In a fantastic display of determination, the Badger men’s basketball team made school history on January 5, 1976 after falling 22 points behind Ohio State, but coming back to win the game. It started out close, Wisconsin and OSU battled back and forth for the lead in the first quarter. The Badgers had a 20-18 lead with 12:56 remaining in the first half, but Ohio State took off and gained a 22-point lead over the next nine minutes. At half-time Wisconsin trailed OSU by 18 points.

It was halfway through the second period before Wisconsin was back in 10 point range of the Buckeyes. With a lot of help from Dale Koehler, who scored eight points in the last six minutes, the game was forced into overtime by a 72-point tie.  OSU had a 79-74 lead halfway through the period. Then, guard Tim Paterick, who came off the bench, hit three-straight jumpers from 12-15 feet away, the last of which came with 36 seconds left to take an 80-79 lead. Another player off the bench for Wisconsin, Brian Colbert, finished things off by hitting two free throws. OSU scored the last bucket (82-81) with eight seconds left, but it wasn’t enough.

WRN Sports Director Bill Scott spoke to Paterick, who tied for third on the team with 10 points, about the game and making the comeback.  Paterick said, ”I used that over time as I coached my two boys playing basketball…I always used to bring up the fact that we were down at half-time but that’s only half-time and you gotta play a complete game.”

AUDIO: Bill Scott interviews Tim Paterick

The Badgers finished the season 10-16 overall and 4-14 in the Big Ten. They would beat Ohio State once more that same season in a 91-79 victory.

Shining Moments in Badger History are sponsored by Marshfield Clinic.
AUDIO: Shining Moments Radio Feature for 02/25/13 – Comeback Against Ohio State

On March 28, 1981 the Badgers had just come off of wins against two Division I league champs, Clarkson and Northern Michigan. The only thing standing in the way of the NCAA Hockey title was arch rival Minnesota. Wisconsin, led by Head Coach Bob Johnson, quickly took control of the game and never relented. Dan Gorowsky scored the game’s first goal at the 9-minute mark, while John Newberry added another five minutes later and Ed Lebler scored five minutes after that. After a fourth goal in the second period by Ted Pearson, Minnesota would answer with its first.  Newberry scored once again for Wisconsin, giving the Badgers a 5-1 lead.  The Golden Gophers scored twice in the third period, but it wasn’t enough. Lebler would seal the victory by taking advantage of an open net, making the final score 6-3.

WRN Sports Director Bill Scott spoke with forward Ron Vincent about the win and coming in as underdogs. Vincent said, “They were expected to win. They had beaten us early in the year. We came in there and just kind of shell shocked them. The next thing you know it’s three to nothing…we knew we could prevail, and stay with the game plan and keep the puck in the offensive zone as much as we could and it just played out.”

AUDIO: Bill Scott talks with Ron Vincent

This was the Badgers’ third national championship. Wisconsin would go on to play for the NCAA title the following two seasons, winning again in 1983.

Shining Moments in Badger History are sponsored by Marshfield Clinic.
AUDIO: Shining Moments Radio Feature for 02/18/13 – Hockey vs Minnesota 1981

Few have been able to say they’ve been a part of a national hockey championship both as a player and as a coach. Mike Eaves is one of those people. Eaves is considered the man responsible for getting the 1977 Badgers through the NCAA semifinals and into the title game. It was March 25, 1977 against the New Hampshire Wildcats in Detroit, Michigan. After 10 minutes of no scoring in the first period, New Hampshire opened the scoring with two goals in five minutes, followed by Wisconsin’s Dave Herbst scoring less than a minute later, and New Hampshire hitting a goal again less than a minute after that. Before the break Mike Meeker scored for Wisconsin, making the score 3-2. After a scoreless second period, Badger Les Grauer scored the tying goal 11:42 into the period. The battle would continue into overtime. Just 42 seconds in, Eaves scored to send the Badgers to the title game.  They played Michigan the next day and won, 6-5, in overtime, giving the Badgers their second NCAA title. Wisconsin coach Bob Johnson was named Coach of the Year.

Eaves second NCAA title win came in 2006. In his fourth season as the Badgers’ head coach Eaves led the team to a 30-10-3 season and a 2-1 victory over Boston College to become NCAA champions.

WRN Sports Director Bill Scott spoke with Eaves about both of his wins. “As a player you have to get yourself ready to play, and there’s all this energy, physical, mental, emotional. And then as a coach, you have to be in control and there’s more of a sense of satisfaction when you win a championship as a coach,” said Eaves.

AUDIO: Bill Scott talks with Mike Eaves

Eaves has played more games for Wisconsin than any other player in history. He is second all-time in career points and fourth all-time in goals scored. As head coach he has lead the team to two national title game appearances, winning one of them.

Shining Moments in Badger History are sponsored by Marshfield Clinic.
AUDIO: Shining Moments Radio Feature for 02/11/13 – Mike Eaves

It was game 33 of the 1976-77 season. The Badgers were on a hot streak, having won the last 11 games. They were going up against the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs at the Dane County Coliseum in Madison. Three minutes into the game, Mark Johnson scored a goal for Wisconsin, followed by another Badger goal from Mark Capouch five minutes later. But Duluth quickly responded with three goals of their own and ended the first period with the Badgers down 3-2.

The second period would begin with eight minutes of silence before Minnesota-Duluth would get another goal. It took Wisconsin six minutes more to answer.  When they did it was a quick rally with goals from Les Grauer and Dave Lundeen.

In the third period Wisconsin took the lead with a Craig Norwich goal three minutes in and center Jim Scheid put the game away six minutes later with another goal, giving the Badgers a 6-4 victory.

WRN Sports Director Bill Scott spoke with Scheid, who says the night is easy to remember because it was his first goal.  About the Badger’s first title Scheid said, “We went out that night in February and played a very good Duluth team and we were very happy to come away with a win…For a program that’s trying to achieve that, it’s just very special. The first one is always the toughest one to win, I think.”

AUDIO: Bill Scott talks with Jim Scheid

In addition to clinching its first WCHA regular season title, Wisconsin also won a 12th consecutive game, a record which still stands today. The team went on to defeat Michigan for the NCAA Frozen Four title. Wisconsin became the first school to win the WCHA, Big Ten and NCAA titles all in the same season.

Shining Moments in Badger History are sponsored by Marshfield Clinic.
AUDIO: Shining Moments Radio Feature for 02/04/13 – Hockey vs Minnesota-Duluth

The 1996-97 Badgers had their sights set on a trip to the NCAA Tournament, but would have to get past the Minnesota Golden Gophers to get there.  Minnesota was ranked #2 at the time.  The Gophers came out hot. By the end of the first half the Badgers were down by seven. Senior center Paul Grant rallied the team at the half. The second half would be a battle to the end, with the Badgers coming out on top by a single point. The final score was 66-65. The win gave the Badgers a birth in the NCAA Tournament, only their second appearance since 1947.

WRN Sports Director Bill Scott spoke with Grant about the game. “I remember coming down in the locker room and just looking everybody in the eye, you know, and saying we’re better than this. We knew what was on the line. We knew it was a huge game,” said Grant.

AUDIO: Bill Scott talks to Paul Grant

Grant scored 17 points against Minnesota and also notched two assists, two blocks, one steal and four rebounds. He became Wisconsin’s second first-round NBA draft choice by being selected 20th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in June of 1997.

Shining Moments in Badger History are sponsored by Marshfield Clinic.
AUDIO: Shining Moments Radio Feature for 01/28/13 – Basketball vs Minnesota