPORTS

Cichy catches glimpse of the other side

By Ben Pickman | Jan. 27, 2016

Adele’s hit song “Hello” from her latest album 25 broke an internet record this week, needing only 87 days to reach one billion hits on YouTube.

SPORTS

Nebraska rolls in easy win

By Ethan Levy | Jan. 27, 2016

After the Badgers (1-7 Big Ten, 6-12 overall) lost to Minnesota in their last Big Ten outing, the team remained excited about the future.

SPORTS

Wisconsin seeks to rebound against visiting Alaska

By Eric Shor | Jan. 27, 2016

After suffering back-to-back two-game sweeps against Penn State and Minnesota, the Badgers (1-7-2 Big Ten, 4-12-6 overall) will look to right the ship this weekend with the Alaska Nanooks (5-11-4 WCHA, 7-13-4 overall) in town.

SPORTS

Badgers focused despite clinching home ice in playoffs

By Jessi Schoville | Jan. 27, 2016

With eight games left to play in the regular season, it could be hard for the Cardinal and White to stay hungry, as it was announced Monday that the No. 2 Wisconsin women’s hockey team (18-1-1 WCHA, 24-1-1 overall) secured home ice for the first round of the WCHA playoffs.

SPORTS

Report: Wisconsin to hire Wilcox as defensive coordinator

By Jake Powers | Jan. 27, 2016

Wisconsin has reportedly found its replacement for Dave Aranda. Footballscoop.com is reporting that the former UW and current LSU defensive coordinator’s void will be filled by Justin Wilcox, USC’s defensive coordinator in 2015. Wilcox followed former Trojan head coach Steve Sarkisian to USC in 2013 after serving as Sarkisian’s defensive coordinator at Washington for one season in 2012.

Nigel Hayes went 17 of 22 from the free-throw line and scored 31 points to help lead Wisconsin past No. 17 Indiana in overtime.

SPORTS

Hayes scores 31 in thrilling OT victory against No. 19 Indiana

By Matt Tragesser | Jan. 27, 2016

After Wisconsin’s home upset against No. 4 Michigan State last Sunday, junior forward Nigel Hayes opined that “if you hit more free throws than the other team, then you usually win.” This mentality proved to be right Tuesday night, as Hayes and the Badgers (4-4 Big Ten, 12-9 overall) got to the free-throw line frequently and defeated No. 19 Indiana (7-1, 17-4) 82-79 in overtime at the Kohl Center. With 37 trips to the charity stripe, the Badgers scored 26 points and had a season-high in free-throw makes and attempts.

SPORTS

Rejuvenated Cichy eager to get back to winning ways at Nebraska

By Ben Pickman | Jan. 26, 2016

Wisconsin senior guard Tessa Cichy’s competitive nature has been ingrained in her ever since she was a kid.

SPORTS

Wisconsin coaches break down upcoming week

By Jake Nisse | Jan. 26, 2016

Men’s Basketball The men’s basketball team got a couple of much-needed wins last week, ending a three-game skid with victories against Michigan State and, later, Penn State.

SPORTS

Red-hot Indiana meets burgeoning Badgers

By Zach Rastall | Jan. 25, 2016

Back in early December, few people would’ve predicted that No. 19 Indiana would be first in the Big Ten standings at this point in the season. Though the Hoosiers (7-0 Big Ten, 17-3 overall) came into this season with lofty expectations, they stumbled out of the gates, losing to Wake Forest and UNLV at the Maui Invitational and were blown out by Duke on their way to a disappointing 5-3 start. Calls for head coach Tom Crean to be canned reached a fevered pitch amongst the Indiana faithful and a once promising season seemed doomed before it ever really had a chance to start. However, since their loss to the Blue Devils, the Hoosiers have won 12 consecutive games and are 7-0 in Big Ten play for the first time since 1993.

Since the start of last season, the Badgers have gone 8-27-11, including a 2-22-5 mark in conference play.

SPORTS

Badgers embarrassed by rival Gophers

By Bobby Ehrlich | Jan. 25, 2016

In what has been a prolonged fall from grace for the Wisconsin men’s hockey program, Saturday may have been the low point.

SPORTS

No. 2 Wisconsin exacts revenge with sweep of North Dakota

By Jessi Schoville | Jan. 25, 2016

The No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers (18-1-1 WCHA, 24-1-1 overall) came into the weekend seeking revenge against a formidable No. 8-ranked North Dakota squad (10-7-3, 13-8-3) that managed to mark Wisconsin with its first blemishes on an otherwise flawless season.

SPORTS

The Cardinal Zone - 1.23

By The Daily Cardinal sports staff | Jan. 23, 2016

In this week's edition of the Cardinal Zone podcast, Lorin Cox, Matt Tragesser and Tommy Valtin-Erwin join sports editors Jake Powers and Zach Rastall to discuss the Bo Ryan era of Wisconsin basketball, Wisconsin's win in the Holiday Bowl, Dave Aranda's move to LSU, the NFL playoffs and more.

SPORTS

Kelsey finds strong personnel pairings in tough loss to Minnesota

By Ethan Levy | Jan. 23, 2016

Same song, third verse. For the third time in the last four games, the Badgers (1-6 Big Ten, 6-12 overall) have found themselves down by a significant margin entering the fourth quarter.

SPORTS

Despite cutting down on turnovers, Badgers scuffling in conference play

By Ben Pickman | Jan. 22, 2016

The Wisconsin Badgers (2-5 Big Ten, 6-11 overall), not the Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-3, 12-6), have dug themselves a deep borough that they soon hope to pop out of.

SPORTS

Badgers hold off Penn State for second straight win

By Zach Rastall | Jan. 21, 2016

Coming off its dramatic, last-second victory over Michigan State, Thursday night’s trip to University Park looked like it could potentially be a trap game for Wisconsin. Though Penn State made things interesting down the stretch, the Badgers were able to hold on to pick up a road win and earn back-to-back Big Ten victories for the first time this season. Redshirt freshman forward Ethan Happ scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to record his seventh double-double of the season, as Wisconsin (3-4 Big Ten, 11-9 overall) outlasted the Nittany Lions (2-5, 11-9) 66-60. The Badgers led by as much as 17 in the second half, but a late, furious Penn State rally cut the deficit as low as three.