1. New meaning to the Battle for the Axe

After Wisconsin’s victory over Iowa and a Minnesota win over Nebraska last weekend, the two teams will square off in Madison Saturday for the Big Ten West division title and a trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship game on the line.

Wisconsin (9-2, 6-1 Big Ten) and Minnesota (8-3, 5-2 Big Ten) will meet for the 124th time Saturday but this is arguably the biggest game between the two rivals since their 1962 matchup at Camp Randall. That year the No. 5 Badgers beat No. 3 Minnesota 14-9 to win the Big Ten and advance to the Rose Bowl.

One of the most memorable moments in recent memory between the Badgers and Gophers came back in 2005 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. No. 23 Wisconsin found themselves down 34-31 to No. 22 Minnesota with just 38 seconds left in the game. The Gophers punted from their own end zone but Wisconsin’s Jonathan Casillas blocked the punt and the Badgers recovered the punt in the end zone for the touchdown and a stunning 38-34 defeat of Minnesota.

The moment is forever enshrined in the intro video that plays before the Badgers take to the field at Camp Randall.

The Badgers have dominated the rivalry as of late, having won 10 straight matches and 17 of the last 19 meetings with the Gophers. Saturday’s game will kickoff at 2:30 p.m. from Camp Randall Stadium.

2. Has the Wisconsin volleyball team lost in its past 17 matches?

The No. 2 Badgers (26-2, 16-1 Big Ten) defeated No. 10 Illinois in a thrilling four-set match Wednesday at the UW Field House before taking care of No. 20 Ohio State in straight sets Friday night in Columbus. Their win over the Buckeyes gave them 17 straight Big Ten wins which matches a program record.

Lauren Carlini won the Big Ten Setter of the Week honor for her performance against Illinois and Ohio State. She tallied 89 assists, averaging 12.7 per set while recording four services aces and five blocks. It was her fourth career Setter of the Week honor.

Freshman Kelli Bates won Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for the first time in her career. Bates was pivotal in the Badgers defeating the Illini as she recorded a career-high 17 kills. She also notched a match-high 13 kills against Ohio State to average 4.3 kills per set over the course of the two games.

Wisconsin will travel to Rutgers Wednesday before finishing their regular season schedule Friday at home against Purdue. A win against Rutgers would tie a program record for consecutive match wins with 18.

3. Off to the Bahamas

Is the lost city of Atlantis real? Maybe, but probably not.

Is the Battle for Atlantis men’s basketball tournament not only real but one of the premiere early-season tournaments for the 2014 season? Absolutely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nukPTQ5_vU

No. 2 Wisconsin headlines a competitive 2014 Battle for Atlantis Tournament in Paradise Island, Bahamas, that will take place from Nov. 26-28. The field also includes No. 5 North Carolina, No. 18 Florida, No. 22 UCLA, Oklahoma (unranked in the AP Poll but No. 21 in the Coaches Poll), Georgetown, Alabama-Birmingham and Butler.

The Badgers will open up with UAB Wednesday at 6 p.m. (CST). The winner of that matchup will take on the winner of Georgetown and Florida. Here’s the full tournament bracket.

The team escaped the wintry conditions in Madison just in time and arrived in the Bahamas Monday. It certainly looks as if they’re enjoying their time in the warm weather.

4. Men’s hockey looks for first win

The Wisconsin men’s hockey team is still looking for their first win of the season after two more defeats this past weekend against Colorado College and Denver. The team is probably feeling a little bit like this player from the Los Angeles Kings.

But the Badgers are keeping their hopes up and return to the Kohl Center this weekend for a series with Ferris State Friday and Saturday. The Bulldogs (7-6, 4-4 WCHA) split their series with Alabama-Huntsville last weekend and have beaten both Michigan and Michigan State already this season.

While Wisconsin has lost all eight of its games this season, head coach Mike Eaves points to the fact that they played well this past weekend despite the two losses. The Badgers are still a really young team as 17 of their 26 players are underclassmen and 11 of those 17 are true freshman.

“We actually just got the stats from Saturday night’s game in Denver — we out-chance our opponents, we outhit them, we out-[shot block] them,” Eaves said in his Monday news conference. “The only stat that we didn’t out do them was goals for. It’s an interesting journey we are on right now because we have not had a lot of puck luck, and we believe the harder you work the more you get and that’s an old quote. We sat in that locker room after the game and went around the room and we knew how well we played.”

5. Off to the Bahamas (Part II)

Much like the men’s basketball team, the Wisconsin women’s basketball team will head to the Bahamas for a Thanksgiving tournament as well. The Badgers will participate in the Junkanoo Jam in Freeport, Bahamas and will open with a tough test against No. 2 South Carolina Thursday.

Wisconsin, South Carolina, East Carolina and Syracuse will participate in the Lucaya Bracket of the tournament with the Wisconsin-South Carolina winner taking on the East Carolina-Syracuse winner for the championship. Here is the four-team bracket.