Wisconsin

ESPN College Basketball "GameDay" Schedule Announced

Press Release — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:24:45 -0700

AUSTIN, Texas -- On Wednesday, ESPN announced the eight sites for ESPN's weekly "College GameDay Driven by State Farm" men's college basketball series and the "Saturday Primetime" game-of-the-week telecast.

This is the fifth season for the college basketball version of the popular "College GameDay" series. The series features a pair of one-hour shows each Saturday at 11 a.m. Eastern (10 a.m. Central) and generally at 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. Central), and it will originate from the site of the "Saturday Primetime" game for eight consecutive weeks. The shows will generally be presented from inside or around the arena.

Scheduled sites for College GameDay and Saturday Primetime

Jan. 17___________ Chapel Hill, N.C._______________________________ Miami (Fla.) at North Carolina
Jan. 24___________ South Bend, Ind._______________________________ Connecticut at Notre Dame
Jan. 31___________ Knoxville, Tenn.________________________________ Florida at Tennessee
Feb. 7____________ Spokane, Wash._______________________________ Memphis at Gonzaga
Feb. 14___________ Madison, Wis._________________________________ Ohio State at Wisconsin
Feb. 21___________ Austin, Texas_________________________________ Oklahoma at Texas
Feb. 28___________ Berkeley, Calif.________________________________ UCLA at California
Mar. 7____________ Morgantown, W.V.______________________________ Louisville at West Virginia

Rise and Fall: Big Ten Program Review

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:54:32 -0700

Like civilizations, all great basketball programs eventually fall.. replaced by an upstart newcomer. In this week's Rise & Fall series, we'll take a look at which BCS programs are rising, falling, or merely treading water. Up today, the:

BIG TEN

ILLINOIS - DECLINING (SLOWLY )

From a sky-high RPI of 2 in 2005, its been all downhill to 103rd last year. Another blah season should be expected as Pruitt & Randle depart, and there's no real incoming class to speak of. Its not all bad though, as the Illini have some serious talent lined up for 2009 (and 2010 if Crandall Head continues his speedy development).. but in the meantime, another sub-.500 conference record should be expected.

INDIANA - DECLINING (QUICKLY)

Not much to say here. Y'all know the Hoosiers situation as well as I do. If you want a good laugh, head over to IUHoosiers.com to check out their roster for 08-09..

IOWA - DECLINING (QUICKLY)

While the Illini's drop from 2 to 103 looks bad, how about Iowa's tumble from 7th to 193rd in just three seasons. The transfer of Tony Freeman to SIU was just one of many recent blows, and its going to take awhile to turn this ship around. Players like Cole, Tate, and Kelly are alright talents who should improve, but "alrights" won't get it done in the Big Ten. And while this year's deep recruiting class looks promising on paper, it lacks that one wow talent that can get things rolling along quickly. Todd Lickliter deserves patience to turn things around, but 2010 is the earliest any real results should be expected.

MICHIGAN - STATUS QUO

Michigan hasn't really been good since before this website even existed. Last year's horrendous season was an aberration against a long line of mediocre NIT-level teams. Now that talents like Harris, Sims, and Grady are a year older.. getting back to that 70ish RPI, fringe-NIT team range is probable (though losing Udoh was a blow since he had serious potential.) Luckily for John Beilein, half the conference is in rebuilding mode, so the current mediocrity will fit right in.

MINNESOTA - RISING (SLOWLY)

Tubby Smith never got the credit he deserves, but he might finally get that credit in a few years if Minnesota improves as expected (or at least as I expect). While last year's 20-win season is a bit misleading because the Gophers barely beat any top-150 teams.. there's definitely some positive momentum brewing. This year's recruiting haul is better than recent seasons, and local product Royce White joins the program in 2009.

MICHIGAN STATE - STATUS QUO

While there haven't been any remarkable MSU teams in recent seasons, Tom Izzo has still been churning out Top 25 clubs. This year's crew could be the best since 2001 (not even taking the welcome additions of Roe and Lucious into account), as it has legitimate Elite Eight potential. Neitzel's impressive career is over, but he handed over the torch to the new era early in his senior season.

NORTHWESTERN - STATUS QUO

If anything, the program is somehow on the downwards turn as last year's 7-22 debacle was an embarrassment to major-conference basketball. (I guess not on the level of Oregon State though..) This year's recruiting class, mediocre by usual Big Ten standards, is actually the Wildcats best of the new millennium. The problem is that serious improvement, ie a 20 win season, might not come until the next millennium..

