Badgers 2015 Schedule | Wisconsin Will Lose To Alabama in Game One

It’s officially July. Which for us sportswriters, means it is time to begin previewing the upcoming football season? The Badgers 2015 schedule is out, so I thought starting with a Badgers schedule preview would be a good idea.

Week one: Vs. Alabama- the Wisconsin Badgers will begin their 2015 season with about as a big of a bang as one could have possibly drummed up. The Alabama Crimson Tide, college football's current flagship franchise will face the Badgers at Jerry World, technically known as Cowboys Stadium, in the 2015 Cowboy Classic. The Badgers could have a new quarterback, specifically one redshirt freshman D.J. Gillins, a four star recruit from Gainesville, Florida. Gillins sat out the 2014 season on a redshirt and was highly touted. Will he be ready enough to be the starter? We will find out in fall camp. Regardless of who plays quarterback, I expect the Badgers to begin 2015 with a loss.

Week two: Vs. Miami (OH) - This will be a chance for the Badgers to pad their stats early following the opener against Alabama. Badgers win this one, or should, easily.

Week three: Vs. Troy- Another chance the pad their stats. Same result as above.

Week four: Vs. Hawaii- For the third week in a row, same situation, and same result.

Week five: Vs Iowa- the Badgers 2015 Big Ten Conference Schedule begins this week with the Iowa Hawkeyes coming to Madison. On paper, this should be a win for the Badgers, but with Iowa, you never know. This will be a lot closer than most people think.

Week six: @ Nebraska- The Badgers first real road game of the season doesn't come until week six. Nebraska has a new coach, a new system, and a new direction. This should be an easy win for the Badgers.

Week seven: Vs. Purdue- This will be the Badgers easiest Big Ten game of the season. Easy win for Bucky. Move along.

Week eight: @ Illinois- Illinois took some good steps forward last season. I still expect the Badgers to win this game, but not my much.

Week nine: Vs. Rutgers- I really like the direction this Rutgers program is going in. I expect the Badgers to lose this one at home.

Week ten: @ Maryland- Another program on the rise and heading in the right direction. This will be too close to call this early.

Week 11: Off week.

Week 12: Vs. Northwestern- 2014 can be written off as a bad year for the Wildcats. I like this team, this program, and this coach. I expect a Northwestern win.

Week 13: @ Minnesota- The Badgers will end their 2015 season in Minnesota. A year ago the Gophers were so close, but came up just short. I expect Minnesota to finally get it done against Wisconsin and win this game.

Badgers Find A Way To Win | Will They Make It To The Tournament?

As the Badgers entered Big Ten Conference play in January, there were serious doubts as to whether this team would play in any sort of postseason tournament, much less the NCAA tournament, They had a pedestrian 9-4 record, with no notable wins. What made it worse was that the only four teams that were any good that the Badgers had played at that point- Florida, Creighton, Virginia, and Marquette, they lost, three of them by double digits.

Badgers Dig Themselves Out

All of a sudden though, and seemingly out of nowhere, the Badgers sprung to life. They opened up conference play with a couple of so-so wins against Penn State and Nebraska. It was on January 12^th that they stunned America when they jack-hammered then 12^th ranked Illinois by 23 at home. They followed that up with five point win against Indiana that basically righted all of their wrongs the first two months of the season. Since then the Badgers have put together a nice resume, one that is deserving of an NCAA tournament bid. While others might point to defense, or even specifically in this case, rebounding, as the Badgers rebounding has improved the last couple of months, it was at this point though that something else began to happen that might better explain the success of these Badgers this season. They began to get lucky. Very, very lucky.

Yes they beat Indiana by five. However, The Hoosiers shot just 37% that night. The shots were there, they just didn't fall. Two weeks later they escaped the Gophers by one point, and needed Minnesota to miss shots, much like Indiana had done 11 days before. Wisconsin then beat Iowa by four in double overtime, and then beat Michigan by three in overtime just three days later. Yes they did beat Ohio State by 22 after that, but that doesn't discount the close wins. Honestly, I don't know what the answer is right now. Is this team actually good, such as the games against Illinois and Ohio State would suggest, or are they just plain lucky?

