Sports Illustrated names Madison, Wisconsin the best college football town in the country

MADISON -- Sports Illustrated named Madison, Wisconsin the best college football town/city in the United States.The list was released Monday, Aug. 12, "in celebration of college football's 150th anniversary."These are the best college football towns in the country, according to Sports Illustrated:1) Madison, Wisconsin2) Athens, Georgia3) Austin, Texas4) Ann Arbor, Michigan5) Columbia, Missouri6) Boulder, Colorado7) Oxford, Mississippi8) Knoxville, Tennessee9) College Station, Texas10) Charlottesville, VirginiaSports Illustrated had this to say about Madison:

Bucky vs. 'Bama: Badgers to play in Tuscaloosa in 2025; Crimson Tide visits Camp Randall in 2024

MADISON -- Alabama and Wisconsin have signed a deal to play a home-and-home series in 2024 and 2025.According to a news release Monday, July 29, the Crimson Tide will visit historic Camp Randall Stadium on Sept. 14, 2024, with the Badgers traveling to Tuscaloosa and Bryant-Denny Stadium on Sept. 13, 2025.For the Badgers, the deal is the latest with a Power Five non-conference opponent, joining Notre Dame (2020 and 2021), Washington State (2022 and 2023), Pittsburgh (2026 and 2027), UCLA (2029 and 2030), and Virginia Tech (2031 and 2032).

JJ Watt on wedding planning after engagement to Kealia Ohai: 'It's open bar for everybody'

HOUSTON -- Former Wisconsin Badgers and current Houston Texans player J.J. Watt of Pewaukee, Wisconsin on Tuesday, June 11 was asked about wedding planning by a Houston reporter.This, after Watt announced his engagement to Houston Dash soccer forward Kealia Ohai on May 26.According to a tweet from Jake Asman, a Houston radio host, Watt said, "It's open bar for everybody.

Wisconsin wins 5th NCAA women's hockey title with 2-0 victory over Minnesota

HAMDEN, Conn. — Senior captains Sophia Shaver and Annie Pankowski each scored, and Wisconsin won its fifth NCAA women's hockey championship with a 2-0 victory over Minnesota on Sunday.Kristen Campbell, named the most outstanding player, pitched her 11th shutout of the season, including a victory over two-time defending champion Clarkson in the Frozen Four.

Wisconsin falls to Oregon in 1st round of NCAA, 72-54

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Payton Pritchard scored 19 points, Kenny Wooten protected the rim with four blocks and 12th-seeded Oregon extended its surprising March run by beating No. 5 seed Wisconsin 72-54 Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.The Ducks (24-12) won four games in four days to win the Pac-12 tournament last week just to make the NCAAs then followed it with an impressive victory over a higher-seeded opponent.

Marquette rallies for 58-54 OT win over Rice

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Natisha Hiedeman scored 13 points, Allazia Blockton had 12 and five-seed Marquette overcame a nine-point fourth quarter deficit to get a 58-54 win over No. 12 Rice in overtime in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.The Golden Eagles (27-7), who are in the tournament for the third straight season, will play the winner of the Wright State-Texas A&M game.Amani Wilborn made a jumper with 3 1/2 minutes left in overtime to put Marquette up 54-52 and extend its run to 11-0.

Marquette stumbles in 1st round of NCAA, falling to Murray St 83-64

HARTFORD, Conn. — Ja Morant logged the ninth triple-double in NCAA Tournament history as Murray State trounced fifth-seeded Marquette 83-64 in the first round of the West Region.Murray State continued a trend of a No. 12 seed winning at least one game in all but three tournaments since 2001 — including last year's — but this looked nothing like an upset.Morant had 17 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds as he sliced through Marquette on Thursday and showed the Racers (28-4) were better in every way than their opponent from the Big East.

'Remain calm and collected:' Badgers prepare to face Oregon Ducks in NCAA Tourney

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- As the Marquette University Golden Eagles took on Murray State in Hartford, Connecticut as the NCAA Tournament got underway on Thursday, March 21, the Wisconsin Badgers practiced in San Jose, California, ahead of their Friday matchup with the Oregon Ducks.The Badgers took part in public practice Thursday, with the Ducks riding an eight-game winning streak.

Badgers fall 67-55 to Michigan State in Big Ten semifinals

CHICAGO — Cassius Winston scored 21 points and Kenny Goins keyed Michigan State's fast start, helping the sixth-ranked Spartans beat No. 19 Wisconsin 67-55 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals on Saturday.Goins, Aaron Henry and Xavier Tillman also led a dominant rebounding effort as Michigan State earned its seventh consecutive win in its series against Wisconsin.

No. 19 Wisconsin tops Nebraska 66-62 in Big 10 tourney

CHICAGO — Nate Reuvers scored 14 points, D'Mitrik Trice hit a clutch 3-pointer with 58 seconds left and No. 19 Wisconsin beat pesky Nebraska 66-62 on Friday to advance to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.Khalil Iverson also scored 14 points as the Badgers (23-9) won for the sixth time in seven games despite a shaky performance by Ethan Happ.

No. 13 Marquette women advance to Big East title game

CHICAGO — Natisha Hiedeman and Allazia Blockton each scored 23 points to help No. 13 Marquette beat Georgetown 75-62 on Monday to advance to its third straight Big East Conference title game.Blockton gave Marquette a 20-point lead, 34-14, on a 3-point play with 6:27 remaining in the second quarter but the Golden Eagles didn't make another field goal the rest of the half as Georgetown pulled within 39-33 after a closing 19-5 run.Georgetown was within two points early in the second half, but Selena Lott and Amani Wilborn each made a 3-pointer on consecutive Marquette possessions to push the lead to 55-42.

No. 21 Wisconsin survives Ohio State rally for 73-67 OT win

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Khalil Iverson had a career-high 22 points and 14 rebounds as No. 21 Wisconsin survived Ohio State's second-half rally and won 73-67 in overtime on Sunday.Wisconsin (22-9, 14-6) led by as many as 23 points early in the second half.

Marquette falls to Georgetown 86-84

MILWAUKEE — James Akinjo scored 25 points, Mac McClung added 23 and Georgetown beat No. 16 Marquette 86-84 on Saturday, the Golden Eagles' fourth straight loss to close the regular season.Jamorko Pickett and Jessie Govan each added 10 points for the Hoyas (18-13, 9-9 Big East)Markus Howard led Marquette (23-8, 12-6) with 28 points, and Joey Hauser added 16.

No. 21 Wisconsin routs Iowa 65-45

MADISON — Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said he had a feeling Ethan Happ would have a good game against Iowa.He was right.Happ did a little bit of everything to help No. 21 Wisconsin beat Iowa 65-45, scoring 21 points in his final home game and grabbing 14 rebounds.