Terriers Nip at Badgers, but Wisconsin Holds On
by Jim Henry
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Crazy, in a wonderful way, nearly worked for No. 13 Wofford. No. 4 Wisconsin, making its 12th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, needed every bit of its experience, size advantage and a clutch shot to beat the Terriers 53-49 Friday at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Stadium. Junior forward Jon Leuer drained a baseline jumper with 17 seconds remaining to snap a 49-49 tie and, following a Wofford turnover, added a pair of free throws with 4.2 seconds left to secure the dramatic win. Wofford and Arkansas-Pine Bluff are the only schools in the field of 64 that haven't played in the NCAA tournament before. Wisconsin (24-8) and Wofford (26-9) played two seasons ago, with Wisconsin winning 70-43. This one wasn't as easy as Badgers coach Bo Ryan also earned his 600th career victory.
by Ray Holloman
Trevon Hughes was a ball of smiles Wednesday night, bounding up and down off the Kohl Center floor like it was a hardwood trampoline.If he seemed unusually light on his feet after the Badgers' 73-69 win over No. 6 Duke, he was. After all, getting a 10-year-old monkey off your back can do wonders for your vertical."It's a point of pride to know that we had something to do with [the Big Ten's Challenge victory] in a game a lot of people probably didn't think we were going to win," teammate Keaton Nankivil said. "It was pretty special."And it was Hughes, who scored a team-high 26 points, who once again had the answers. When Nankivil asked if this was the Big Ten's first victory in the yearly series with the ACC, according to the AP, Hughes shot back, "Yeah, and the first time Duke lost." 
The disappointing 2009 Big Ten campaign for the Wisconsin Badgers continues, as they dropped their fifth straight game Tuesday night. This time, Purdue was the culprit. The Badgers now fall to 12-8 overall, and a terrible -- by Badgers' standards under Bo Ryan -- 3-5 mark in conference play. Most disturbing to Wisconsin has to be the fact that they've lost two of these games at home. Followers of the Big Ten will remember that, heading into this season, you just don't go into the Kohl Center and win. It's now happened in two consecutive games.As for the game itself, the Badgers definitely had themselves in position to win. They held a 56-51 lead with just over three minutes to play. In the next two minutes, however, the Boilermakers made 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions (Keaton Grant, Chris Kramer, and Robbie Hummel) to put Wisconsin behind for the first time in six and a half minutes. Despite a few late buckets, the Badgers could never muster a tie again. If you are Wisconsin, you'd love to get a win when hitting 11-of-18 from three, but you can't let the opposing team shoot 58 percent from the floor in your house. That just won't get it done, especially when defense is your forte. Looking ahead, Wisconsin will visit Northwestern this weekend. Traditionally, that's been a cake-walk, but this year I'm not so sure. Yes, the Badgers waxed them in Madison by 29, but they haven't won a game since. Northwestern, meanwhile, recently took down Minnesota and won at Michigan State. With the five-game losing streak weighing heavily on Wisconsin, this is no easy task. If they can't get it done in Northwestern, they'll have the chore of trying to break a six-game losing streak against Illinois at home the following week. For Purdue, this was a huge win. The Boilers keep pace with Illinois, a game behind Michigan State in Big Ten play. They'll host Michigan Saturday in what is an easily winnable game for this team. After starting league play with consecutive losses, Matt Painter's troops have now rattled off five straight wins, including impressive road victories over Minnesota and Wisconsin. Along with Illinois and Michigan State, they make up a formidable trio atop a surprisingly stout league.Wisconsin Loses Fifth Straight Game originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:30:00 EST . .