OHIO STATE - RISING (SLOWLY)

After hyper-speed, supersonic growth in 2006 & 2007, the Buckeyes are back to your normal garden-variety type of improvement. An underrate senior (Butler), and an overrated freshman (Koufous) depart, clearing the way for another monster recruiting class. If Mullens and/or Buford go pro after next season, major gains could once again be retarded.

PENN STATE - STATUS QUO

A program perpetually on the verge of getting decent, but who never manages to put it all together. The Lions have easily been the worst program in the Big Ten for the last 8-9 seasons or so.. occasionally managing to make Northwestern look like All-Stars.

PURDUE - RISING (QUICKLY)

Last year's big national surprise should once again be good.. but I'm not sure if the Boilers will be that much better. The Big Ten was simply bad last year and Purdue feasted on a lot of struggling teams that will be better this time around. In fact, the 25 wins only yielded a mediocre RPI of 45 (though an AP ranking of 20th). So while the computer ranking should jump into the high 20's, it might not be the super-breakthrough many fans are expecting. The loss of Scott Martin to ND was a small crack in the armor, and this year's class doesn't add much to the mix. Still, you can't argue that things are heading in the right direction.

WISCONSIN - STATUS QUO

Bo Ryan is consistently the most underrated coach in the country, and last year's surprise 31 win season was just another in a long string of good years. Losing Brian Butch, who came up clutch in some late-season wins, hurts.. but its nothing that won't be overcome. There's no reason to expect anything less than the now expected push for the Big Ten title.. right there with Michigan State.

- up next is the Pac-10 -

NABC All-Star Game Rosters Announced

Press Release — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:24:37 -0700

The NABC All-Star Game rosters were announced today. The NABC All-Star Game is a showcase for top seniors that takes place in the Alamo Dome Friday evening before the Final Four

American All-Stars
-coached by former South Carolina head coach Dave Odom

Brian Butch of Wisconsin
Jamar Butler of Ohio State
Jaycee Carroll of Utah State
Robbie Cowgill of Washington State
Sundiata Gaines of Georgia
James Gist of Maryland
Mike Green of Butler
Alex Harris of UC Santa Barbara
Robert McKiver of Houston
David Padgett of Louisville
Brian Randle of Illinois
Charles Rhodes of Mississippi State

National All-Stars
-coached by Clemson's Oliver Purnell.

Ramel Bradley of Kentucky
Will Daniels of Rhode Island
Josh Duncan of Xavier
Shan Foster of Vanderbilt
Cliff Hammonds of Clemson
Joe Jones of Texas A&M
Aleks Maric of Nebraska
DeMarcus Neslon of Duke
Sean Singletary of Virginia
Jason Thompson of Rider
Jonathan Wallace of Georgetown

Poll: Who Will Get the Last #1 Seed?

