NCAA Division II expands international reach to Mexico
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA's Division II voted by a wide margin Saturday to allow Mexican colleges to apply for membership, expanding its international reach beyond Canada.The legislation takes effect immediately.
Wisconsin ends slump, beats Illinois 75-50
MADISON — He scores, he rebounds, he leads the press break at 6 feet, 10 inches tall.Not an everyday combination for a post player, but Ethan Happ doesn't want you to forget he played point guard early in his high school career before he shot up.It all added up Friday to 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as Happ as Wisconsin broke out of an offensive slump to beat Illinois 75-50."The biggest thing was we played as a unit tonight," Happ said. "There wasn't one guy trying to do it himself."On paper, Illinois (10-10, 0-7 Big Ten) should have given Wisconsin (10-10, 3-4) fits.
Wisconsin Badgers fall to Purdue 78-50
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Vincent Edwards scored 21 points and Carsen Edwards added 20, leading No. 3 Purdue to a 78-50 blowout over Wisconsin on Tuesday night.The Boilermakers (18-2, 7-0 Big Ten) have won 14 straight overall, 19 in a row at home and have matched the best 20-game record in school history.
Marquette falls 94-83 against Butler
INDIANAPOLIS — Kelan Martin scored a career-high 37 points and Butler snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Marquette 94-83 on Friday night.Martin made four 3-pointers and hit all nine of his free throws while adding seven rebounds for the Bulldogs, who lost their three previous games to ranked opponents after they upset No. 1 Villanova on Dec. 29.Kamar Baldwin added 19 points and Tyler Wideman 16 with Butler shooting 59 percent and committing just three turnovers.Sam Hauser matched his career high with 30 points, making six 3-pointers, for the Golden Eagles (12-6, 3-3 Big East) with Andrew Rowsey adding 17.Hauser hit two 3-pointers and Greg Elliott one in a 9-0 run to give Marquette a 67-60 lead with 10 minutes left.
Marquette falls to Villanova 100-90
PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Brunson had 27 points and eight assists and No. 3 Villanova bounced back from its first loss of the season by holding off Marquette 100-90 on Saturday night.Eric Paschall added 19 points and Mikal Bridges had 18 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats (14-1, 2-1 Big East), who never trailed and shot 56 percent from the field to give coach Jay Wright his 400th win at Villanova.With a week to stew over a 101-93 loss at Butler, the Wildcats were efficient, hitting 27 of 32 free throws and getting assists on 20 of 32 baskets.Markus Howard had 37 points and eight assists for Marquette (11-5, 2-2), three nights after scoring a Big East record-tying 52 points in an overtime win at Providence.
Sanders lifts Rutgers past Wisconsin 64-60
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Corey Sanders scored 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting to give Rutgers a much-needed win over Wisconsin, 64-60, Friday night.Sanders scored with 1:47 left then added a 3-pointer with under a minute to go for a 58-53 lead.Brad Davison hit Wisconsin's first 3-pointer of the game to tie it at 53 and cap a 7-0 run.Tied at 15, Sanders hit a layup at the buzzer to give Rutgers a 25-24 lead at halftime but Wisconsin (9-8, 2-2 Big Ten) took the lead on the first possession of the second half.The game went back and forth before Rutgers (11-6, 1-3) took the lead on a Sanders 3-pointer to make it 36-34 at the 13:38 mark.
Jared Abbrederis says it's time to "hang up the cleats," grateful for what life has brought him
MILWAUKEE -- Wide receiver Jared Abbrederis is retiring from the NFL.In a tweet posted on Friday evening, January 5th, Abbrederis said he's had an "amazing journey." From walking on to the Wisconsin Badgers and playing in Big Ten Championships to getting drafted by the Green Bay Packers -- Abbrederis says it was all a dream come true.In his tweet, Abbrederis said, "As fun as the ride has been, my time has come to hang up the cleats and to start the next chapter of my life."
Happ's 28 points lead way, Wisconsin beats Indiana 71-61
MADISON — Greg Gard looked down at the stat sheet to find something to harp on about Ethan Happ.He missed four foul shots and committed three turnovers.
Hornibrook's 4 TDs carry Badgers over Miami, 34-24 in Orange
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Alex Hornibrook threw four touchdown passes, three of them to Danny Davis, and No. 6 Wisconsin capped off the winningest season in school history by topping No. 11 Miami 34-24 in the Orange Bowl on Saturday night.
