10. Badgers’ men’s hockey gets its first win
It took nine games, but Wisconsin avoided tying the worst start in program history from the 1932-1933 season by dropping Ferris State 5-3 Nov. 29 at the Kohl Center. Since then, the Badgers have lost two more games to push their record to 1-10-1, which magnifies even further that lone win. UW’s season began Oct. 10, and it endured the better part of two months with eight straight losses before tying Ferris State on Nov. 28 and securing the win the next night.
9. Volleyball comes back at home in third set against Illinois
After splitting the first two sets with the Fighting Illini Nov. 19, the Badgers were down 23-16 in the third set, on the brink of trailing in a match for the first time since Sep. 24. But UW cued up an 8-0 run to take the lead and won the set 26-24. They went on to win the next set and the match.
8. Cross-country wins 47th Big Ten title
The Wisconsin men’s cross-country team saw its record 14-year Big Ten title streak come to an end last season, but the Badgers couldn’t be separated from the crown for long. Behind the second straight individual title from sophomore Malachy Schrobilgen and a second place finish from Michael Van Voorhis, Wisconsin easily outpaced runner-up Michigan by 30 points. The championship marked the Badgers’ 47th title overall in 100 years of a cross-country Big Ten Championship.
7. Volleyball advances to Sweet 16
After earning the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Badgers had no problem winning their first and second round matches at the UW Field House. Wisconsin swept both of their matches, defeating Western Michigan in the first round before taking out Illinois State in the second round. UW will move on to the Sweet 16 in Louisville to take on Ohio State. If they win, the Badgers will face the winner of UCLA and Penn State.
6. Men’s basketball takes Battle 4 Atlantis crown
The Badgers went to the Bahamas over Thanksgiving break to partake in the 2014 Battle 4 Atlantis tournament along with powerhouse teams like North Carolina, UCLA, Florida and Butler. While many of the top teams fell in the first round, the Badgers beat UAB in the first round, then won a close battle with Georgetown before taking down Oklahoma to capture the championship. Senior forward Frank Kaminsky was named the tournament MVP. He scored 17 points — 16 of those in the second half — and hauled in eight rebounds in UW’s win over Oklahoma in the championship.
5. Women’s soccer wins the Big Ten Championship
Following a tough end to the season a year ago when the Badgers lost five of their last seven games to fall out of the Big Ten title race, UW found out how to win down the stretch this year. Wisconsin finished the regular season unbeaten in its final six contests and then went on to continue the trend in the Big Ten tournament with three straight victories to secure the title. The last win came on a golden goal in the second overtime when Kinley McNicoll curled in a corner kick to give UW the 1-0 triumph.
4. Wisconsin beats Nebraska at home … again
The Badgers came out of the gates slow Nov. 15 in arguably their biggest Big Ten game of the season. Wisconsin couldn’t get started on the ground while the passing attack continued to struggle, and Nebraska jumped out to a 17-3 advantage after the first quarter and change. But then Melvin Gordon got going, and UW exploded for 49 points in the second and third quarters to bury the Cornhuskers. More surprising than the 59-24 final score was the fact that Joel Stave only passed for 46 yards total in the game.
3. Volleyball wins the Big Ten Championship
For the first time since 2001, the Badgers captured a conference title with a 3-0 win over Purdue Nov. 28. The win capped off a 19-1 Big Ten record. Despite losing their first conference match of the season to Penn State, the Badgers followed that up by starting a school-record winning streak that currently stands at 21. Following the three set losses to Penn State in that opening conference match, Wisconsin went on to lose just five more sets in the rest of the conference season, which included a 26-set winning streak from Oct. 4-Nov. 7, falling just one set shy of tying the UW record.
2. Football punches ticket to Indy
Wisconsin controlled its own fate heading into the last regular season game against Minnesota and delivered a win to secure its spot atop the Big Ten West. After a slow start against the Gophers that put UW in a 17-3 hole, the offense under Melvin Gordon and Joel Stave came alive, scoring 24 unanswered points to give Wisconsin the lead. Stave then threw a touchdown pass to Rob Wheelwright with less than five minutes left to seal the deal.
1. Melvin Gordon goes for 408
The game started slow for Wisconsin’s Heisman finalist with only 49 yards through the first 15 minutes against Nebraska’s stout defense, which also included a lost fumble. But in the next two quarters, Gordon went off for 359 yards to break the FBS record for rushing yards in a game and help Wisconsin overcome a 14-point deficit. Gordon came into the game with 10 rushes of 40-plus yards in his first nine games and left with 15 rushes of 40-plus yards during his monster day.