Badgers Basketball 2012-2013 Season Preview

The Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team will begin to the season as one of five national ranked teams in the Big Ten Conference. Indiana checks in at #1 nationally in almost every preseason poll. Ohio State will begin the season ranked #4 nationally in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls. Next up is Michigan and they check in at #5 nationally in both the AP and Coaches polls. It's very rare that the Big Ten has three teams in the top five to begin the season, especially when one of those team's is not Michigan State who ironically are next up checking in at number 14 in both the AP and coaches polls. Finally, last, but certainly not least, are our Wisconsin Badgers, who check in at #23 in the AP and #21 in the Coaches poll. Sporting News believes the Badgers are a little better than this, as they have the Badgers ranked at #17 nationally. Basically, simple math tells us that the Badgers are picked to finish 5^th in the Big Ten this year.

Josh Gasser Out For The Season

Before the season even begins, the Badgers got some devastating news. Junior guard Josh Gasser, who was going to be the team's starting point guard this season, has suffered a torn ACL and is out for the year, he will become an assistant coach which in all likelihood leads us to believe his playing days have officially come to an end. Two players to look for now at the point guard position will be redshirt freshman George Marshall and sophomore Traevon Jackson, who have talent, but are raw and unproven.

This means the Badgers will have to rely on their always good front-court more than ever. Luckily they have two really good talents up front in senior wingman Ryan Evans and Senior center Jared Berggren. Evans is a second-team preseason All-Big Ten selection and Berggren is a fourth-team preseason All-Big Ten selection. How far the Badgers go this year will largely depend on the play of these two. 

So how does this all add up? Well, they should be able to make the NCAA tournament but the lack of stability at the point guard position may prevent them from going anywhere once the reach the dance.

O'Brien hopes to make impact

They play the same position, came from the same conference and took advantage of the same rule.

Ultimately, they both landed in the same program, for similar reasons.

The comparisons between Russell Wilson and Danny O’Brien should end there, but they won’t, of course.

Since O’Brien made the decision to transfer from Maryland and follow the path Wilson forged a year ago to the University of Wisconsin — each getting a chance to play right away, having earned a degree — much of the focus has been on the similarities between their situations.

Now that O’Brien has arrived on campus, spent two months getting to know his teammates and has gone through the first week of preseason camp, it might be appropriate to point out the differences.

One of Wilson’s strongest supporters, from Day One, was UW athletic director Barry Alvarez, who quickly recognized the special talent that arrived from North Carolina State.

So, after O’Brien signed with UW in the spring, Alvarez was asked to make a comparison between the two.

Let's hope the Badgers go to BCS game this year.

Ball selected to the Walter Camp watch list

The preseason honors continue for Wisconsin's Montee Ball as the Walter Camp Player of the Year watch list was announced today.
Ball, a 2011 Walter Camp All-American, highlights a list of 50 players to watch for the Walter Camp Football Foundation's 2012 Player of the Year award.
The list will be narrowed to 10 semi-finalists in November and the winner will be announced live on ESPN on Dec. 6. The winner will be honored on Jan. 12 at the Foundation's annual national awards banquet in New Haven, Conn.
A 2011 Heisman Trophy finalist, Ball is the top returning rusher in the nation with 3,310 career rushing yards. He needs 17 total touchdowns and 18 rushing touchdowns to tie the NCAA career records in each category.
He was a finalist for the Doak Walker Award last season and was a consensus first-team All-American. A unanimous, consensus first-team All-Big Ten pick, Ball claimed the Graham-George Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Award and was also named the inaugural winner of the Ameche-Dayne Big Ten Running Back of the Year Award.
Ball tied Barry Sanders' NCAA record with 39 touchdowns last season and led the nation in rushing with 1,923 yards -- averaging 6.26 yards per carry. Adding in his 306 receiving yards, Ball's 2,229 yards from scrimmage also led the nation.
In five games against ranked teams last season, Ball averaged 164.0 all-purpose yards and scored 15 touchdowns.
The senior has also been named to the Maxwell Award and Doak Walker Award watch lists.
Wisconsin placed eight different athletes on 15 preseason watch lists, the third-most in the Big Ten. Michigan State led the league with 10, while Ohio State was second with nine.
Let's hope Ball can win the award. 