Happ, Pritzel lead Wisconsin in easy win over UMass Lowell
MADISON — With nonconference play now wrapped up, Wisconsin coach Greg Gard is looking for one thing: consistency.Saturday's win was a step in the right direction on that front as the Badgers cruised to an 82-53 win over UMass Lowell.The win comes three days after Gard expressed frustration with a drop off on the defensive end during the second half of an 82-70 win over Chicago State."You're always taking it one step at a time, one day at a time and trying to retain what you've achieved and continue to inch forward and improve," Gard said.UMass Lowell (6-7) simply didn't have the size to stop Ethan Happ, who scored 18 points in 20 minutes, and Brevin Pritzl heating up from the outside with 18 points as well, upending the River Hawks' game plan.The River Hawks only listed one starter taller than 6 feet, 4 inches, and the 6-10 Happ had 11 points just more than halfway through the first half.Pritzl, meanwhile, had been hitting 33 percent of his 3-point attempts coming in.
Rowsey scores 35 pts, leads Marquette past Georgetown, 74-65
MILWAUKEE — Andrew Rowsey hit 6 of 9 shots from long range and scored a season-high 35 points as Marquette handled Georgetown 74-65 in a Big East Conference battle Saturday.Rowsey hit six treys and scored 31 points in a 91-87 loss to No. 6 Xavier in the conference opener.Georgetown, which started the season 10-1 under first-year coach Patrick Ewing, lost to Butler in double overtime in the conference opener and now is 0-2 in conference.The Golden Eagles got an 8-0 run in the first half, with two Jamal Cain 3-pointers bookending a Sacar Anim dunk, to take a 25-14 lead with under six minutes left, but the Hoyas battled back.
Pep rally gets Badgers' fans excited for Orange Bowl
MIAMI -- Excitement is brewing down in Miami, as the Badgers get set to take on the Hurricanes in the Orange Bowl.
Wisconsin, Florida governors place wager on Orange Bowl 🍊 🏈
MADISON — Wisconsin Gov.
No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers, No. 11 Miami Hurricanes match up in Orange Bowl 🏈 🍊
MIAMI -- The Wisconsin Badgers (No. 6) will square up against the Miami Hurricanes (No. 11) in the Orange Bowl on Saturday, December 30th.
Big Ten conference opener: Wisconsin Badgers women fall to Iowa 56-46
MADISON — Megan Gustafson had 21 points and 16 rebounds to lead No. 23 Iowa to its sixth straight win with a 56-46 victory over Wisconsin on Thursday night in a Big Ten Conference opener.Gustafson was 5 of 12 from the field, made all 11 of her free throws, and collected her 13th double-double of the season and the 40th of her career.
Happ's double-double leads Wisconsin past Chicago State
MADISON — Ethan Happ scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as Wisconsin beat Chicago State 82-70 on Wednesday in a closer-than-expected contest.The Cougars (2-14) have now lost 10 straight and nine of their losses on the season have been by an average of 38 points.Chicago State closed to 62-52 on Deionte Simmons' putback with eight minutes left, but Wisconsin clamped down, forcing turnovers on the next two Cougars possession and registering blocks on the following three to push the lead back to 68-52.Simmons, who led Chicago State with 19 points, fouled out during that stretch, and Wisconsin (7-7) kept the lead in double digits the rest of the way.Part of Wisconsin's struggles stemmed from its poor outside shooting.
Davison, Happ help Wisconsin cruise past Green Bay 81-60
MADISON — The statistic that jumps off the page for Wisconsin's Brad Davison is that the freshman guard has taken 15 charges in 13 games this season.The mark is one shy of the career high for the Badgers program, which has been officially charting charges for six seasons.
No. 2 Notre Dame women beat Marquette 91-85 in overtime
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Arike Ogunbowale scored 22 points and No. 2 Notre Dame beat Marquette 91-85 in overtime Wednesday to avoid a big upset.Down 73-70 with 44 seconds left in regulation, Notre Dame (11-0) rallied to tie it when Kathryn Westbeld hit the first of two free throws, got the rebounded on her miss on the second and scored with 40 seconds left.Notre Dame scored the first six points of overtime and had a seven-point lead three times, the last with 30 seconds left.
Injured Wisconsin LB Jack Cichy to enter NFL draft
MADISON — Wisconsin linebacker Jack Cichy has decided to enter the NFL draft, foregoing a chance to ask the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility because of a right knee injury.Cichy announced his decision in a story posted Tuesday on The Players Tribune website.
Lights out! 3s carry Marquette to 82-63 win over Wisconsin
MADISON — Playing on the road against Marquette's biggest rival, Markus Howard turned to Wisconsin's vocal student section after making a couple 3s and gestured for fans to quiet down.All in good fun, the sharpshooting Howard said, though the sophomore will relish his first visit into the Badgers' hostile lair.Andrew Rowsey scored 24 points on 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point range, while Howard added 23 points in the 82-63 win on Saturday over Wisconsin."My emotions just took over at that point," said Howard, who was jawing with fans during warmups. "That's part of the game.