1. Finally Big Ten Champs
The Wisconsin men’s basketball team clinched at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title with a 68-61 defeat of Michigan State Sunday at the Kohl Center. It was the 18th regular season title in program history and the fourth under current head coach Bo Ryan.
Senior and Player of the Year candidate (read: yeah, he should probably win it after Sunday’s performance) Frank Kaminsky tallied a season-high 31 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals. Michigan head coach Tom Izzo said after the game that Kaminsky is “no question, the best player in the country this year.”
It was also Senior Day at the Kohl Center as seniors Josh Gasser, Duje Dukan and Traevon Jackson along with Kaminsky were honored before and after the game.
If you missed the player tribute videos, you can check it out here:
They are not done yet, but here's the @BadgerMBB senior tribute video: http://t.co/9Dx956CUUH #Badgers
— Wisconsin Badgers (@UWBadgers) March 2, 2015
The Badgers will now turn their attention to Minnesota where they will compete on Thursday. With a win in either of their last two regular season games (Minnesota and at Ohio State Sunday), the Badgers will win the outright Big Ten regular season title and assure themselves of the number one seed in the Big Ten tournament that begins next week.
2. Women’s hockey moves on
The No. 3 Wisconsin women’s hockey advanced to the WCHA Final Face-Off, knocking off St. Cloud State on Friday and Saturday at the LaBahn Arena. The Badgers allowed just two goals over the course of both games, defeating the Huskies 5-1 Friday night and 4-1 Saturday.
Here are the highlights from Saturday’s win to advance:
Watch the highlights from the #Badgers' 4-1 win against the Huskies to advance to the WCHA Final Faceoff http://t.co/9c19au0xbM
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerWHockey) March 1, 2015
Wisconsin – the number two seed in the tournament – will now travel to Grand Forks, North Dakota for the Final Face-Off with a tough matchup against the third seed and No. 9 North Dakota. Not only is UND the ninth-ranked team in the country, but the Final Face-Off is held on North Dakota’s home ice.
Wisconsin and UND have played four times already this season with the Badgers winning three of them. The two teams tied in the other game.
The winner of the Wisconsin-North Dakota game on Saturday will advance to the final to take on the winner of Minnesota and Bemidji State Sunday.
3. It’s tourny time
The Wisconsin women’s basketball team starts postseason play Wednesday in the first round of the Big Ten tournament in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. With a 62-56 win over Penn State Sunday, the Badgers earned the 11th seed in the tournament and will take on Purdue in the opening round. The winner of that game will take on the sixth seed Minnesota.
4. Badgers swept by Wolverines
The Wisconsin men’s hockey team had won two out of its last three games, but like the rest of the season, it was swept this past weekend in Michigan by the Wolverines.
The regular season (thankfully?) is winding down with only two series left before the conference tournament. This weekend, Wisconsin will travel back to Michigan for a two game series against Michigan State where it will look for its third and possibly fourth Big Ten wins of the season.
Currently, the Badgers sit in last place in the Big Ten with a 2-12-2-2 conference record. Wisconsin has never finished last in the conference before. Ohio State, in fifth place, is above the Badgers with a 6-10-0-0 Big Ten record.
Athlete Tweet of the Week: Bronson Koenig – because winning a championship is not nearly as cool as the zoo getting twin polar bears.
https://twitter.com/BronsonK_24/status/572445937798402048