Top Badger football game this year

Football: Wisconsin visits Penn State
The Wisconsin football team closes out its 2012 season with a trip to central Pennsylvania November 24 to take on Penn State, which will be led by new head coach Bill O’Brien.
With Ohio State ineligible for postseason play in 2012, the Nittany Lions look to be the Badgers’ biggest competition in the Big Ten’s Leaders division. If Wisconsin is able to hold off Penn State on the road, they will likely be making their second-straight appearance in Indianapolis and the Big Ten Championship game.
Wisconsin’s defense will hope to repeat their performance against Penn State from last season, when the Badgers held PSU to just 233 total yards and seven points in a 45-7 throttling at Camp Randall.
This game will also be the first time since 1966 that UW has made the trip to Happy Valley and not faced off against Joe Paterno. The much-maligned program will try to distance itself from its recent controversy and turn over a new page for Penn State football in a statement game.  Let's hope that Bucky can have a repeat performance.

Matt Miller looking to make an impact

Offensive lineman Matt Miller, who gave an oral commitment to the University of Wisconsin on Wednesday, is often described as having a nasty disposition on the football field.
"Absolutely," Miller said in a phone interview, without apology. "I'm best known for that."
It's not hard to figure out where he got that approach. His brother, Jack Miller, who is two years older, is a freshman center at Michigan. Needless to say, the back yard battles at their house in Toledo, Ohio, got rather spirited.
"I think that's a big part of it," Matt Miller said. "I think a lot of it's family stuff. That's the way my family is and just the way I've been.
"It's just a big understanding, when you're playing football, which is a very violent and physical sport, you've got to bring the tenacity to the field."
Miller, 6-foot-5, 260 pounds, is from St. John's Jesuit and is viewed by some recruiting analysts as one of the best interior line prospects in the Midwest. He projects to be a guard at UW. Among his other offers were Michigan State, Miami (Fla.) and Georgia Tech.
St. John's football coach Doug Pearson confirmed Miller's nasty streak, but added it falls just short of his brother's.
"Not quite as nasty as his older brother, but he's pretty darn close," Pearson said. "But he's two years younger, too. He's still got time to develop that.
"The thing I like about the Miller boys, both of them, is the fact they're great kids here in school, everybody likes them and all of that. But when they lace up their football cleats, they kind of transform personalities on the field. It's just the way you want it as a coach."
Matt Miller was recruited by Michigan, although it filled up quickly on offensive line prospects and hasn't offered. The Wolverines have 22 commitments, including five offensive linemen.
"It was one of those things where, if it happened, it happened," Matt Miller said of playing with his brother. "If Michigan would have offered me and if I would have felt Michigan was my best choice, then maybe I would have gone there.
"But it wouldn't have been because of my brother or anything like that. Obviously, I was recruited by Michigan and everything. It was definitely brought up, but it didn't happen, so it'll definitely be interesting going against him."
Miller attended a funeral on Wednesday morning for a friend who died in a boating accident, so it was a painful day for him. He had a hard time picking out the thing he liked most about UW.
"I think Madison is such a cool town, great campus," he said. "Obviously, a prestigious school. The football program and the coaching staff, it all speaks for itself, the tradition and the recent winning. It's just fantastic there. It's really tough to say what was the most impressive."
In the end, it might have been UW's tradition of producing great linemen that spoke the loudest to him.
"I think everyone knows, when you think Wisconsin, you think O-line," Miller said. "When you think O-line, you think Wisconsin. That was a big part of my decision."
While the back yard tussels with his brother are over, Matt envisions lively discussions around the dinner table about which football program is better, while fighting to get relatives aligned on each side.
"It's going to be weird," Matt Miller said of playing in the Big Ten Conference with his brother. "My sophomore year, his senior year, we played on the same (high school) team. Obviously, we grew up in the same house together.
"I'm really used to being on his team, although in the backyard football games as little kids, we were always put on separate teams. There's been a lot of fights, so it kind of takes me back to the old days. We'll see how the dinner table goes when we see each other over Christmas. Which sides of the family are picking which school.  Let's hope Matt Miller takes the badgers to a whole nother level.   GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Badgers don't play Michigan State in 2015 & 2016

Just when the rivalry between the University of Wisconsin and Michigan State football teams was getting really good comes the news that it's about to go on a hiatus.

The Big Ten Conference announced on Monday the conference schedules for 2015 and 2016.

The highlight for the Badgers is the return of Michigan following a four-year break. But the downside is the absence of the Spartans from 2013 to 2016.

