Tag: Big Ten Basketball

Huskers fall to No. 3 Oregon State in second round of NCAA Tournament

The Nebraska women’s basketball team entered the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday afternoon.

On Sunday afternoon, the Nebraska women’s basketball team entered the second round of the NCAA tournament. The No. 6 Huskers faced off against host No. 3 Oregon State for a chance to reach the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2013. However, this did not come to pass. Nebraska fell to the Beavers 61-51, ending its run and the season.

The Beavers took a 19-11 lead at the end of the first quarter and kept their cushion of a lead for the remainder of the game. The middle quarters resulted in 34 total points combined, with Nebraska outscoring Oregon State 18-16. The Huskers scored 22 points in the fourth, but the Beavers scored 26.

Jaz Shelley scored 10 points, leading Nebraska in the field as its only double-digit scorer. Alexis Markowski and Annika Stewart both scored eight points in the loss. Markowski also hauled in eight rebounds to lead the team. Oregon State meanwhile finished with three players in double-digits for scoring.

Nebraska concluded the season with a final record of 23-12, the second-best record under head coach Amy Williams.

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Michigan basketball hires Juwan Howard’s replacement

Michigan basketball hires Juwan Howard’s replacement

Michigan is hiring Florida Atlantic’s Dusty May as its new head basketball coach, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

May is set to take over a program that went 8-24 in 2023-24. The disaster season led to the firing of program legend Juwan Howard — more than two years after his altercation with Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard in the postgame handshake line.

Related: Evaluating the reasons for and against Wisconsin basketball firing head coach Greg Gard

The young coach took Florida Atlantic to the Final Four in 2022-23 in only his fifth season on the job. He now goes to Michigan with a career record of 126-69 and a resume mostly just bolstered by the 2022-23 run.

The contract is a five-year deal with an average salary of $3.75 million, according to a press release from the program.

Michigan basketball has fallen off since a trip to the Elite Eight in 2020-21. Recruiting was still a strength in Howard’s final seasons at the helm, but the star ratings did not translate to wins on the basketball court.

 

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Former Wisconsin G Brad Davison has perfect response to Minnesota fan blog’s criticism

Former Wisconsin G Brad Davison has perfect response to Minnesota fan blog’s criticism

Former Wisconsin guard Brad Davison is in his second season of professional basketball in LEB Oro, Spain’s second-division league.

While he’s halfway across the world, the former Badger is still active enough on X to fight back against critics of the Wisconsin basketball program and his play in college.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

We saw a terrific example Wednesday afternoon when a member of a Minnesota Golden Gopher fan blog posted the following on X:

“It’s the 2 year anniversary of Brad Davison playing his last college game. Cheers to all that celebrate! The Big 10 is a much safer league without him in it.”

To which the long-time Badger had the perfect response:

Davison was hated by rival Big Ten fans during his time at Wisconsin, which is a testament to his quality as a player.

It also must be noted the Badgers have finished the season ahead of the Golden Gophers for each of the last 26 years. All that while making Minneapolis and its surrounding suburbs a hub of recruiting.

Wisconsin fans enjoyed Davison’s response to the ‘celebration’ on Wednesday afternoon.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Big Ten Notebook: Big Ten semifinals set after busy Friday

The Big Ten Tournament is rolling along.

For the Big Ten, Friday night was full of action as the Big Ten Tournament continued. Sixteen teams were fighting for the opportunity to play in the semifinals. However, the only four teams moving on will be Illinois, Wisconsin, Purdue, and Nebraska.

The closest game of the night was between Illinois and Ohio State. In this hard-fought battle, Illinois emerged with a 77-74 win, as Terrence Shannon Jr. had a big game with 28 points. The Fighting Illini also performed well in the paint and outrebounded Ohio State 44-40. They will face Wisconsin on Saturday.

In the matchup between Michigan State and Purdue, the Spartans nearly shocked the college basketball world in a 67-62 loss. Purdue outscored Michigan State 34-27 in the first half but was outscored 35-33 in the final 20 minutes. The Boilermakers were led by Zach Edey, who scored 29 points for the third-ranked team in the country. They will face Wisconsin who beat Northwestern on Friday.

Against the Wildcats, Wisconsin was on fire from beyond the arc. The Badgers shot 45.5 percent from three-point range, which allowed them to build an early lead. They were led by AJ Storr, who had a team-high 30 points. They also dominated close to the basket, outscoring Northwestern 28-16 in the paint.

The final game of the night ended with a 93-66 Nebraska win over Indiana. Nebraska thrived from beyond the arc, shooting 50 percent from three-point range. They were led offensively by Brice Williams who had 23 points, while only missing five shots.

Big Ten Network analyst Raphael Davis says Rutgers basketball will bounce back next year: ‘They can come in and be top 25’

Rutgers basketball’s down year is by no means a trend according to Big Ten Network analyst Raphael Davis.

A disappointing season for Rutgers men’s basketball comes down to this week’s Big Ten Tournament. And for college basketball analyst Raphael Davis, the dip from Rutgers was expected in many ways.

