The Wisconsin Sports Rant

Ok, I know Indiana is a tough place to win, and I know that it is very difficult to go undefeated in conference play, but that doesn’t make it any easier to swallow. We are (were) the 2nd ranked team in the nation. We shouldn’t lose to Indiana. Period. Now, because we are Wisconsin and not UNC or Florida, we will drop in the polls more than we should. At 21-2, should we not still be in the top 4? Should we not still be a #1 seed in the tourney? Should we be ranked above Ohio State? In all cases YES! This is one of the biggest reasons to HATE losing. We will lose a lot of the respect we have spent the last two months building. We are most likely not going to see that #1 ranking during the season that we have all been lusting after. It is monumentally frustrating; akin to ascending to within yards of the top of Everest, only to have to turn back before summitting. Today was not a “bad” loss, as would have been at Northwestern; but that does not make it any easier to stomach. Still, I will gladly take this one on the chin to win 6 straight beginning March 16th in Chicago.

It’s a good fantastic thing that we are witnessing some of the best college basketball ever played in the state of Wisconsin, because it keeps the Milwaukee Bucks from being lambasted by the press and the fans. Perhaps if we weren’t in the midst of such excitement over our NCAA hoops prospects, there would be a lot more discussion and frustration over how bad things are getting for the NBA tennants of the “Fortress on Fourth Street”. While the Bucks’ performance thus far, regardless of the injuries, has been pretty bad, the reality is that I, like many, simply don’t care. There is little that is inspiring about this team, and not much going for it either. At 9 games under .500, I find it comical that Tom Enlund would even mention playoff implications with regard to the 30 point shellacking the Bucks received last night in Miami. Milwaukee is in the 11th spot in the pitiful Eastern Conference, which is sad in and of itself; but how can a team that plays no defense and has no identity even hope to compete past April? Hopefully we will be watching one (or two) of our NCAA hoops teams into that month and when One Shining Moment has come and gone, we will have a championship to drown out the pathetic play of our professional ballers.

What a thrilling weekend of college hoops for Wisconsin and Marquette fans! Starting on Saturday, Wisconsin went into a place that they haven’t had much any success the last decade, and came out with a hard-earned victory. Sure, the 2nd ranked team in the nation ought to win their games against unranked opponents, but college hoops fans know that it doesn’t work that way. Those who also follow Big Ten basketball know that there is no such thing as a “gimme” road game in this league. In fact, I have to agree with Bo Ryan when he said that experience is what allowed the Badgers to outlast Illinois. That trait is fast becoming recognized across the nation, and is most likely the reason for some of those first place votes Wisconsin is getting in the polls. I don’t hold any unreasonable expectations that the Badgers won’t lose again this season, but it seems that even on their off nights, they do the things required to win. During the Marquette game Sunday, Verne Lundquist was saying that both teams (Pitt and Marquette) had lost to Wisconsin and both coaches said that UW was the toughest team they faced this year. He also said something that I totally agreed with (which I don’t often do): that Wisconsin is solid in every area. It’s true…they may not be the best at any one facet of the game, but they have no glaring weaknesses either.

Marquette not only enjoyed a great weekend, they have had a spectacular week. Winning at Louisville and Pittsburgh is no easy feat despite the fact that Louisville is not having a great year. Freedom Hall has actually been rather kind to Marquette over the last few years, but the Peterson Events Center has been flat out rude to just about everyone. The beauty of the win Sunday is that Marquette looked poised, aggressive, determined, and (mostly) disciplined in their victory. The final few minutes were very frustrating, as all they had to do was not turn the ball over. Instead, they gave it away on three straight possessions, which allowed Pitt to erase a 9 point deficit in sort order. That set the stage for the questionable call on James that allowed Ronald Ramon to tie the game at the line with under 4 seconds to go. That call was not good, but Marquette would have had no one to blame but themselves had they lost. Instead, they refused to get down on themselves, and even after trailing by 3 in OT, played their hearts out and came away with a sweet victory. I have to admit, I did not think they would be able to hold on in overtime. But when a team shooting 64% from the line makes every single clutch free throw they had, it is a bit surprising! Credit coach Crean as well. He had some players in foul trouble for a good chunk of the 2nd half and overtime, even losing both McNeal and Fitzgerald. He was able to rotate players in to keep those guys around for as long as possible, and it paid off. Fitzgerald hit some Steve Novak-like 3 pointers that really were key to the victory. One more thing I want to note is how Marquette built and kept a lead for almost the entire game. They were all over the court. It seemed that on defense they were rotating very quickly and making the stops, while on offense the ball movement was crisp and with purpose. I was very impressed with how they operated as a team throughout the afternoon. They may ride their guards to success, but they are truly playing excellent team basketball, which is another testament to Crean’s coaching skill.