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:36:47 -0700

Saturday Night Fever: Conference Tournament Update

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 18:40:19 -0700

Some thoughts on an exciting Championship Week Saturday.. with an eye on the Big Dance: - Tulsa learned in a big way this morning that Memphis owns the CUSA. Having won 10 of 13 games, and with 20 overall, the Golden Hurricanes are hoping they've done enough to impress the NIT selection committee. Regardless, the emergence of 7-0 big man Jerome Jordan is a great sign for the future. - Give Va Tech credit for taking UNC down to the wire.. but don't give them too much credit. The Hokies overall resume is virtually identical to Creighton, but they're only getting a look because of their ACC affiliation. Creighton has one more overall win, the same 1-6 record against Top 50 teams, and both finished 7-5 in their last 12. Yet you don't hear anyone claiming the Jays should be dancing.. - Bo Ryan is a coaching genius. With Indiana and MSU expected to be the top dogs in the Big Ten, it is Ryan's unheralded Badgers that will most likely walk away with the title. Wisconsin's been to the title game 4 of the last 5 years, and this year's team features no one that the average sports fan has the slightest clue about. - The real question though is whether any Big Ten team can get past the Sweet Sixteen? - If Illinois wins the Big Ten, they should immediately change the rule giving automatic bids to conference champions. - Duke proved what we already knew about them.. that they're going to live and die by the three. 6 for 26 won't cut it for a team with no inside presence.. and you have to figure they're going to run into a similar rut in week two of the tourney that will be damning. - As soon as you get your bracket, just mark down UCLA in the Final Four and realize you have at least one guaranteed lock. The Bruins just find ways to win. Today, it was Darren Collison (taking a career high 22 shots) and offensive rebounds that pushed them over Stanford. Tomorrow, it could just as easily be another formula. - Early on, it looked like St. Joseph's was going to run away with the A10 title. But Temple's two leaders, Mark Tyndale and Dionte Christmas, kept on fighting and ultimately the tides turned. St. Joe's (particularly Pat Calathes) ran out of gas and they foolishy stopped getting the ball in Ahmad Nivins' hands. Now Temple has secured a spot in the field for the first time since 2001, while the the Hawks will be sweating it out tomorrow. It would be fitting, after all the ups and downs in the A10 (teams like Dayton, URI, and UMASS rising and falling all year), that the league whose numbers are right there with the Big Six still ended up with 3 bids. - Good to see Kent State taking care of business in the MAC, ensuring that an undeserving Akron team doesn't steal a bid. I've been admittedly slow to jump on Kent State's bandwagon, but you can't argue with a 28-6 record. - Wink Adams completed an impressive MWC tournament by scoring 23 in UNLV's championship win over BYU. Adams averaged 24 ppg as the Rebels won their second straight conference crown. I'm not a huge fan of UNLV or BYU, but both have top 30 RPI's and will get Top 10 seeds in the tourney. I just wouldn't expect anything more than a win out of either. - Georgia's currently up on Mississippi State as I write this. Perhaps there would be no greater proof of the SEC's mediocrity this year than one of Georgia or Arkansas being the title holder. Tennessee's loss to Arkansas perhaps opens the door for an outsider to steal a #1 seed.. but UNC, Memphis, UNC, and Tennessee are still my choices. - I have nothing against NMSU.. but thank God Boise State won the WAC title. If you get lucky enough to host the conference championship for no reason, and you get lucky enough to get into a 3rd OT despite getting outplayed most of the night.. and you still lose.. then you don't belong anywhere near the Big Dance. - Houston has apparently accepted a bid into the new College Basketball Invitational.. the first of what should be many interesting twists and turns in the life of this new tournament's rivalry with the NIT. - I have to own up to my mistakes.. and underestimating Pittsburgh is one of my biggest. Before the season, I didn't even think this team would make the Big Dance.. and we ranked them pretty low in our preseason rankings. Even coming into tonight, I favored Georgetown heavily.. and was wrong again. Like Bo Ryan above, it's becoming clear you don't mess with Coach Dixon.

2008 NCAA Tournament Capsule: Wisconsin

Joel Welser — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 19:59:09 -0700

Wisconsin Badgers

Big Ten (29-4, 16-2)

Seed: #3

Midwest Region

RPI: 12

Big Wins: 12/29 at Texas (67-66), 2/13 at Indiana (68-66), 2/28 Michigan State (57-42)

Bad Losses: 12/8 Marquette (76-81), 1/26 at Purdue (56-60), 2/9 Purdue (67-72)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2007, Second Round loss to UNLV

Coach: Bo Ryan (8-6 in 6 NCAA appearances)

Probable Starters:

Michael Flowers, Senior, Guard, 9.4 ppg, 2.7 apg, 3.7 rpg

Trevon Hughes, Sophomore, Guard, 11.3 ppg, 2.4 apg, 3.2 rpg

Joe Krabbenhoft, Junior, Forward, 7.5 ppg, 2.7 apg, 6.4 rpg

Marcus Landry, Junior, Forward, 11.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg

Brian Butch, Senior, Center, 12.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg

Key Roleplayers:

Jason Bohannon, Sophomore, Guard, 8.1 ppg, 1.3 apg

Jon Leuer, Freshman, Forward, 3.4 ppg, 1.4 rpg

Greg Stiemsma, Senior, Center, 3.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.2 bpg

Why They Can Surprise:

A Bo Ryan coached team is always fundamentally sound and this year’s squad is no different. The flash might be gone from last year, but this is a typical Badger team that actually plays as a team. The turnover numbers are solid and the team does a decent job of sharing the ball.

