Tag: Kohl Center

Illinois basketball made history with win over Wisconsin Saturday

Wisconsin’s loss to Illinois was historic:

Wisconsin basketball has been finding itself on the wrong side of history since the start of February.

This time it comes at the hands of the No. 13 Illinois Fighting Illini, who triumphed over the Badgers 91-83 on Saturday afternoon. The game marked Illinois’ fourth consecutive win at the Kohl Center (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023), making it the only program to accomplish that feat.

Related: Wisconsin faithful, college basketball world reacts to Howard Moore’s emotional return to Kohl Center

Wisconsin’s last win over Illinois came on February 18, 2019 when sophomore Brad Davison’s 18 points led the Badgers to a 64-58 victory. Illinois has dominated the series since then, winning seven straight games overall and four straight on the road.

The Kohl Center on January 17, 1998, so there have been plenty of programs to step onto its court. It’s startling to see that Illinois is now the only program to win four straight games on that floor.

[lawrence-related id=71851,71911,71893]

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 faithful, college basketball world react to Howard Moore’s emotional return to Kohl Center

The college basketball joined together to react to Howard Moore’s emotional return to Kohl Center:

Wisconsin basketball fell 91-83 to the No. 13 Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday afternoon.

The game was a subscript to the pregame and halftime ceremonies, as former Wisconsin player and assistant coach Howard Moore made an emotional return to the Kohl Center for the first time since the tragic car accident nearly five years ago.

Related: Takeaways from Wisconsin’s crushing loss to No. 13 Illinois

Moore was accompanied by Rashard Griffith, his longtime friend and Wisconsin teammate. Griffith brought him onto the court after Wisconsin aired a video tribute on the scoreboard, where he was met with a nearly three-minute standing ovation. It was a powerful moment that nobody will soon forget:

The college basketball world joined together to express support and love for Moore on Saturday afternoon. Here are some of those responses:

Michigan State hockey traveling to Wisconsin, set to play for Big Ten Championship

MSU heads to Wisconsin for a weekend series with a Big Ten Championship on the line:

The biggest hockey series of the season is coming on the last weekend of the year, and Michigan State is gearing up for a war to win the Big Ten regular season championship.

Michigan State enters the series up two points on Wisconsin, with two games to play inside of the Kohl Center this weekend.

If the Spartans get two points, the two teams will be co-champions. If the Spartans earn three points, or more, they are outright champions. In the event the team’s are co-champions, MSU would earn the 1-seed in the Big Ten Tournament. One point or less, Wisconsin takes home the Big Ten crown.

The first game of the series will take place on Friday at 9 p.m., while Saturday’s game will also be at 9 p.m., both on Big Ten Network Plus.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.

Wisconsin basketball fans share the best dunks in Kohl Center history

What is your favorite Kohl Center moment?

Wisconsin guard A.J. Storr lit social media on fire with his poster dunk against Maryland on Tuesday.

The Badgers won the game 74-70, improving to 18-9 on the season and 10-6 in Big Ten play. While the 1-5 skid to start February mostly dropped the team out of Big Ten contention, there is still a sliver of hope entering the final stretch.

It’s a good thing Wisconsin held on to beat Maryland, because otherwise Storr’s acrobatic dunk might’ve been forgotten. The win makes it easier to celebrate the play — one which made it as the No. 2 play on SportsCenter’s Top 10:

In honor of this dunk, Wisconsin basketball’s official ‘X’ account asked fans to share the best dunks in Kohl Center history. Here are some of those responses:

Wisconsin students camp outside overnight for good seats to No. 6 Badgers vs No. 2 Purdue

This is dedication

Wisconsin basketball fans are a dedicated group, especially when the team is playing great and contending for the Big Ten.

Today’s game against No. 2 Purdue is that once-a-few-years type of contest that every fan circles on their calendar. It’s two top-six teams with first place in the Big Ten on the line. We couldn’t ask for a better matchup.

This is one of those games you’d do a lot for a good seat. Possibly even sleep overnight outside the Kohl Center in freezing temperatures.

CBS 3’s Zach Hanley stopped by the Kohl Center last night around 10 p.m. and saw exactly that. Students with tickets were already in line to get the best seats.

This is a staple at Duke, Kansas and some other basketball-centric schools. It isn’t commonplace at Wisconsin, which just further highlights the magnitude of Sunday’s game.

Also, the last time Wisconsin and Purdue faced off with these stakes attached, this happened:

So, hopefully the students’ efforts get rewarded with a similar result.

Wisconsin MBB will face major SEC school at Kohl Center in 2023

The Badgers men’s basketball team will take on the Tennessee Volunteers at the Kohl Center on November 10, starting a home-and-home series.

The Badgers men’s basketball team will take on the Tennessee Volunteers at the Kohl Center on November 10. The matchup is the start of a home-and-home series.

Wisconsin came to an agreement with Tennessee in 2019 on this series, defeating the Volunteers 68-48 during the 2019-2020 campaign. After that, COVID derailed the second matchup, which was set for 2020-2021.

Coach Gard said that he’s “looking forward to resuming” the series with Tennessee, which will give the Badgers a hefty early season test next year after the Volunteers (23-10 regular season record) fell to FAU in the Sweet 16 of this year’s national tournament..

With the Big Ten/ACC Challenge no longer a thing, Wisconsin’s much anticipated matchup with an SEC opponent will set the tone for the team.

The Badgers are returning almost their entire roster next season and they’ll look to get off to a hot start in what will be their sixth all-time meeting with Tennessee, producing a 3-2 record so far.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzzyj3n3jt6m7 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

Badgers set for NIT starting Tuesday

The Wisconsin men’s basketball team went 17-14 this season, falling just short of making the NCAA Tournament, but they’ll play in the NIT.