The Badgers and Spartans have played three highly entertaining games the last two years and met in the inaugural Big Ten championship game last season.

Michigan State handed UW its only regular-season loss in 2010, winning 34-24 in East Lansing, Mich. The Spartans won the 2011 regular-season meeting, also at home, 37-31, on a Hail Mary pass on the game's final play.

The Badgers prevailed 42-39 in the wild title game, securing the win with the help of a roughing-the-kicker penalty on a punt late in the game.

The two teams are expected to be the favorites in their respective divisions during the upcoming season and will face each other at Camp Randall Stadium on Oct. 27. But the next four years, the only way they would play each other is in the conference title game.

Iowa, a traditional rival, leaves the UW schedule again in 2015-16, after returning in 2013 and 2014. That means the Badgers and Hawkeyes will not play each other in the regular season in four of the first six years of divisional play in the Big Ten.

Let's hope when they do meet Bucky comes out on top.

Montee Ball named Badger athlete of the year

No. 1: Montee Ball, junior running back, football

It’s easy to forget that Montee Ball wasn’t the Badgers’ featured back at the beginning of the 2011 season. Heck, more fans probably saw him as a true No. 2 than a true No. 1. To be fair, the lightning-quick James White—reigning Big Ten freshman of the year—was a pretty good bet in August.

But nobody had seen what Ball did in the offseason. Nobody had seen the transformation, the weight lost and the muscle built and the mindset hardened. By the time the Rose Bowl ended late Jan. 2, though, 14 opponents—the whole nation, really—had gotten a pretty good look.

The Wentzville, Mo. native scored touchdowns like his offensive linemen eat dinner: two, three and four helpings at a time.

He scored multiple touchdowns in every game but the Rose Bowl. He finished with 33 on the ground and 39 in total. Since scoring the game-winning touchdown against Iowa Oct. 23, 2010 (19 games), Ball has amassed 2,700 rushing yards and 54 total touchdowns. Yes, that’s 142.1 yards and 2.8 trips to the end zone per contest.

He went from being a third-string option to a Heisman finalist. He went from being a talented guy in a talented backfield to the best in the nation. He went from unknown to  having a legitimate NFL future.

But that will have to wait. He’s coming back for his senior year.  Lets hope next year he can win the heisman trophy.  GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Badgers looking forward to this season

Back-to-back Rose Bowl appearances go a long way in building a nationally recognized football brand. But in 2012, the wisconsin football program has the chance to take a final, long-awaited step forward.

After spending years adjacent to the circle that surrounds college football’s “elite” programs, Wisconsin has the opportunity next season to finally anchor itself among the upper echelon of not just the Big Ten conference, but all of college football.

And a Heisman frontrunner coupled with a remarkably deep and talented defense may be just enough to finally bring the Badgers much-deserved validation as one of the conference’s perennial contenders. Wisconsin’s pursuit of becoming an elite program (à la Ohio State) has been a reappearing topic for years — including a recent ESPN college football roundtable — but next season it has the opportunity to capitalize on recent success and establish a spot on the national scene.

Analysts are quick to point out potential issues arising from the exodus of UW coaches this offseason, most notably offensive coordinator Paul Chryst. But the talent returning on both sides of the ball puts Wisconsin in great position for a third-consecutive BCS bowl appearance that could place them firmly among the Big Ten’s best and no longer keep them looming a half-step behind.

This chance at claiming a spot among the country’s best programs begins with one of the most dangerous players lining up in the backfield in all of college football — running back Montee Ball. After piling up simply absurd numbers in 2011 — 1,923 yards and 39 total touchdowns — the senior running back will be the unquestioned centerpiece of the Badgers’ offense next season.

Ball is the rare, once-in-a-decade player who can single-handedly carry the offense as a one-man touchdown machine. Although he’ll have a tough time surpassing the stats he managed in 2011, the senior’s speed and vision out of the backfield alone could earn Wisconsin a couple of victories. Beyond that, Ball’s name staying in the Heisman discussion all season will continue to elevate the image of wisconsin football. Even if Danny O’Brien fails to exhibit the skills through the air he showed as a Maryland freshman in 2010, Ball will be ready to take a starring role in the Badgers’ offensive attack.

