Badgers' four-game winning streak snapped: UW falls to Purdue 91-80

WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana — Freshman Caleb Swanigan scored a career-high 27 points and sophomore P.J. Thompson also set a career best with 22, leading No. 15 Purdue to a 91-80 victory against Wisconsin on Sunday, March 6th.A.J. Hammons added 16 points and Vince Edwards had 11 for the Boilermakers (24-7, 12-6), who forced a four-way tie for third place in the Big Ten with Maryland, Iowa and Wisconsin.Purdue earned the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and will play in Friday's second semifinal against an opponent to be determined.Nigel Hayes led Wisconsin (20-11, 12-6) with 30 points, including 18 in the second half.

Wisconsin clears former coach Bo Ryan of misusing UW resources in alleged affair

MADISON -- The University of Wisconsin says it has cleared former basketball coach Bo Ryan of allegations that he had misused school resources while having an "improper personal relationship" with a woman.Chancellor Rebecca Blank said in a statement Friday that Ryan was cleared in May following an investigation by athletics and the Office of Legal Affairs.

Wisconsin Badgers keep rolling with 62-49 win over Minnesota Gophers

MINNEAPOLIS  — Bronson Koenig had 14 points and six assists, Ethan Happ added 12 points and 10 rebounds and Wisconsin breezed by undermanned Minnesota 62-49 on Wednesday night, March 2nd, the 11th win by the Badgers in their last 12 games.Vitto Brown pitched in 12 points and six rebounds for Wisconsin (20-10, 12-5 Big Ten), which moved into a tie for second place with No. 2 Michigan State.Stephon Sharp scored 16 points and Jordan Murphy added 15 for the Gophers (8-21, 2-15), who played without suspended guards Kevin Dorsey, Nate Mason and Dupree McBrayer for the second straight game.Mason is the team's leading scorer.

Bronson Koenig, Ethan Happ trigger second-half surge, lift Badgers over Michigan 68-57

MADISON — Bronson Koenig scored 19 points, and Ethan Happ helped trigger a second-half surge with clutch plays on both ends of the floor in Wisconsin's 68-57 victory Sunday, February 28th over Michigan.Happ finished with 12 points and six rebounds for the Badgers (19-10, 11-5 Big Ten), who have won 10 of their last 11 games.Wisconsin opened some breathing room in a spirited game with an 8-0 run in the middle of the second half that started with Happ on the bench.The 6-foot-9 freshman forward came back with 11:44 left and stole a Michigan entry pass before driving to the bucket for a layup at the other end.The conference leader in steals added two more against Michigan and blocked two shots.Vitto Brown gave Wisconsin a boost from the perimeter after hitting 4 of 6 from 3-point range and finished with 14 points.Zak Irvin scored 14 points for Michigan (20-10, 10-7).

Marquette falls to #1 Villanova

MILWAUKEE -- Kris Jenkins scored 19 points, Josh Hart had 19 on 7-of-8 shooting, and No. 1 Villanova pulled away from Marquette for an 89-79 victory on Saturday.The Wildcats (25-4, 14-2 Big East) rebounded nicely after a midweek loss at No. 5 Xavier to stay atop the conference, one game ahead of the Musketeers.Six-foot-11 Daniel Ochefu had 18 points and gave Villanova an inside presence to complement Jenkins' outside shooting.

15 points for Bronson Koenig as Badgers upset No. 8 Iowa Hawkeyes

IOWA CITY, Iowa  — Bronson Koenig scored 15 points and Wisconsin upset eighth-ranked Iowa 67-59 on Wednesday night, February 24th -- handing the Hawkeyes their third loss in four games.Nigel Hayes had 10 points for the Badgers (18-10, 10-5 Big Ten), whose streak of nine wins in 10 now includes a victory in Iowa City that should help their NCAA Tournament hopes immensely.Zak Showalter's layup with 1:15 left put Wisconsin ahead 64-58, and a steal and two free throws by Koenig put the game out of reach.Peter Jok scored 21 points and Adam Woodbury had 18 rebounds for Iowa (20-7, 11-4), which fell a full game behind league-leading Indiana after shooting just 27 percent in the second half.

Second-half surge propels Badgers past Illinois 69-60

MADISON — Ethan Happ had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and helped spark a 17-0 run that allowed Wisconsin to roar back from a double-digit deficit in the second half of a 69-60 win on Sunday night over Illinois.Happ, an athletic 6-foot-9 freshman, had three steals during the decisive run for the Badgers (17-10, 9-5 Big Ten), who avoided a potentially damaging loss to their NCAA tournament resume.Nigel Hayes scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half after being held without a field goal in the first half.Malcolm Hill scored 20 points and Kendrick Nunn added 15 for Illinois (12-15, 4-10).