Both UW and Marquette played highly entertaining games this weekend that ended in victories. As good as we knew college hoops would be for our state this year, it continues to get better. Marquette has fully recovered from their mini slump, and looks more like the team that was ranked 8th after beating Duke rather than the team that dropped out of the rankings. And Wisconsin? I don’t know that anyone saw 15 wins in a row (and counting), and a gaudy 19-1 record coming. Let’s hope they keep it going.

Quick game notes before my comments…

• Jason Chappell was totally impressive to me tonight. He hit a couple 3’s at critical points, made some nice passes, and played some solid defense. All in all, he eas an asset rather than a liability tonight.
• Starting out shooting 1-12 is brutal no matter who you are. To be able to remain in the game and overcome such a horrid beginning is also the mark of a good team. Sometimes the best teams prove they are the best by winning on off nights, and the Badgers were definitely not playing their ‘A’ game Wednesday night.
• This game was closer than you would like to see the #2 ranked team in the country play at home. Still, a win’s a win.

So, in watching the game, I was thinking about how a once moribund basketball program has become the staple of stability. How do they maintain the success they have had over the last 15 or so years? You can see it as you watch. Excellent coach. Top notch atheltic facilities. World class education (some players actually care about this, I swear). A fantastic, excited, loud, rabid fan base. And now…sustained success. You can tell any recruit that they will play in the NCAA tournament when they come to Wisconsin. At 18-1, ranked 2nd, and getting the credit they deserve, a young high school player knows who Wisconsin is. They know that if they are being recruited by uW, that they have to be a top-level player, because this has become a top-level program. In fact, that term “program” is what has been built in Madison. This is no longer a team that may or may not do well from year to year. Bo has a PROGRAM, that pretty much does well every year. If I were a high schooler who wanted to play at a school that is certain to play for a conference titile, an NCAA tournament berth, and will get the national exposure, then I have to put Wisconsin on the same list as the UNCs, UCLAs, and Dukes of the world. At this point, you can’t really argue against that. Even watching tonight, you see a team playing some mediocre basketball, and in the midst of a ton of “trap” games, come out with a win. in fact, being ranked 2nd makes almost all of these games “trap” games, and as Andy Katz of ESPN wrote this week, it’s the games the Badgers should win that may define how good they really are. So far, so good.  Any kids out there want to come play for Wisconsin?  Get in line!

It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t what we had become accustomed to this year, except for the outcome of course. The Wisconsin Badgers completed one of the best (and win-wise THE best) seasons in their history with a 17-14 victory of Arkansas in the Capital One Bowl on January 1st. Arkansas was an SEC power this year, and played one of the tougher schedules in the country, having faced USC in addition to their familiar SEC foes. Wisconsin, on the other hand, played only one top 25 team, and lost. Still, Wisconsin showed that schedules and conference ratings don’t mean anything once you get on the football field. The offensive line, and really, the entire offensive unit saved their poorest half of football of the season for their last. Still, the defense picked them up when they had to, and as a result, the Badgers sported a 12 win season for the first time. It was sweet to see, regardless of the ugly football for the last thirty minutes. Seeing the team celebrate on the field, and douse first-year coach Bret Bielema with the Gatorade bucket was truly special. It helped ease some of the lingering bitterness I felt at having been excluded from the BCS party. It also went a long way towards validating that bitterness, as I believe Wisconsin proved that they could have held their own against most of the BCS teams. Simply put, the Badgers just won this year. Think about that for a moment. Remember 2004 when they were 9-0? What heppened? They fell off and lost their last three games. Last year, they again limped to the finish line before stunning everyone with the “Send Barry out in style” performance at the very same bowl they won this year. The point is, they could have slipped up against Iowa, or Purdue, or Penn State, and no one would have been surprised. But they didn’t. The one time they did lose, they played a valiant half of football on the road against one of the best teams in the country, before succumbing to Michigan’s tough defense. Every other game they just won. Some they won big, some, like the bowl, they won close. But they won. I was looking for an 8-4 season and a berth in an Alamo Bowl-like game, so I consider 2006 a monster success. John Stocco evolved into a QB and MVP that few saw coming when he first took the field several years ago. People will not talk about him as an NFL star in the making, but I do believe he will be on a roster somewhere next year. You can laugh, but you know what? This guy is just a winner, and it never hurts to have a winner in your locker room. I can go on and on about other players, like Joe Thomas, or Travis Beckham, or PJ Hill (despite the crappy performance in the bowl game), but I will leave that to the traditional media outlets. Simply put, 2006 was a welcome surprise of a season for the Badgers, and one that in any other year, would have ended in a BCS berth. Looking at the 2007 schedule, it will be tough to replicate 12 wins, but Bielema has earned my respect and faith, and I believe the Badgers can achieve great things under him. I look forward to 2007 with much enthusiasm and high hopes.

Just a quick update:  I have been out of town for the last couple of weeks, and simply have NOT had time to update the blog.  I know, I know…pretty bad time to take a leave of absence seeing as how many events have taken place during that time.  The good news is I will begin posting again this week, beginning with a Badger Football Wrap Up in the next day or two.  Thanks for you patience!