Stricker gives UW $25000

PGA Tour pro Steve Stricker recently delivered his $25,000 Presidents Cup pledge to the University of Wisconsin to support the endowed scholarship he created in 2010 with his wife, Nicki, the school announced Friday.

The Presidents Cup does not feature purse or prize money, but instead allows particpants to designate charitable proceeds. UW was one of six organizations designated by Stricker to receive funds in return for participating in the 2011 event in Australia. 

Stricker, an Edgerton native and Madison resident, golfed at Illinois, but Nicki was a four-year letter winner for the Badgers from 1988-91.

The couple set up their scholarship in 2010. It annually provides support to a member of the UW men's or women's golf teams.

"I can't thank Steve and Nicki enough for thinking of the Badgers," said UW athletic director Barry Alvarez. "Their support through this gift and others is very much appreciated. Endowed scholarships like the Stricker Scholarship Fund are critical in assisting our efforts to provide opportunities to our student-athletes."

It is nice to see someone give money to UW-Madison.  

Ball and White in the Backfield at the same time?

University of Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema was teasing senior running back Montee Ball during football practice on Tuesday about a potential position switch.

“I was giving Montee some heat,” Bielema said. “We finally found his right position — at fullback.”

The Badgers returned from last week’s spring break and opened the doors to the media for the first time. They also unveiled a backfield at times that included two running backs — Ball and junior James White.

UW fans don’t need to be alarmed about Ball, a Heisman Trophy finalist last year who rushed for 1,923 yards and scored 39 touchdowns, moving to a new spot.

But the UW coaches would like to find a bigger role for White, whose statistics dropped last season as Ball emerged as the team’s workhorse.

White still had solid numbers, rushing for 713 yards and averaging 5.1 yards per carry. But it was a dramatic dip from 2010, when he rushed for 1,052 yards and averaged 6.7 per attempt as a true freshman.

“As a competitor, you want to play more,” running backs coach Thomas Hammock said. “So I think he wants to play more. He’s putting in the work to play more. Obviously, he’s doing enough things to say, maybe we need to put them both on the field.”

Bielema said the Badgers put in a package with Ball and White together in the backfield last season, but didn’t really get to it.

“I believe it was game seven, we put it in,” Bielema said. “Our other stuff was working so well, we never expanded the package.”

One thing that makes the combination possible is both are excellent receivers. Ball caught 24 passes for 306 yards and six scores last season, while White caught 15 for 150.

It might be an interesting season.  GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Badgers start spring practice

As the season changes from winter to spring the unseasonal sounds of football pads are beginning to fill the air.

The unique month-long period of football practices starting in late March and ending in late April granted by the NCAA gives college programs a chance to develop their team’s talent and cohesion. For Wisconsin football head coach Bret Bielema and the rest of the Badgers spring has been long awaited since a crushing 45-42 loss to Oregon in the Rose Bowl to end the 2010-’11 season.  But despite the loss there has been no hangover for the Badgers as they begin spring practices.

“The way the guys have practiced the first two days has been exceptional,” Bielema said. “For as many new coaches as we have here, different terminology, other things being different, this is the best two days we’ve had here since I’ve been coach.”

Spring practice allows teams to develop players that will fill the roles that last year’s starters fulfilled. For Wisconsin it will be critical to find a replacement for departed quarterback Russell Wilson.

Expected to compete for the quarterback job in spring practice are redshirt freshmen Joel Stave, redshirt junior Jon Budmayr and redshirt senior Curt Philips. All have had questions trailing including Stave’s lack of leadership experience as a freshmen and Budmayr’s plague of injuries throughout his career. Despite the doubts, Bielema is confident that his quarterbacks can develop.

“I believe we are looking at a 70-percent completion percentage through two practices, which we’ve never been at that level before with those kind of quarterbacks,” Bielema said.

Also expected to compete once fall practice starts is incoming freshmen and highly touted four-star prospect Bart Houston from Concord, Calif.

Houston played his high school ball at nationally renowned De La Salle High School and won multiple section and state championships in the golden state. Houston is just one of an incoming recruiting class—a class that has continued a tradition of strong recruiting efforts during the Bielema era.

“One of the hardest things for me right now is we’ve come off two Big Ten championship seasons, and we can really do some nice things in recruiting,” Bielema said. “But I only have nine scholarships this year, so you really have to be detailed about who you’re offering, how you prioritize and where you prioritize guys.”

