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With a 70-56 win over the Fighting Illini, the Wisconsin Badgers’ Head Coach Bo Ryan is now 11-0 in Senior Day games at the Kohl Center.
Seniors Jordan Taylor and Rob Wilson were magnificent with 24 combined points to help the Badgers (23-8, 12-6) end the regular season on a three-game winning streak.
After losing eight of their last nine games, Illinois (17-14, 6-12) would have to pull out a miracle and win the Big Ten Tournament if they want to make the NCAA Tournament.
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I’m obviously biased, but I think Marquette–Wisconsin is one of the best non-conference college basketball rivalries in the country. The two fan bases pretty much despise one another and the past few years, it always seems to be a battle of Top 25 teams and a hard fought, down-to-the wire game. Saturday afternoon, the 118th all-time meeting between the two schools takes place at the Kohl Center with both teams looking to add a signature win to their resume. Here is a super nerdy, in-depth breakdown of Saturday’s game.
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Welcome to The Sports Bank’s second annual college basketball season preview series. Last year we looked at 99 teams in 99 days. This year, we are being slightly more aggressive and expanding to 111 teams in 111 days. We will rank the 74 power conference teams and top 37 mid-majors in reverse power ranking order. We’ll break down rosters, non-conference schedules, and pick a player to watch for each team.
Underestimating Bo Ryan’s ability to coach up his guys is like saying Minka Kelly is ugly; it’s just downright idiotic. Regardless of who is gone or who is returning, Ryan always has the Wisconsin Badgers competing for a Big Ten title and a threat to make the Sweet 16. This year will be no different as UW boasts the best point guard in the country; Jordan Taylor. (Yeah, I said it.)
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Overall, the Wisconsin Badgers 2010-2011 season should be considered a success seeing that they weren’t even expected to finish in the upper half of the Big Ten.
Not only did they finish in the upper half, they went 25-9 (13-5 in Big Ten) and finished third in the conference. The 25 wins were the third most in a single season in school history.
However, the season could also be looked at as a missed opportunity as the Badgers hovered around the top 10 to finish the season. but were only able to salvage a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
By: Nick Grays
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Here we go again as the embarrassment of riches gets even richer for the state of Wisconsin. As if it wasn’t enough for fans to see the Badgers in the Rose Bowl and the Packers in the Super Bowl, we now have the Badgers basketball team in the Sweet 16.
A match-up with the #8-seeded Butler Bulldogs awaits the Badgers who are playing in their fifth Sweet 16 since 2000.
After making the NCAA Tournament for a 13th consecutive season, the fourth-longest active streak in the nation, could this be the year Wisconsin makes a deep run to the Final Four?
By: Nick Grays
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Jordan Taylor didn’t have his best game shooting (2-of-16), but came through in the end with the biggest block of his life as the #4 Wisconsin Badgers defeated the #5 Kansas State Wildcats 70-65 in another March Madness thriller.
The Wildcats Jacob Pullen scored a crazy game-high 38 points and became Kansas State’s all-time scoring leader, but it wasn’t enough because Taylor’s rejection of Pullen’s last shot has the Badgers dancing all the way to the Sweet 16.
By: Nick Grays
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The Michigan Wolverines (17-12, 7-9) went into Wednesday’s game with the #12 Wisconsin Badgers (21-6, 11-4) with everything to gain after winning six of their last eight conference games. Sitting firmly on the bubble, a win versus the Badgers in Ann Arbor would have went a long way for their NCAA tourney-resume.
The Wolverines played better basketball for the majority of the game, but in the closing seconds, it was Wisconsin Freshman Josh Gasser who banked in a desperation three to most likely dash any chance of Big Blue gaining an at-large bid to this year’s NCAA tourney.
For Gasser, the shot was a lifelong memory in the making. For the other team, it was a tragedy.
By: Nick Grays
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For the 19th straight time, the #18 Wisconsin Badgers have followed a loss with a win as they upended #10 Purdue by the score of 66-59.
Tuesday’s game at the Kohl Center began as ugly as the blizzard which hit the Midwest at about the same time. Through fifteen minutes in the first half, Purdue (18-5, 7-3) had 10 turnovers and the Badgers (16-5, 6-3) were shooting around 30%. Similar to the storm, the game heated up in the second half with the lead changing hands numerous times.
But in the end it was the Badgers who prevailed behind Jon Leuer’s 24 points and 13 rebounds.
By: Nick Grays
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Now that the dust has settled from the Packers monumental win over the Bears, we can revert back to talking about another historic accomplishment in Wisconsin sports which occurred on the same day.
In a 78-46 thrashing of the Northwestern Wildcats, freshman Josh Gasser went for 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to record the first triple-double in Wisconsin Badgers history.
Just to prove what kind of accomplishment this really was; Michigan State’s Earvin “Magic” Johnson was the last Big Ten freshman to record a triple-double when he had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists vs. Detroit in 1977. How’s that for company?
By: Nick Grays
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As extremely lopsided as the college football meeting was between these teams, the Northwestern vs. Wisconsin college basketball contest was even more one-sided.
As you might have heard, there is a “little football game” between the two NFL franchises overlapping the Badgers and Wildcats fan bases. In fact, this game was even moved up a half hour to accommodate those wishing to watch the Green Bay Packers take on the Chicago Bears for the right to reach the NFL title game.
The game was such a complete route, they were given plenty of extra time to leave Welsh-Ryan Arena to find their NFC Championship viewing destination.
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With a 80-55 win over the Coppin State Eagles, the Wisconsin Badgers have now won 10 non-conference games for the fifth time in the last six seasons. Junior Jordan Taylor and senior Jon Leuer led the way with 19 points a piece.
The Badgers (10-2) final tune-up before the conference season was successful on both sides of the floor as they extended their nation leading streak to 31 games while holding opponents under 70 points at the Kohl Center.
By: Nick Grays
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The Wisconsin Men’s Basketball team defeated the Prairie View A&M Panthers by the score of 99-55 to improve to 9-1 in season openers under Head Coach Bo Ryan.
More importantly, the basketball team outscored the Wisconsin football team who put up an astonishing 83 points on Saturday. Wisconsin’s 99 points are the Badgers’ most in a game since a 98-40 win over Gardner-Webb on Dec. 27, 2006.
By: Nick Grays
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