Big Ten Conference

Wisconsin’s Davis declares for NBA Draft

March 31, 2022 By Bill Scott

The old saying, “All good things come to an end,” is fitting for the Wisconsin Badgers and their fans. Sophomore guard Johnny Davis announced Thursday on ESPN’s NBA Today, that he is leaving Madison for the NBA.

Davis said, “I will forever cherish the experiences I had and the relationships I built during my time in Madison and I am so thankful I chose to be a Badger. With that being said, I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to pursue a lifelong dream and will be declaring for the 2022 NBA Draft. I am so grateful for the support everyone has given me, for the opportunities basketball has brought into my life, and for the chance to continue to play the game I love.”

A projected lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, Davis looks to become the first Badger drafted since Frank Kaminsky (9th overall) and Sam Dekker (18th overall) were each selected in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Davis averaged 19.7 points and 8.2 rebounds a game this season and led the nation in scoring against top-25 opponents during the regular season (24.1).

Davis won Big Ten Player of the Year honors and is a finalist for both the Naismith Award and the Wooden Award.

The NBA Draft Combine is scheduled for May 16-22 and the NBA Draft Lottery is set for May 17, both in Chicago. The NBA Draft will take place Thursday, June 23 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Big Ten Conference updates forfeiture policy

August 23, 2021 By Bill Scott

The Big Ten is joining the rest of the Power Five conferences in instituting a forfeiture policy regarding COVID-19 for the upcoming season.

Effective today, the conference has determined that if one of its member institutions is unable to play a conference contest due to COVID-19, that contest shall be declared a forfeit and will not be rescheduled. That contest shall be considered a loss for the team impacted by COVID-19 and a win for its opponent in the conference standings.

If both of the two competing teams are unable to participate in a scheduled Conference competition due to COVID-19 and as a result the competition is unable to occur on the calendar day in which it is scheduled, the competition shall be considered a “no contest”.

Click here to view the 2021-22 Big Ten Conference Forfeiture Policy.

Big Ten/ACC Challenge Schedule released

June 28, 2021 By Bill Scott

The matchups for the 2021 Big Ten/ACC Men’s Basketball Challenge are set. All 14 Big Ten teams will see the court against 14 ACC teams on Monday, Nov. 29, 30 and Dec. 1. All 14 games of the event will be televised on either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU with network assignments to be announced later.

The University of Wisconsin will hit the road to face 2020-21 ACC Tournament Champion Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets went on to earn a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament last season but fell in the first round to Loyola-Chicago.

The Badgers beat Louisville 85-48 at the Kohl Center in last season’s Big Ten-ACC Challenge.

The Badgers are also scheduled to host Providence on Nov. 15 in the Gavitt Games with that schedule being released late last seek. The Badgers are also set to compete in the Maui Invitational this coming season.

Badgers add to non-conference football schedule

May 3, 2021 By Bill Scott

The University of Wisconsin has added another solid opponent to its future non-conference football schedule, reaching a agreement to play Utah in 2028 and 2033.

The Badgers will host the Utes on Sept. 16, 2028 and play in Salt Lake City on Sept. 10, 2033.

In 16 seasons, Coach Kyle Whittingham has posted a 134-66 overall record, 80-54 in league play.

Besides Utah, the Badgers will face Notre Dame this fall, then have home-and-home non-conference series against Washington State, Alabama, Pittsburgh, UCLA and Virginia Tech.

Badger women’s soccer advances to Big Ten title game

April 15, 2021 By Bill Scott

For the second time in three weeks, the Wisconsin women’s soccer team took down No. 22 Rutgers, earning a 2-1 win in Thurday’s semifinals of the 2020-21 Big Ten Women’s Soccer Tournament at Jeffrey Field in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Senior Lauren Rice and sophomore Emma Jaskaniec scored second-half goals for the Badgers (7-3-3) to propel UW to their first Big Ten tournament title game appearance since 2014.

UW improved to 6-1-2 all-time against Rutgers. Thursday’s win was the Badgers’ second over a ranked team this year.

Wisconsin will face Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament title game on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT. The game, which is a rematch of the 2014 Big Ten title game that UW won, can be seen live on the Big Ten Network.

Davison to return to Badgers next season

April 14, 2021 By Bill Scott

Brad Davison (Photo by David Stluka)

At least one veteran player will be returning to the Wisconsin Badger men’s basketball team next season.