In the upcoming season, the high school football talent of Wisconsin that has led to the rise of the Badgers’ program will be tested by out of state programs this year. The limited number of scholarships that the Badgers have available to offer recruits will force Wisconsin to be more aggressive in targeting and getting the prospects they want.

“Here at Wisconsin, in-state recruiting is the heart and soul of what we do in our program,” Bielema said.

On the injury front, Badger fans have nothing to worry about at the all important running back position, as Heisman trophy finalist Montee Ball is as healthy as ever heading into this spring. Staying on the offensive side of the ball, redshirt junior Jared Abbrederis was described by Bielema as being “restricted” due to injury. On defense, the defensive front goes into spring healthy with the exception of redshirt junior Chris Borland, who tweaked a hamstring during winter workout.

Let's hope bucky can have another successful season.   GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Badgers gearing up for March

Head coach Bo Ryan has been in the business of college basketball for a long time. That’s why when a reporter tried to ask if he had any regrets about losing out on a share of the Big Ten regular season title, Ryan didn’t even let him finish the question.

“I’ve been around a little too long for that, I don’t do that woulda, coulda, shoulda stuff,” Ryan said. “I like my guys and I like what they did this year.”

Outsiders to the program might remind Ryan had it not been for two losses to a sub-par Iowa team then No. 15 Wisconsin would have won the conference title outright, which would have been his sixth title as head coach of Wisconsin. However, the headman of the Badgers sees this season’s conference campaign from a different perspective.

“You know how lucky we were to steal those games from Illinois, Purdue, and overtime at Minnesota?” Ryan said. “If we hadn’t won those games we would have finished in seventh or eighth place.”

There is also something to be said for the difficulty of the conference as three teams tied for a share of the conference title, one of which being No. 13 Michigan who won a Big Ten title in men’s basketball for the first time in school history since 1988. Between Michigan, No. 7 Ohio State and No. 8 Michigan State, Bo Ryan’s bunch only went a collective 1-4 against the champions of the conference. With close losses to Michigan State and Ohio State at home, it is more than fair to say that the Badgers finished where they deserved to in the final standings.

“Obviously there wasn’t just a dominant team this year that just dominated everyone else,” Ryan said. “The league is pretty tough and I think that was proven this year.”

If there are any regrets about the season Ryan certainly doesn’t want to hear it from anyone. Especially now that the Badgers are entering into the Big Ten Tournament, which marks the beginning of the wildest and most unpredictable month in sports affectionately known as “March Madness.” At this point in the year it is not always the most talented teams, but usually the team that is playing the best basketball that ends up taking home the hardware.

“How about you had gallons and gallons of Gatorade and every time someone said ‘hot’ you had to take a drink,” Ryan added. “Could you imagine how bloated you would be?”

Though “hot” tends to become an overused word when it comes to postseason play in college basketball, ultimately it is the only quality that matters in March. Even if Ryan doesn’t like to use the word, it may be exactly what describes his scrappy group as they head into March. The Badgers have won three straight and 12 of their last 15 games, one of which came on the road against then-No. 9 Ohio State which was the first time in decades that a Wisconsin men’s basketball team had beaten a top ten team away from Madison.

“Tell me something better? It’s still a great sport and a great game. At this time of [March Madness] is all people want to talk about. At all levels,” Ryan added.

Either way a person looks at it the time for second-guessing is over, as hesitation and dwelling on the past will only earn a team a one-way ticket back home. The do or die nature of college basketball in March is something that captivates the nation, and this year Bo Ryan just might have the team to make a deep run. In many ways this year’s group is the true embodiment of the word team, as the Badgers have been able to bridge talent with suffocating defense and impressive mental toughness.

“With how hard they’ve worked on defense and how much they’ve accomplished given what they had, this group is good,” Ryan said. “Anyone who doesn’t know that doesn’t know basketball, trust me.”

It would be awesome if the Badgers could win the Big Ten tournament.   GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Badgers beat Gophers in OT

The No. 21/22 Wisconsin men's basketball team (8-4 Big Ten, 19-6 overall) rebounded from its most recent loss against Ohio State, albeit not easily, as it defeated Minnesota (5-7, 17-8) in the 190th meeting of the Border Battle Thursday night, 68-61 in overtime. This was the Badgers' first win at The Barn since 2008.

