Despite averaging 10 runs per game over their last four matchups, Wisconsin (17-22 overall, 2-9 Big Ten) dropped two of three games over the weekend against Iowa (14-31, 5-9).
From averaging 4.2 points off the bench as an unheralded sophomore to staking his claim as the best player in all of college basketball, Frank Kaminsky’s incredible collegiate journey is complete.
Maybe it was only a matter of time once he sank that final shot against Arizona, but now, it’s official: Sam Dekker will not play his senior year at Wisconsin.
Coming off a dominating performance against Valparaiso earlier in the week, Wisconsin (1-7 Big Ten, 16-20 overall) will take the momentum and attempt to get some more conference victories in its series against Iowa (3-8, 12-30) this weekend.
When it comes to American politics, the Kennedy name runs deep. In pop music, it’s hard to beat the Jacksons. In Wisconsin wrestling, the biggest name is Jordan.
Sadly, Wisconsin is probably not returning to the Top 5 any time soon. Here are the five teams most likely to open next season at the top of the rankings.
Though the weather was cold, the Badgers (1-7 Big Ten, 16-20 overall) collectively heated up as they defeated Valparaiso (8-24) in both games of their double header at Goodman Diamond.
I’ve always thought of The Masters as the unofficial start to golf season. The “tradition unlike any other” is full of slightly overweight, middle-aged white guys competing in the sport’s most prestigious tournament, with an ugly green jacket awarded to the victor. Doesn’t that get you pumped?
With a heavy heart and enough retrospect, we look to the future, to next year’s team. To attempt to put Monday night into some greater context, in my birth year of 1994, the Badgers made their third-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Since 1999, they have not missed the tournament, a remarkable stretch of consistency the likes of which few programs have achieved.
Ketchup has its mustard, Han Solo has his Chewbacca and, more relevantly, John Clay had his Montee Ball and James White.
Coming off of their first home series of the year, the Badgers (1-7 Big Ten, 14-20 overall) have a shot at building on their first conference win. Wisconsin will play a doubleheader against non-conference opponent Valparaiso (2-6, 8-22), which has been struggling as of late.
For the first time in the NCAA Tournament, Wisconsin didn’t close the game strong, didn’t shoot well and got into foul trouble and will now leave Indianapolis with broken hearts and without a national championship.
INDIANAPOLIS—No one in the Wisconsin locker room was ready. Not one.
INDIANAPOLIS—If you want to know how tough this game could be, consider what Grantland’s Mark Titus had to say going into the Final Four: that Duke’s best is even better than Kentucky’s best. It’s a decent bet UW will get that best Monday night. Here are all the players you can expect head coach Mike Krzyzewski to use during the game.
INDIANAPOLIS—Wisconsin is loose. They enter a pregame press conference already in a fit of giggles, and eventually pull the rest of the media in with them. It’s at the point where even head coach Bo Ryan is cracking jokes, worrying his guys are “too tense.”
INDIANAPOLIS—It happened.
INDIANAPOLIS— Saturday night, the Wisconsin Badgers accomplished what no other team in college basketball had done this season: defeat the Kentucky Wildcats.
INDIANAPOLIS—Saturday night’s Final Four showdown between top seeds Kentucky and Wisconsin has all the ingredients to be an evenly matched contest, as the country’s most efficient offense will take on the nation’s most stout defense. Since Ken Pomeroy started tracking tempo-free statistics back in 2002, no team has posted a higher offensive efficiency rating than this Wisconsin team.
With a trip to the Final Four on the line, Wisconsin and Arizona traded blows as a junior forward’s offensive outburst powered the Badgers to the next round.
For better or worse, this Kentucky team is going to be remembered for a long time.
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