Wisconsin Badgers fall 69-57 to Michigan State

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Denzel Valentine had 24 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, leading No. 8 Michigan State to a 69-57 victory over Wisconsin on Thursday night.The Spartans (22-5, 9-5 Big Ten) went from eighth place in the conference into a four-way tie for fourth with their sixth win in seven games.Michigan State's Bryn Forbes scored 17 points and Eron Harris had 10.The Badgers (16-10, 8-5) had won seven straight games dating to their victory Jan. 17, at home against Michigan State.Wisconsin's Ethan Happ scored 18 points and Bronson Koenig had 12 with a scoring surge late in the game.

Economic impact of Badgers football game against LSU at Lambeau expected to exceed $14M

GREEN BAY -- The Wisconsin Badgers football game against LSU at Lambeau Field is expected to have an economic impact that exceeds $14 million.Team officials say that's more than the impact of an individual Green Bay Packers game, because it should attract more out-of-town fans.The Packers have allotted 40,000 tickets for Badgers fans and 20,000 for LSU fans.Another 20,000 club and suite tickets are being reserved for Packers season ticket holders.CLICK HERE for more on this story via the Milwaukee Business Journal.

7 Up! Wisconsin Badgers top Maryland Terrapins 70-57

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Wisconsin shut down No. 2 Maryland in the decisive first half and held on for a 70-57 victory Saturday night, ending the Terrapins' 27-game home winning streak and knocking them out of a tie atop the Big Ten standings.Vitto Brown scored a career-high 21 points, Bronson Koenig had 16 and Nigel Hayes added 14 for the Badgers (16-9, 8-4), who have won seven straight.After using a 28-5 run to go up 35-19, Wisconsin let the lead dwindle to six points with 10:48 remaining before pushing back.

Nigel Hayes, Vitto Brown lead Wisconsin Badgers to win over Nebraska

MADISON — Nigel Hayes scored 20 points and Vitto Brown added a career-high 18 as Wisconsin defeated Nebraska 72-61 Wednesday night for its sixth-consecutive victory.Brown hit the first of three consecutive 3-pointers for the Badgers (15-9, 7-4 Big Ten) as they took the lead for good with a 13-2 spurt midway through the first half.

On Wisconsin! Badgers top Buckeyes in fifth straight win

MADISON — Nigel Hayes scored 21 points and Wisconsin hit a season-high 13 3-pointers to beat Ohio State 79-68 on Thursday night to extend its winning streak to five games.Wisconsin (14-9, 6-4 Big Ten) took advantage of open looks on the perimeter but nearly squandered a 12-point lead midway through the second half.The Badgers made things difficult for themselves by going just 10 of 17 from the foul line for the night.

Nigel Hayes, Bronson Koenig lead Wisconsin past Illinois, 63-55

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Nigel Hayes scored 17 points, Bronson Koenig added 11 and Wisconsin beat Illinois 63-55 on Sunday night, January 31st for the Badgers' fourth straight victory.Wisconsin (13-9, 5-4 Big Ten) fell behind the Illini (10-12, 2-7) early but took its first lead at 23-22 on a dunk by Khalil Iverson with 4:56 left in the first half and never trailed again.

Marquette Golden Eagles top Butler Bulldogs 75-69

MILWAUKEE — Henry Ellenson scored a career-high 32 points, including a critical bucket in the final minute, and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead Marquette over Butler 75-69 on Saturday.The 6-foot-11, 245-pound freshman turned in his 13th double-double by hitting 8 of 14 shots and making both of his 3-point attempts.

82-79 win: Nigel Hayes led the way as Badgers snapped Indiana's 12-game winning streak

MADISON — Nigel Hayes scored 31 points, Ethan Happ added 25 and Wisconsin snapped No. 19 Indiana's 12-game winning streak with an 82-79 victory in overtime on Tuesday night.The Badgers (12-9, 4-4 Big Ten) missed several chances in the closing minutes of overtime to put the game out of reach after Bronson Koenig and Jordan Hill each went 1 of 2 at the free throw line.Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell's 3 with 5 seconds left pulled the Hoosiers within 80-79 before Hayes stretched the lead back to three with two free throws.Indiana (17-4, 7-1) never had a chance to give Ferrell one last shot to tie after Hayes tipped away OG Anunoby's inbounds pass as time expired.Ferrell finished with 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting.