With championship week here and March Madness just a few short days away, excitement hovers over the state of Wisconsin.
This year is a special year for the state. Not with standing a selection committee conspiracy, the Wisconsin Badgers and the Marquette Golden Eagles will each receive high seeds in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, and, even though the expectations are not as high, the UWM Panthers have earned an automatic bid to the Big Dance. The team won 69-52 over Butler Tuesday night in the Horizon League finals.
Three teams in the tournament is an outstanding accomplishment for a state that lacks any real basketball tradition outside the Al McGuire years at Marquette.
With high hopes for both the Badgers and the Golden Eagles, the question begs, whom do you want to see go farther in the tournament?
UW freshman Ryan Daniels wants to see Marquette succeed more than Wisconsin. “I’m a really big fan of Wade, and, besides, I’m from Milwaukee,” he said.
Daniels is speaking of Conference USA Player of the Year, and possible national Player of the Year, Dwyane Wade, a junior from Marquette.
Wade has been the heart and soul of the team, averaging 21.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.2 steals this year. He has not been alone, though as Wade has a great supporting cast that includes senior Robert Jackson (15.7 points and 7.3 rebounds) and sophomore Travis Diener (11.2 points and 5.8 assists). These players help the Golden Eagles when Wade’s game in not at its best.
Coming into the Conference USA tournament, the Golden Eagles are flying high. They defeated highly touted Louisville on the road after trailing early by 19 points. They also clinched the Conference USA regular season title – the first time that a team not named Cincinnati has won the title since the league’s inception seven years ago – and have won 15 out of their last 16 games.
Momentum is on the Golden Eagles’ side, however others around campus are not as high on the Golden Eagles. UW freshman Tim Mazurkiewicz likes the Badgers’ team concept and their role as the underdog.
“[The Badgers] do not really have one player that they rely on; they play as a team,” he said. “Also, no one thought they would be as successful as they are, they are underdogs and people always root for the underdog.”
While Wisconsin does not have a Dwyane Wade to carry the bulk of the load, there have been a few standouts over the course of the season for the Badgers.
Led by senior guard Kirk Penney (16.4 points and 6.0 rebounds), Wisconsin plays a team game. Helping Penney out in the clutch are integral players such as sophomore Devin Harris (12.8 points and 1.9 steals) and freshman Alando Tucker (12.4 points and 5.9 rebounds).
This year’s Badger squad oozes team spirit, as seen by the statistic that five different Badgers (Penney, Harris, Tucker, junior Freddie Owens, and sophomore Mike Wilkinson) have led the team in scoring during the season. As a result of the recent success, Wisconsin has a great deal of optimism coming into both next week’s Big Ten tournament and the upcoming NCAA tournament.
Some students on campus favor Marquette while some favor Wisconsin, but then there are those that favor both.
“I will root for both Wisconsin teams and I want each of them to go as far as possible (in the NCAA tournament), but if the Badgers are eliminated early then I’m going to root for Marquette, and vice versa.,” UW sophomore Jeff Fishbach said.
The question of rooting for the Badgers or the Golden Eagles is a difficult one. Both Wisconsin and Marquette have excellent teams with players that can make a difference. In addition, both teams have momentum on their sides heading into that period of college basketball bliss known as March Madness.