The Badgers do not really have a go-to-guy, but Trevon Hughes, Marcus Landry and Brian Butch are not bad options by any means. Hughes is the guard who will take the big shots on the perimeter. Landry can hit the outside shot too, but the 6-7 power forward does most of his scoring around the basket. Butch has developed into a great, versatile big man during his long career in Madison and leads the team in points and rebounds. Wisconsin has a player they feel comfortable making the big play everywhere on the floor and that is a superb way to counterattack anything a defense can throw at them.

Why They Can Disappoint:

It is that lack of a big time scorer that can also be a bad thing in March. Sometimes it is better to have one player who can make a play when the team needs it. There is not an Alando Tucker or Kammron Tyalor to do that this year. The team also lacks quality depth up front. After Butch and Landry, Jon Leuer and Greg Stiemsma are the only big guys left. Leuer is more of a system player, a tall guy who spends most of his time on the perimeter so if Butch goes out, Leuer does not have the tools to replace him. That leaves Stiemsma, who has the girth to battle in the paint, but the senior has yet to reach his full potential.

Who To Watch:

The difference between a good and great tournament for the Badgers will be the play of everybody after the big three. Michael Flowers brings some senior leadership to the backcourt and can be an explosive scorer in spurts. Joe Krabbenhoft, a 6-7 wing, will do a little of everything. Not only is he a decent scorer, he is second on the team in rebounding and first in assists. Krabbenhoft may not get the recognition of some of his teammates, but he holds this team together. Jason Bohannon has filled the sharpshooter off the bench role quite well and can add instant offense when the team is struggling.

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 68.2 (190^th in nation, 5^th in conference)

Scoring Defense: 54.3 (1, 1)

Field-Goal Percentage: 45.5 (106, 4)

Field-Goal Defense: 38.3 (5, 1)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.8 (239, 9)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.8 (140, 4)

Free-Throw Percentage: 70.5 (125, 5)

Rebound Margin: 5.9 (20, 3)

Assists Per Game: 13.1 (176, 8)

Turnovers Per Game: 12.3 (28, 2)

Joel’s Bracket Says: Second Round loss to USC

- All 2008 Tournament Capsules

- 2008 NCAA Tournament Coverage & Brackets

- CHN's Tournament Prediction

- Sign up for CHN's Free NCAA Bracket Challenge.. win a Wii, Guitar Hero, and other prizes!

Cheerleader of the Day: Wisconsin

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 09:36:48 -0800

Thanks to our friends over at Icon Sports Media, we now have access to thousands of great college basketball photos to use on the site. Each day, along with our Picture of the Day, we'll be featuring a Cheerleader of the Day. We'll be mixing up the schools & cheerleader so check back daily!

Wisconsin

- Check out past Cheerleaders of the Day!

- Also check out the Picture of the Day!

Games of the Night: Wisconsin at Indiana

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:53:12 -0800

Games of the Night

A companion to our daily Three Stars of the Day, we present the top three Games of the Night.

#14 Wisconsin (19-4) at #12 Indiana (20-3)

7:00 PM ESPN

Even if you're tired (like I am) of seeing somewhat overrated Big Ten teams battle it out on ESPN, tonight's game should be interesting if only to listen to the announcers break down Indiana's recruiting violations. The Hoosiers need the win to keep pace with upstart Purdue in the conference standings, and need Eric Gordon to regain his scoring touch.

Prediction: Indiana

#15 Drake (22-1) at Southern Illinois (12-12)

8:05 PM

At first glance, 22-1 against 12-12 might not seem like much. But despite SIU's struggles, its still quite hard to go into Carbondale and beat the Salukis.. this is something Drake hasn't done in a dozen years. Butler and Indiana were able to accomplish the feat earlier in the year, and Drake is ranked similarly to those teams at the time. Still, SIU is not as bad as its record shows (losing a lot of close games).. and they should be able to win at home so long as they can break 60 (a big if).

Prediction: Southern Illinois

#18 Notre Dame (18-4) at #17 UCONN (18-5)

7:00 PM ESPNU

On paper, this looks like an awesome game between streaking Top 25 teams. But in ND's last two road games against top quality competition, they've lost by 19 (G'Town) and 26 (Marquette). This is why the 6-point spread might actually be too close. You never quite know what you're going to get out of UCONN, but they have to be the pick here.