It has not been easy for Wisconsin to lose six straight games. They have two losses in overtime and the past three games by a total of 11 points. This latest to Northwestern, 66-63.Northwestern lost by 29 to Wisconsin at the beginning of January, but since then the Badgers have forgotten to play defense. Oh, they are defending and their style makes the pace of the game slow, but that does not mean they are playing good defense. Just because the games are being played in the 60s does not make make for defensive struggles.In the game against Northwestern, Wisconsin let the Wildcats shoot 57%. Wisconsin could not get stops in the game. Northwestern worked the ball around and found good shots as Wisconsin would lose their assignments. Something that just does not compute with a Bo Ryan coached team.The Wildcats, on the other hand, have now won 4 of 5 in Big Ten play. Northwestern is playing a very efficient style right now. They may not be the most consistent defensive team, but they do a good job of controlling pace and frustrating teams into taking bad shots in an effort to speed up the game.Bizarro World: Wisconsin Loses Sixth Straight While Northwestern Rolls originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 22:53:00 EST . .
With just over a month in the books and most teams having played about half their conference schedule, let's check out the big boys of the Midwest. We're seeing a slight upheaval when it comes to traditional powers, as Indiana and Wisconsin sit in the bottom third of the standings, Northwestern is respectable, and Penn State is in the mix toward the top. At this point, the conference is very balanced, and much stronger than it has been in recent years. They have a shot at seven bids for the Big Dance, but six is the more likely number.Most Surprising TeamIt's gotta be Penn State, even though there have been quite a few surprises. The Nittany Lions have been one of the league's doormats for the past half decade, but now they are a team to be reckoned with. They still have a bit of work to do on their tourney resume, as their non-conference strength of schedule was awful, but I like their chances. They need to get these next two games against Michigan and Wisconsin before a rough patch in the schedule (at Purdue, vs. Minnesota, at Illinois, at Ohio State). Runner-up: Northwestern.Most Disappointing TeamIt's not even close. Wisconsin has always been a tourney team under Bo Ryan, and they always win consistently. The Badgers hadn't even lost four straight conference games since 1998, but they currently sit with a six-game skid -- after beginning conference play 3-0. Sure, they've played a tough schedule, but do they have any really impressive wins? Beating Penn State at home or winning at Virginia Tech were the best wins, and they both went right down the wire. Runner-up: Michigan.Player of the YearTalor Battle of Penn State leads the conference in scoring, assists (he's tied), 3-pointers (he's tied), is third in assist-to-turnover ratio, and is tied for eighth in steals. He carried them for stretches in their big win -- at Michigan State -- and has proven he can hit the clutch shot when needed. Runner-up: Kalin Lucas. Coach of the YearI may have given this to Tubby Smith, but the Gophers were just summarily dismantled due to the wrath of the Spartans Wednesday night. I may have given this to Ed DeChellis, but he's been failing at Penn State for quite a while to all of a sudden become a genius. Instead, I'm going with Bruce Weber. Illinois was awful last season, to the point that many believed he may have survived only on the talent left by Bill Self in his first few years. This year he's doing it with youth and balanced scoring. This is easily a better coaching job than his national runner-up, as they were obscenely talented then. Runner-up: Smith. Defensive Player of the YearIt's Chris Kramer again. There's no one else really close to this pest. You saw what he helped do to Stephen Curry, right? Runner-up: Evan Turner.Power RankingsWe'll do this in the form of an NCAA Tournament watch. I'll use the NFL injury report scale to illustrate the team's likelihood of playing in the Dance (playing, probable, questionable, doubtful, and out). 1. Michigan State (playing) - They are playing for seeding. 2. Purdue (playing) - When Robbie Hummel comes back, you'll see the loss at Ohio State was an aberration. 3. Illinois (playing) - Not many weaknesses here. 4. Minnesota (playing) - Strong RPI, and they'll win at least 11 conference games.5. Ohio State (probable) - They are finding their way without David Lighty. 6. Penn State (questionable) - That RPI is still scary for an at-large bid. 7. Michigan (questionable) - Above Northwestern based upon early victories over Duke and UCLA.8. Northwestern (questionable) - They still have work to do, but they have the potential to sneak into their first bid ever. 9. Wisconsin (doubtful) - It's possible for them to right the ship, but I'm not seeing it. 10. Iowa (out) - Still a year or two away.11. Indiana (out) - We knew this was a throw-away year, but there is hope.The Big Ten: Halfway Point Roundup originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:30:00 EST . .