But, the Big Ten analyst doesn’t expect Rutgers to stay there for long. Davis believes that Rutgers will be one of the top programs in the nation next year.

It has been a down year for Rutgers basketball (15-16, 7-13 Big Ten) ahead of this week’s Big Ten Tournament. Rutgers opens the tournament on Wednesday against Maryland.

Rutgers has a top 10 recruiting class coming in, highlighted by two five-star recruits in forward [autotag]Ace Bailey[/autotag] and guard [autotag]Dylan Harper[/autotag]. Also coming in is four-star [autotag]Lathan Sommerville[/autotag], a forward/center.

So despite the dip from Rutgers this year, a campaign that likely snaps a three-year streak of postseason appearances, Davis believes Rutgers will take a big step forward next year.

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And, they will go into next year anything but down, Davis said.

 

“They’re my favorite, I mean, obviously, you don’t know who’s going to get who in the portal, and I still think Rutgers will be a shooter away, a dead-eye shooter away,” Davis told Rutgers Wire on Monday.

“If, in the portal, they can get that to go along with the haul they got coming in to go along with if Cliff (All-Big Ten center Cliff Omoruyi) comes back…Derek Simpson…Jeremiah Williams. With what they can bring defensively, I think if they can get it right in the portal, Rutgers can definitely come and be in the top 25 and the favorite in the Big Ten.”

This season has been a disappointment for Rutgers but understandably so. The Scarlet Knights lost two key pieces in the transfer portal this summer from last year’s top in guards Paul Mulcahy (Washington) and Cam Spencer (UConn) and were unable to adequately replace either player so late in the cycle.

It is a fall from grace for Rutgers for sure, but one that might have been predictable given these late losses.

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A former standout guard at Purdue, Davis refers to his own college career to provide some perspective on this Rutgers season.

Davis made the connection between what Pikiell has done at Rutgers with the tremendous rebuild undertaken by Matt Painter at Purdue.

The Purdue head coach took over the Boilermakers in 2005. Following a losing first season with the Big Ten program, Painter took Purdue to the NCAA Tournament in six of his next seven seasons.

Then, Purdue underwent two years with a losing record and no NCAA Tournament appearances. They had some big losses due to graduation, including JaJuan Johnson (an All-Big Ten selection and a first round pick), E’Twaun Moore (an All-Big Ten guard) and Robbie Hummel (an All-Big Ten forward). It took two seasons, but Purdue bounced back.

Rutgers is going through a similar time, Davis explained.

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Since that dip, Painter rebuilt Purdue and led them to seven NCAA Tournaments in as many seasons that the tournament was held (due to COVID-19, the NCAA Tournament was not held following the 2019-20 regular season).

“I mean, we were dead last place in my sophomore year in the Big Ten so that was two years after those guys left,” Davis said of his time at Purdue.

“This the second year after (former Rutgers All-Big Ten guard) Geo Baker left. I just got to think you’re going through a transition as a program. And you have those years where you kind of go through your ups and downs. And then with this new transfer portal and stuff like that, it’s a little more detrimental when you lose guys late.

“But I think of coach Painter and going from last place in the Big Ten through losing some guys and now he’s regarded as one of the best coaches in college basketball. So I think we need to think about it that way. You kind of kind of expect the ups and downs of college basketball.”

It was an emotional Senior Day for Rutgers basketball, Cliff Omoruyi

Rutgers men’s basketball had a tough loss on Sunday against Ohio State.

For Cliff Omoruyi, it appears to be the last dance with Rutgers men’s basketball. Sunday’s home loss to Ohio State is likely the final home game for a player who has meant so much to the program over the past four years.

Rutgers dropped their final game of the Big Ten regular season on Sunday, 73-51 to Ohio State. The rejuvenated Buckeyes were simply too much in the second half for Rutgers.

If this is the last game at Jersey Mike’s Arena for Omoruyi, and there is plenty of reason to believe that is the case, then it was a disappointing finale to one of the best careers in program history.

Omoruyi came to Rutgers when it wasn’t a cool thing to do so, the local kid with strong national offers believing in the direction of Steve Pikiell’s program. He spent four years at Rutgers, a time that included two NCAA Tournament appearances and a trip to the NIT.

Against Ohio State, he had 10 points, seven rebounds and a block in the loss.

Now Rutgers (15-16, 7-13 Big Ten) will need a miracle in this week’s conference tournament to get to the postseason.

“Cliff’s recruiting journey started when he was a freshman. With the path he’s on, he’s going to be a top-20 scorer in school history,” Pikiell told reporters after Sunday’s game.

“He also achieved the dean’s list for just about any semester. It’s sad when they have to go. There aren’t going to be any more four-year guys, that isn’t where this program is headed. The fact that they stayed and continued to do what they do for our university, today didn’t go well but these guys represent us in every way, and couldn’t be more thankful. I appreciate you asking about them because it is their program.”

Omoruyi averaged 10.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game this season for Rutgers.

