Badgers Basketball Team Heads To Miller Park

The Wisconsin Badgers Men's basketball team is coming back to Milwaukee. Just a month after the team kicked-off the NCAA Tournament against American University at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, the Brewers are going to welcome Bo Ryan and the 2013 class to Miller Park on May 9^th. General Manager Doug Melvin released a statement last week announcing the ceremony, which he says will recognize the team for their outstanding trip to the Final Four and the positive representation they held of Wisconsin throughout the season.

A former shortstop in his younger days, Ryan responded with excitement and gratitude to the Melvin's invitation. The veteran head coach thanked the Brewers for their hospitality, and even hinted that he would be the one to toss out the ceremonial first pitch.

The Brewers also welcome the New York Yankees to Miller Park on May 9^th, with the game scheduled to start at 7:10PM. It will be the pair's first series of the season. As of the end of April, both teams hold the top position in their respective divisions; the Brewers with the best record in baseball. The pregame ceremony will begin at 6:50PM, as the UW Marching Band plays the National Anthem. The band will also be playing outside of the Home Plate Gate before the ceremony begins.

In the week leading up to the May 9^th - 11^th series, Milwaukee takes on the Reds in Cincinnati then Arizona back at home starting next Monday. The team will get a one day break, on Thursday, before hosting New York. 

Hopefully, welcoming the Badgers into Miller Park will only aid the Brewers continued success. Wisconsin's trip to the 2014 Final Four was the program's first in 14 years, and a regular season record of 30-8 was the best since 2007.

Badgers Push Through Barrier And Make It To The Final Four In 2014

Ever since Bo Ryan became the head coach at Wisconsin back in 2001, the same things have been said about his Badgers teams on a yearly basis. “Oh they are a solid team, but their style will never translate well come tournament time”. “Will this be the year they finally make a deep run in the NCAA tournament?” “Bo Ryan’s system will not allow them to ever get very far in the tournament until his staff starts recruiting better athletes”. These are just some examples of the various statements made about Bo Ryan’s Wisconsin Badgers teams. I’ll bet he is as tired of listening to them as we all are of saying them. Well Bo, if you are tired of listening to them, then do something about it. It took over a decade, but for the first time ever, he finally did something about it.

The Wisconsin Badgers will be making their first ever trip to the Final Four this weekend under Bo Ryan when they travel to Dallas along with Connecticut, Kentucky, and Florida. I for one had Connecticut losing in the first round. Oops.

I could sit here for the 48^th time and tell you the strengths and weaknesses of this team- strength: best starting five in America, weakness: Absolutely no bench to speak of. But that would be a waste of time as you know that already. I will say this. Yes Wisconsin does deserve credit for making this run, but they also got very, very lucky. They were placed as a two seed in what was by far the weakest of the four regions. The number one in that region, Arizona, was going in reverse towards the end of the season. Yet again on Saturday, they will get lucky. They will get an inconsistent Kentucky team instead of say Wichita State, Louisville, Duke, or Michigan.

Let’s not dwell on that though. Right now, Bo Ryan should enjoy this moment. This moment is pure vindication for a man who has done something he has been told for over a decade he could not do, and for that, I say congratulations, you proved me and everyone else who said that to be wrong. Well done.

Badgers Basketball Fans Wonder About NCAA Tournament Invitation

The Wisconsin Badgers have played ten games to this point in the season and their play to this point comes with mixed reviews. Yes it's only ten games, but they are starting to develop a trend, and Bo Ryan's streak of consecutive NCAA Tournaments made may be in jeopardy if they don't break it. Among the various Badgers wins to this point, they beat teams like Southeastern Louisiana, Cornell, Presbyterian, and Arkansas. Two of the ranked teams they have played, Florida and Creighton, were losses. The Creighton game was close at halftime, but the Bluejays pulled away in the second half for a 10-point victory. The final score of the Florida was 74-56, and the game was never really close. They lost to Virginia, and then took care of business on December 2 and 4.  In those games, they trounced their opponents, but again, they were supposed to do that.

What I'm getting at here is that if they can't beat ranked teams Bo Ryan's streak of consecutive NCAA Tournaments made will come to an end this season. I understand it's early, and they will have plenty of chances, especially once they enter conference after New Year's, but I don't like what I see here. They can't just beat teams like Nebraska-Omaha and expect to make the Tournament.

As of this moment, they are not scheduled to play a ranked team again until January 12^th when they take on Illinois, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a little intrigue on the schedule before then. Next for the Badgers is their annual game againstMarquette on December 8^th and two weeks later they take on Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I don't know if you've noticed, but the Panthers have been making that game just a little more interesting in recent years. After that the Badgers will finish their pre-conference schedule at home against Sanford so there will be plenty of chances for fans to see the Badgers in person before they hit conference play.

           

Badgers success means big money to Bo Ryan

University of Wisconsin men's basketball coach Bo Ryan has earned $100,000 in NCAA tournament incentives and could earn an additional $200,000 if the Badgers win a national title, according to a report in USA Today.

Ryan's contract called for him to get $50,000 if UW advanced to the NCAA tournament and an additional $50,000 if the Badgers reached the Sweet 16. He'll get $50,000 if the Badgers advance to the Final Four, an extra $100,000 if they reach the title game and an extra $50,000 if they win it all.

Ryan, who is UW's all-time winningest coach and has led the Badgers to five Sweet 16 appearances in 11 seasons, received a raise last fall that pushed his annual compensation package past the $2 million mark. The deal included $1.675 million from private gift funds at the UW Foundation earmarked by donors specifically for athletics and a base salary of $436,364 from UW athletics, giving Ryan an annual package worth $2,111,364. His contract runs through May 30, 2016, and the amount from the foundation increases $25,000 each year.I would love to see Bucky go all the way to the Final Four.  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

Just when it seemed that Wisconsin men’s basketball had turned a corner with the upset win Sunday at Ohio State, UW got cold yet again at home, somehow surviving a 30 percent shooting effort from the field en route to a 52-45 win over struggling Minnesota.

The first half Tuesday night can best be described as ugly. After making three of their first four shots, the Badgers (11-6 Big Ten, 22-8 overall) were just 1-for-17 from the field over the final 16:26 of the half, their only field goal in that span coming on a three-point shot by senior guard Jordan Taylor with 12:34 remaining. Neither team cracked the 25 percent mark from the field, with the two teams combining for just nine made baskets as the Gophers (5-12, 17-13) took a 23-16 lead into the locker room.

“You just have to go back to thinking of ways to score,” Taylor said. “We were trying to get more movement in the offense. I was able to get a post touch and from there it’s all about being aggressive and trying to make the play.”

To their credit, the Badgers came out strong in the second half. Finally getting a jumper by Taylor to go just over a minute and a half in, UW scored nine of the first 11 points of the half. Wisconsin was finally about to knot the game at 25 after a controversial three-point play by junior forward Mike Bruesewitz that was initially ruled a charge only to be overturned following a lengthy conference amongst the officials.

“An official can make the call and if he is not sure, he can go ask the other official,” head coach Bo Ryan said after the game. “That’s what they did.”

“I thought I got there,” Bruesewitz said. “I thought he was in the circle, that’s why I went up.”

Sparked by their good fortune, the Badgers took control of the game from there. Taylor was back to his usual self after a tough first half, finishing with a game-high 22 points on 4-of-9 shooting and 11-of-12 from the field throw line. Taylor’s 17 second-half points (out of UW’s 36) got the Minnesotan to the twenty-point mark for just the third time this season, with two of them coming against the Gophers.

On the other end it was once again freshman guard Andre Hollins giving the Badgers fits on the defensive end. After coming off the bench to score 20 against UW in Minneapolis, the Memphis, Tenn. native again led the Gophers in scoring, this time with 18 points, 13 of those in the first half alone.

“He took more shots than anyone in the game so I thought he was pretty aggressive,” Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith said of Hollins. “Unfortunately he couldn’t make any of them [in the second half].”

Wisconsin was able to adjust at the half and ultimately that was enough to get them the win they needed to clinch a spot in the top four in the Big Ten standings and thus clinch a first-round bye in next weekend’s Big Ten Tournament.

“We didn’t do a good job of throwing the first blow or getting out to a good start,” Taylor said. “But we did a good job in the second half of turning things around.”

One thing that allowed the Badgers to quickly regain control of the game was their ability to finally get to the free throw line. With Minnesota committing seven fouls in the first 5:35 of the second half, Wisconsin had the benefit of being in the bonus for the majority of the backstretch. The Badgers took advantage, hitting 15-of-20 free throws in the second half en route to a comparatively explosive 36-point output.

“Getting to the free throw line was definitely huge in this game,” junior forward Ryan Evans said. “There were a lot of free throws and that’s where a lot of the points were scored.”

Due in large part to the multitude of free throws, there was never any flow to the game. Neither team seemed comfortable on the offensive end and neither team was able to pull away when they had the chance. Ultimately, Wisconsin was able to cut down on turnovers and make their free throws, the formula necessary to win in these low-scoring games Badger fans should be well accustomed to by now.

While hopes of a Big Ten title were washed away with the Badgers’ 67-66 defeat at Iowa last week, they continue to have plenty at stake with just one game remaining on their regular season schedule. With Illinois coming to town Sunday for senior day, the Badgers still have an outside shot to overtake either Michigan or Ohio State in the standings, in turn avoiding a quarterfinal matchup in the Big Ten Tournament with No. 20 Indiana down in Indianapolis.

More importantly, the Badgers have a chance to finally head into the postseason with momentum.

I hope the Badgers cab make it to the sweet sixteen.  GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Badgers play at Iowa tonight

The No. 16/15 Wisconsin men’s basketball team (9-5 Big Ten, 20-7 overall) looks to get an important road win against Iowa (6-8, 14-13) in Iowa City on Thursday.

Although Iowa delivered the Badgers a shocking defeat at the Kohl Center at the end of December, no one considers it a revenge game.

“They exposed us a little bit. We obviously didn’t play our best game when they came down here and it kind of set the tone for the Big Ten that we didn’t want, obviously,” sophomore guard Josh Gasser said. “We think we’re back on track here and ready to go. We’ll take it to them again. I wouldn’t say revenge, but we’re playing to get a win.”

Though the Badgers will not call it a revenge game, they will certainly want to play better against the Hawkeyes this time around.

In their loss earlier this year to the Hawkeyes, the Badgers gave up a season-high 72 points, including 14 points off the fast break. The Badgers also struggled on the offensive side of the ball, turning in one of their worst shooting performances of the year.

Wisconsin shot just 35 percent from the field and missed 25 of their 28 three-point attempts. Missing those outside shots not only hurt Wisconsin’s shooting percentage, but exacerbated the Badgers’ troubles in transition as well by allowing the Hawkeyes to grab the long rebounds and run.

A game with an up-and-down pace that the Hawkeyes like to play does not suit Wisconsin’s slug-it-out style, so it will be very important for the Badgers to slow the pace down this time.

One way to stop the Hawkeyes from getting in transition is by making shots. In order to do that, the Badgers must find an inside presence that has been somewhat absent in their last two games. In those games, Wisconsin was outscored by the Spartans and Nittany Lions in the paint by a combined 42 points.

“We’ve got to work the ball in the post a little bit more. I think we’ve got to establish a strong inside game, especially with [junior center] Jared [Berggren],” junior forward Mike Bruesewitz said. “I think we’ve got to get him back going on the block because he can be really dominant down there.”

Getting the ball in the paint also gives the Badgers more free-throw attempts, slowing down the Hawkeyes’ transition game even further.

“Getting to the line obviously slows them down. It just changes the pace of the game,” Bruesewitz said. “It kind of makes the tempo more of what we want it to be, a little more of a ground-it-out game than trying to get it up-and-down and run with those guys.”

Thursday’s game could be a big one for Wisconsin’s momentum and possible NCAA Tournament seeding moving forward. If the Badgers are able to slow down Iowa and get a road win in a tough environment like Iowa City, it could give them a boost of confidence they could use when they visit Columbus, Ohio. to battle the Buckeyes on Sunday.

Thursday’s showdown with the Hawkeyes is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and can be seen on ESPN2.

Let's hope Bucky wins so they help themselves with tournament seeding.  GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!