"I'd be lying if I said this didn't mean a lot," senior guard Jordan Taylor said. "I'm elated to get a win here [at Minnesota]."

In sports, the saying goes that when one has an opponent down they have to step on their throat and finish them, but the Badgers were unable to do this to the Gophers. The Badgers led comfortably for most of the second half, even leading 49-36 with just under nine minutes left. But there is a reason they call it a rivalry. With the Badgers unable to deal the final blow, Minnesota got on a 15-2 run to tie the game with 1:02 to go. There was no scoring from that point on and the game was forced to overtime.

In the overtime period Wisconsin's nine-minute scoring drought was finally broken by a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Josh Gasser to put the Badgers up by two. Junior forward Ryan Evans then stepped up, hitting a jumper and a pair of free throws to put the Badgers back up by six. The Badgers continued to make their free throws down the stretch to finally vanquish their arch-rival.

The star for Wisconsin was a man who hails from the Land of 10,000 Lakes, senior guard Jordan Taylor. What a homecoming it was for Taylor as he was unstoppable in the first half, making 5-6 shots including 4-4 from three to score 14 points. Although he cooled off in the second half and overtime, he still finished with a game-high 27 points.

Evans also had a big game for the Badgers, posting a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Evans was clutch in the overtime period, leading the Badgers with six points in the extra session.

One of the big reasons for the Badgers' disappointing loss to the Buckeyes on Saturday was their inability to hit the three-point shot, shooting only 5-26 on the day.

This was definitely not the case against Minnesota as the Badgers made nine threes and made more threes in the first half against the Gophers, seven, than they did against Ohio State. This quality three-point performance makes perfect sense if you look at the Badgers' season numbers. The Badgers came into this game shooting 40 percent from three on the road, but only 23 percent at home.

A big reason for this great shooting performance was the unselfish passing the Badgers displayed. Wisconsin found open man after open man, assisting on 13 of their 19 made baskets.

Wisconsin started the game off on fire, making five of their first six shots. Wisconsin then went on a 0-6 cold streak, however, that lasted over six minutes and found them down by two. But Taylor stepped up for the Badgers and propelled the team to a six-point lead by scoring eight straight Badger points. The Badgers would continue the momentum from there, taking a 32-24 lead into halftime.

The team that Wisconsin fans dread to see reappeared once again late in the game as the Badgers went on one of their patented cold stretches and shot 28 percent in the second half.

The leading scorers for the Golden Gophers were freshman guard Andre Hollins with 20 and junior forward Rodney Williams with 16 points.

The Badgers will now have a week to gear up for another Big Ten road showdown against Michigan State next Thursday.

It is good to see the Badgers are living up to the hype.  GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Badgers head to the Rose Bowl

They’ve been there before. Last time it was a whole new world. Bright lights, walking among the stars — literally — and a whole new experience.

This time around, when it comes to the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2, the Wisconsin Badgers mean business.

“We’re going to take this trip and approach it more like a business trip and make sure we go in with our minds set and really go in remembering why we’re in L.A.,” junior running back Montee Ball said.

In the 98th Rose Bowl, Wisconsin will face the Pac-12’s Oregon Ducks.

Both the Badgers and Ducks played on big stages in last year’s bowl games, as Wisconsin played in the school’s first Rose Bowl in more than 10 years and Oregon took a shot in the BCS National Championship Game.

Both teams lost — Wisconsin to Texas Christian and Oregon to Auburn — and were forced to fight through another season just for a second chance at a coveted BCS title.

Wisconsin’s road to the Rose Bowl this year was not easy, nor exactly clear.

UW opened the season with a scalding offense led by transfer quarterback Russell Wilson, and through six games it looked like a possible national championship contender.

In the ensuing two weeks, back-to-back heartbreaking losses at Michigan State and Ohio State left Wisconsin in a tough position in the Big Ten and muddied the picture of any post-season hopes. Many things had to line up just right for the Badgers to even reach the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game, let alone the Rose Bowl.

UW ultimately avenged itself with a 42-39 win over MSU in Indianapolis, gaining another berth to The Granddaddy of Them All for the second consecutive year.

Let's hope they pull off another win in the Rose Bowl.  GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!