Scroll down and check out the best photos from Senior Day for Rutgers basketball in their loss against Ohio State!

Big Ten basketball tournament bracket released

Big Ten Basketball Tournament Bracket released

The 2023-24 Big Ten regular season concluded on Sunday.

For Wisconsin, the finale was a 78-70 loss to Purdue that dropped the team to 19-12, 11-9 in Big Ten play.

Purdue finished atop the conference with a stellar 17-3 record, a full three games clear of second-place Illinois. After the Illini, the third-best records were shared by Nebraska and Northwestern, both relative surprises after low expectations entering the season.

Related: Wisconsin social media infuriated after Badgers crushing loss to Purdue

Then Wisconsin’s 11-9 record fits in, six games behind Purdue.

The rest of the conference is bunched up behind the Badgers, with three teams at 10-10, three at 9-11, two at 7-13 and Michigan at 3-17.

The Big Ten Tournament begins Wednesday evening with No. 13 Rutgers vs. No. 12 Maryland and No. 14 Michigan vs. No. 11 Penn State. Then the action resumes on Thursday with most other teams in action.

Related: Takeaways from Wisconsin’s controversial loss to No. 3 Purdue

Here’s the official 2024 Big Ten Tournament bracket:

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Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

Wisconsin HC Greg Gard says Badgers played better than in first loss to Purdue

Agree with Greg Gard?

Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard isn’t ashamed of his team’s effort and resilience in Sunday’s 78-70 loss to No. 3 Purdue.

Speaking postgame, the Badgers head coach said his team played better in Sunday’s loss than it did in February’s 75-69 home loss to the Boilermakers.

“I thought we did a lot of good things,” Gard said. “But again, to come in here and win against this team, you have to make some shots to counter how they plug the paint and obviously with (Zach) Edey inside.”

Related: Wisconsin social media infuriated after Badgers crushing loss to Purdue

Wisconsin shot just 20% from 3 in Sunday’s loss, with five makes in 24 attempts. That was actually an improvement on the team’s shooting compared to the last time the two teams met — a 15.8% effort with three makes in 19 attempts.

Either way, Wisconsin showed impressive resilience in the second half. It cut a large deficit to four points late in the second half and was on the doorstep of a colossal upset win before Purdue pulled away.

The biggest positive was freshman guard John Blackwell, who scored 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting and 2 of 3 from 3. Blackwell is fully healthy and growing into a dangerous offensive threat.

It’s never good to lose. But given Wisconsin’s struggles over the last five weeks, this sign of life may be carry into postseason play.

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Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

How to watch Wisconsin’s regular-season finale at No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers

How to watch Wisconsin’s regular-season finale vs No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers

Wisconsin returns to the hardwood to close out its regular season Sunday afternoon at No. 3 Purdue.

The Badgers are off a resilient 78-66 home win over Rutgers. It wasn’t a smooth, coast-to-coast win, but it was one Greg Gard’s team desperately needed entering postseason play.

Related: Wisconsin social media reacts to Badgers resilient win vs Rutgers

Purdue, on the other hand, is 27-3 on the season and 16-3 in conference play. It just went to No. 12 Illinois and escaped with a 77-71 win, clinching the outright Big Ten regular season title for the second consecutive year.

Wisconsin needs a heroic effort from the entire roster to somehow steal a win at Purdue this weekend.

Here is how to watch the Badgers final contest of the 2023-24 regular season.

  • Date: Sunday, March 10, 2024
  • Time: 12:30 p.m. ET, 11:30 a.m. CT
  • TV Channel: FOX

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Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

Rutgers basketball closes out their Big Ten regular season against Ohio State

Rutgers basketball faces a big game on Sunday.

On Sunday afternoon, Rutgers men’s basketball will be looking for revenge when they take on Ohio State. In the first matchup between these two teams this season in January, Ohio State recorded a 76-72. While Ohio State has a better record, they will play the role of the underdogs, according to ESPN.

Rutgers is 15-15 (7-12 Big Ten) and coming off consecutive Big Ten losses.

Entering this game, Bruce Thornton has been the Buckeyes’ best offensive player. The Alpharetta, Georgia native is averaging a team-high 16.2 points per game. Against Michigan State on February 3rd, Thornton added 17 points to his resume in 32 minutes of action.

 

As Ohio State looks to complete the season sweep, they will be tasked with stopping Jeremiah Williams. In 10 games this season, the talented junior is averaging 13.3 points per game. Against Wisconsin on Thursday, he scored 16 points and hauled in two rebounds.

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When these two teams met in January, Ohio State pulled out a win partly due to its three-point shooting. Rutgers only shot 25 percent from beyond the arc, while Ohio State shot 45.8 percent. Having Williams in the lineup could help even those numbers out.

Additionally, Rutgers has been hard to beat at home this season where they have posted a 12-4 record at Jersey Mike’s Arena. On the road, Ohio State has gone 1-8. This game should provide plenty of entertaining moments, with both teams having plenty to prove.