The Wisconsin men’s basketball team went 17-14 this season, falling just short of making the NCAA Tournament following the Round 1 loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday.

As a result, the Badgers were faced with a decision, play in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) or hit the reset button and focus on next season, they chose the first option.

Wisconsin has been selected as a two-seed in their region and they will take on Bradley (25-9) in the first round of the tournament Tuesday at 8:30 PM in Madison.

The Kohl Center will be the host of at least two games if the Badgers are able to pull off the victory over Bradley, with three-seed Liberty taking on Villanova on Tuesday night as well. The winner of that game will face Wisconsin/Bradley in the second round.

Although it’s not perfect, Wisconsin will have a chance to bring home a championship this season, just not the one that the team wanted to compete for when they were gearing up for the year.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzzyj3n3jt6m7 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

Badgers lose third straight, fall to Illinois 61-51 on Saturday

Wisconsin lost their third straight contest Saturday, falling to Illinois 61-51 at home. The Badgers have now lost six of their last seven.

Wisconsin lost their third straight contest Saturday, falling to Illinois 61-51 at the Kohl Center. The Badgers have now dropped six of their last seven games and finished this week of action 0-3.

The contest was super low scoring heading into half, with Illinois holding a 20-16 lead and each team’s individual halftime point total was their lowest of the campaign. Down the stretch, the Fighting Illini pulled away and at one point held a 17-point advantage with 2:29 left in the game. The lead was greatly fueled by a 10-0 run the team went on.

For the Badgers, the return of Max Klesmit (upper body) was a welcomed one and it was evident throughout the first half and into the second that the team greatly benefited from the guard’s defensive prowess. He was able to secure two steals while he also supplied on the offensive end. His 12 points (4-10 FG, 3-6 3Pt, 1-3 FT) ranked second on the team.

Chucky Hepburn rebounded well from Wednesday’s three shot, three point performance in the loss to Maryland, supplying 15 points (6-14 FG, 3-5 3Pt), five rebounds, two steals and a rebound over 36 minutes.

On the opposite side, Matthew Mayer torched the Badgers, scoring a game-high 26 points (9-19 FG, 5-11 3Pt, 3-4 FT) while also adding six rebounds and a block. He turned it on in the second half, producing 18 points after halftime.

In addition to Mayer, Jayden Epps was able to chip in nine of his 13 points in the second half, helping the Fighting Illini pull out the victory.

The loss dropped the Badgers to 12-8 on the season and 4-6 in the Big Ten. Wisconsin will return to action Thursday (Feb. 2) on the road against Ohio State at 6 PM.

With the victory, Illinois improved to 15-6 on the campaign and they are now 6-4 in conference matchups. Overall, the team has won six out of their last seven games, including a two-game sweep over the Badgers this year.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzzyj3n3jt6m7 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

Michigan State pulls away late to defeat Wisconsin 69-65

The Spartans pull away late

With Michigan State traveling to the Kohl Center on Tuesday, the Badgers were unable to get back in the win column, losing to the Spartans 69-65. Operating without leading scorer Tyler Wahl (ankle), Wisconsin had three players score in double-digits including Steven Crowl (19), Chucky Hepburn (14) and Connor Essegian (13). Crowl in particular came alive in the second half, producing 15 points (7-10 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 0-1 FT).

On the opposite side for Michigan State, Stevens Point native Joey Hauser led the way with 20 points (6-8 FG, 2-3 3Pt, 6-6 FT) while Tyson Walker (13), Jaden Akins (12) and A.J. Hoggard (10) also reached double-digits. The Spartans were able to go 16-17 from the free-throw line, with the only miss coming on a questionable and-one attempt for Malik Hall late in the second half. Some may say, ball don’t lie.

Tom Izzo’s squad took a 33-31 lead into halftime and were able to gut out a two-point advantage again in the second half out scoring Wisconsin 36-34. The Spartans out rebounding the Badgers 18-7 in back half of the contest.

Overall, Wisconsin was able to take advantage of turnovers in the contest, turning 14 MSU mistakes into 27 points on the opposite end, outscoring the Spartans 27-2 in that category, but it wasn’t enough for the Badgers to end up on top. Michigan State made their final eight field-goal attempts and were able to eek out the 69-65 victory on the road.

With the loss, Wisconsin is now 11-4 on the campaign and 3-2 versus the Big Ten. Up next for the Badgers, they will take on Indiana in Bloomington on Saturday at 12pm CT before returning to the Kohl Center on Jan. 17 to take on Penn State.

Michigan State moves to 12-4 with a 4-1 Big Ten record. The Spartans will head to Champaign to face off with the Fighting Illini on Friday before heading back home Monday to face the #3 ranked Purdue Boilermakers.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzzyj3n3jt6m7 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

Despite a run to the Big Ten title, data shows that crowd sizes for Wisconsin basketball were alarmingly small in 2019-20

The data shows that despite a championship run, crowd sizes for Badger basketball were at all-time lows

[lawrence-newsletter]Even with a miraculous run in February and early March that led Wisconsin basketball to a share of the Big Ten title, crowd sizes at the Kohl Center dropped to alarmingly low rates this season.

Date from the University of Wisconsin shows that in UW’s 16 regular-season games this year, an average of 11,801 tickets were scanned. According to John Hart of the Wisconsin State Journal, that number is the lowest it has been in 14 years (they only started tracking the data in this way 14 seasons ago).

The number that is reflected represents not how many tickets were sold, but how many were actually used by those who purchased them. That gives a better representation for how many fans were actually in the Kohl Center as opposed to how many tickets were sold.

There can be a debate over what factor’s created the smallest crowd sizes in years, but it certainly should be a surprise to many that this number stayed so small given the run that Wisconsin went on in February and March.