Guard Brad Davison announced on Twitter on Wednesday that he plans to return to Wisconsin for his final season, taking advantage of the NCAA’s decision that athletes who competed in their sport during the 2020-21 academic year could so so without losing a season of eligibility.

Davison has started 124 of 218 games during his first four seasons and averaged 10 points and 3.5 rebounds a game last season.

“After taking some time to reflect, there is no place I would rather be than in Madison,” said Davison.

“Being a Badger is a privilege. I am grateful for one last ride with my coaches and teammates this upcoming season!”

Teammate D’Mitrik Trice decided not to return for an extra season and Trevor Anderson, who originally started his collegiate career at Green Bay, has decided to transfer to Valparaiso for his final season.

Wisconsin’s Mr. Basketball picks Illinois

April 14, 2021 By Bill Scott

The 2021 Wisconsin Mr. Basketball has picked Illinois for his college basketball home next season. Brandin Podziemski picked the Illini over finalists Kentucky, Wake Forest, Miami and Vanderbilt.

Podziemski averaged 35.1 points, 10 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 4.0 steals per game while shooting 60% from the field and 43.4% from three-point range at St. John’s Northwestern Academy as a senior last season.

The 6’6 guard/forward averaged 2,154 points during his prep career and becomes the third member of Illinois’ 2021 recruiting class. He’s expected to get an opportunity to play immediately with guard Ayo Dosunmu heading to the NBA and guard Adam Miller transferring.

Alvarez finalizes retirement plans from UW (AUDIO)

April 7, 2021 By Bill Scott

Barry Alvarez

Barry Alvarez announced his retirement during a celebration in Madison on Tuesday, making official what had been reported by various media outlets in the past two weeks.

Alvarez has been at the University of Wisconsin for nearly 32 years, including the final 18 as the school’s Director of Athletics and will officially retire on June 30, 2021.

Under his watch, Wisconsin produced 16 National Championship teams and 74 conference regular-season or tournament crowns. In 2017-18, the 74-year-old Alvarez captured Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year honors.

His impact goes beyond the playing field too. Alvarez oversaw numerous capital projects and inspired donors to contribute more than $150 million over the past 10 years. During his tenure, UW Athletics’ endowment to support student-athlete scholarships more than doubled and rose to one of the largest in the Big Ten. [Read more…]

UW Volleyball team awarded the top overall seed in NCAA Tournament

April 5, 2021 By Bill Scott

The Wisconsin women’s volleyball team has been ranked number-one in the country all season long. Sunday, for the first time in program history, the Badgers earned the top overall seed for the NCAA Tournament.

The tournament was reduced from 64 to 48 teams, giving the top 16 seeds first-round byes. UW (15-0) gets a first-round bye and will open against either Bowling Green 922-1) or Weber State (18-1) at 6 p.m. on April 15 in Omaha. Bowling Green and Weber State will meet in the first round at 6 p.m. on April 14.

Five other Big Ten teams were seeded in the top 16. Minnesota at number-three, Nebraska 5th, Purdue 7th, Ohio State 9th and Penn State 13th.

The Badgers have only lost three sets this season, but they’ve played only three matches since Feb. 22, due to COVID-19 issues [Read more…]

Caufield signs with Montreal Canadiens

March 28, 2021 By Bill Scott

It didn’t take long for Wisconsin sophomore forward Cole Caufield to take the next step. Just over 24-hours after the Badgers fell to Bemidji State 6-3 in the NCAA’s East Regional opener, the nations leading scorer in goals and points announced he would forego his final two years of collegiate eligibility after signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens.

Caufield was selected 15th overall in the 2019 NHL draft and helped the Badgers win the Big Ten regular-season title with his second straight Big Ten scoring title. He also helped the Badgers reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014.

The Big Ten Player of the Year and Hobey Baker top-10 finalist leads the country with 30 goals and 52 points in 31 games. He holds a 12-goal advantage over the next closes goal scorer. He also became the first Badgers since 1990 to tally 30 goals in a season.

Caufield finished out his collegiate career for the Badgers with 11 goals in a six-game goal streak. He also wrapped up his career with a nine-game point streak that included 13 goals and 19 points.

In addition to his collegiate accolades, Caufield served as an alternate captain for Team USA to help the team capture gold at the 2021 World Junior Championship.

Caufield is expected to join the AHL’s Laval Rockets to start his professional career following a required quarantine period.