Prediction: UCONN

Previous Game of the Night (Predictions)

February 12th - Michigan State at Purdue (2-1)

February 11th - Kansas at Texas (2-1)

February 10th - Indiana at Ohio State (2-1)

February 9th - Georgetown at Louisville (2-1)

February 7th - UCLA at Washington State (2-1)

February 6th - Duke at North Carolina (1-2)

February 5th - Florida at Tennessee (2-1)

February 4th - Gonzaga at SMC (1-2)

January 30th - Indiana at Wisconsin (1-2)

January 29th - VCU at George Mason (2-1)

January 28th - Louisville at UCONN (1-2)

January 27th - Duke at Maryland (2-1)

January 26th - Georgetown at West Virginia (3-0)

January 24rd - Dayton at Xavier (2-1)

January 22nd - Akron at Kent State (2-1)

January 21st - Drake at Creighton (1-2)

January 20th - Texas at Oklahoma State (3-0)

January 19th - Marquette at UCONN (2-1)

January 18th - Illinois State at Drake (2-1)

January 17th - Vanderbilt at Tennessee (2-1)

January 14th - Georgetown at Pittsburgh (2-1)

January 12th - Stanford at Oregon (3-0)

January 9th - Rhode Island at Dayton (2-1)

January 8th - Florida at Alabama (2-1)

January 7th - Robert Morris at Boston College (1-2)

January 6th - North Carolina at Clemson (2-1)

January 5th - Western Kentucky at South Alabama (3-0)

January 4th - American at Brown (0-3)

January 3rd - UCLA at Stanford (3-0)

January 2nd - Houston at UMASS (2-1)

Poll: Who Will Win the Big Ten?

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 09:11:09 -0800

Games of the Night: Indiana at Wisconsin

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:09:49 -0800

Games of the Night

A companion to our daily Three Stars of the Day, we present the top three Games of the Night.

#11 Indiana (17-2) at #13 Wisconsin (16-3)

9:00 PM ESPN2

The Hoosiers recent loss to UCONN and Eric Gordon's minor injury problems make this game a bit more interesting than I would have expected a couple weeks back. Wisconsin is coming off their first loss in almost two months, so should be pretty geeked up to get a ranked opponent at home. Still, the Badgers lost to the only quality home-opponent they've faced, Marquette, and IU is a step above.

Prediction: Indiana

Arizona (14-6) at USC (13-6)

10:30 PM

Even though the Big Ten game above features higher ranked teams, this is probably the more fun game to watch. Both teams have hit their stride in recent weeks and are making runs to reenter the Top 25. Arizona's record isn't very good away from home, but that includes defeats at Kansas and Memphis, and Bayless missed the ASU game. For all the hype Mayo has gotten, Bayless has been every bit as good. But the difference tonight won't be those guys but the supporting casts, and the Trojans have better overall talent.

Prediction: USC

New Mexico State (11-11) at Hawaii (8-11)

12:00 PM

Compared to last night when there were all types of quality games, it was a struggle to find a 3rd game for this list. I went with this WAC battle because it features two teams with over .500 league records, and NMSU features interesting characters in Pope & Passos. The problem though is that NMSU has been bad away from home (2-6), and trips out to Hawaii are never easy. It won't help the Aggies that Jahmar Young has been suspended, though he's terribly inconsistent anyways. Despite all that, I'll take NMSU.

Prediction: New Mexico State

Previous Game of the Night (Predictions)

January 29th - VCU at George mason (2-1)

January 28th - Louisville at UCONN (1-2)

January 27th - Duke at Maryland (2-1)

January 26th - Georgetown at West Virginia (3-0)

January 24rd - Dayton at Xavier (2-1)

January 22nd - Akron at Kent State (2-1)

January 21st - Drake at Creighton (1-2)

January 20th - Texas at Oklahoma State (3-0)

January 19th - Marquette at UCONN (2-1)

January 18th - Illinois State at Drake (2-1)

January 17th - Vanderbilt at Tennessee (2-1)

January 14th - Georgetown at Pittsburgh (2-1)

January 12th - Stanford at Oregon (3-0)

January 9th - Rhode Island at Dayton (2-1)

January 8th - Florida at Alabama (2-1)

January 7th - Robert Morris at Boston College (1-2)

January 6th - North Carolina at Clemson (2-1)

January 5th - Western Kentucky at South Alabama (3-0)

January 4th - American at Brown (0-3)

January 3rd - UCLA at Stanford (3-0)

January 2nd - Houston at UMASS (2-1)