Badgers ‘Elite Eight’ history
For all you Badgers fans who can’t wait until 5:07pm tonight for the game against Arizona to start, here’s a few stats that you may find interesting…
* Wisconsin has won their first three games as a Number One seed in the tournament. In the years since the NCAA went to a seeded format for this tournament, the Badgers have been a #4, #5 and #6 seed most often, each three times since 1979. Here’s a quick look at the team’s win-loss record as each seed since 1979:
Number 1 Seed: 3-0 (through games of March 26, 2015)
Number 2 Seed: 5-2
Number 3 Seed: 2-1
Number 4 Seed: 5-3
Number 5 Seed: 2-3
Number 6 Seed: 3-3
Number 7 Seed: 0-1
Number 8 Seed: 5-2
Number 9 Seed: 1-2
Number 12 Seed: 1-1
* The Badgers have made the Final Four three times, 1941, 2000 and 2014. They won two of those Elite Eight games by one point (1941 and 2014) and the other by a four-point margin (2000).
* This is the first time the Badgers have faced a #2 Seed (Arizona) in their regional.
* This will be the fourth time the Badgers have faced Arizona in the tournament. In 2000, they defeated Arizona, then a #1 seed, in the second round. In 2006 Wisconsin, the #9 seed, lost to Arizona, the #8 seed, in the first round of the tourney. Last season these two teams faced off in the elite 8 game with the Badgers (the #2 seed) defeating Arizona (the #1 seed) 64-63 in overtime.
* The Badgers have played in five Elite Eight games, winning three and losing two. The two losses occurred in 1947 and 2005. In the three games they won to go to the Final Four, the Badgers held their opponents under 64 points.
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SIX STATS you might not know about… Wisconsin’s appearances in the Rose Bowl
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The Wisconsin Badgers take on the Oregon Ducks on January 2 in the 98th Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, California. Here are a few stats about the Badgers appearances in this game.
1. This is Wisconsin‘s eighth time in the Rose Bowl. They have a 3-4 record. They rank third in the Big Ten Conference in Rose Bowl appearances; Michigan leads with 20, followed by Ohio State with 14. In six of the seven games, the outcome has been decided by eight points or less.
2. Barry Alvarez was 3-0 in Rose Bowl appearances. The other Wisconsin coaches who coached in the Rose Bowl: Ivy Williamson (1953), Milt Bruhn (1960, 1963) and Bret Bielema (2011). Bielema last year became the ninth person in Rose Bowl history to both play and coach in the Rose Bowl.
3. This is the first time that the Badgers have played the Rose Bowl game on a Monday. They are 0-1 on Tuesday, 0-1 on Thursday, 1-1 on Friday, 2-1 on Saturday. This is also the first time they’ve played the Rose Bowl on a date other than January 1.
4. This is Wisconsin’s 23rd bowl game. They have a 11-11 record. This is their 10th straight year with a bowl game bid and the 17th year in the last 19 where they have played in a bowl game.
5. This is the fifth time that Wisconsin will face a team ranked higher than them in the Rose Bowl. In the 1963 game between Wisconsin and USC, it was the first time in history that the number 1 ranked and number 2 ranked teams faced off in a bowl game.
6. A few other odds and ends:
* The 7-0 loss the Badgers suffered in 1953 is the second lowest scoring game in Rose Bowl history.
* The Badgers and UCLA set a Rose Bowl record in 1999 when they combined for 1,035 total yards.
* In 2000, Ron Dayne became the third player in Rose Bowl history to be selected game MVP for the second time.
* The 24 combined points scored in the first quarter by Wisconsin and TCU in last year’s game was the most points scored by two teams in the first quarter in Rose Bowl history.
* This is the first time a Big Ten team has make back-to-back appearances in the Rose Bowl since Michigan did it in 2004, 2005. Prior to that, Wisconsin make consecutive Rose Bowl appearances in 1999, 2000.
SIX STATS you might not know about… Wisconsin vs. Penn State
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Penn State and Wisconsin meet tomorrow in Madison, WI to see who advances to the Big Ten Conference Championship Game against Michigan State.
1. Penn State and Wisconsin have met 12 times in Big Ten Conference play since the Nittany Lions joined the conference in 1993. The two teams have each won six games in the series since ’93. Each team is 3-3 in home games. If there is good news for the Badgers, it’s that they have won both November home games in the series: 24-3 on Nov. 21, 1998 and 13-3 on Nov. 4, 2006.
2. Penn State lost both games to ranked teams this year, losing to Alabama (ranked #3) and Nebraska (ranked #19), Wisconsin is 1-1 versus ranked teams this year, winning against #8 Nebraska and losing to #16 Michigan State. Penn State and Wisconsin have played each other four times in the series where both teams were ranked in the Top 25. Penn State won three of the four games.
3. Watch for the Badgers running game as an indicator of whether or not they will win… Wisconsin has averaged 265 yards per game in their nine wins this season with an average of four TDs per game. In their two losses, the Badgers have averaged only 154 yards per game rushing and 1.5 rushing TDs.
4. Wisconsin has scored first in nine of their 11 games this year; Penn State has scored first in six of their 11 games. Wisconsin has held opponents scoreless in the first quarter in seven of the 11 games; Penn State has held opponents scoreless in the first quarter in six of their 11 games. The Badgers have committed only seven turnovers this season; the Nittany Lions have committed 18.
5. Penn State is 4-0 in away games this year. Wisconsin is 6-0 in home games in 2011. Something has to give!
6. Wisconsin and Penn State have played five common opponents this season:
* Nebraska: Wisconsin won by 31; Penn State lost by three.
* Indiana: Wisconsin won by 52; Penn State won by six.
* Ohio State: Wisconsin lost by four; Penn State won by six.
* Purdue: Wisconsin won by 45; Penn State won by five
* Illinois: Wisconsin won by 11; Penn State won by three.
SIX STATS you might not know about… Wisconsin vs. Nebraska
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Two Top 10 college teams face off Saturday as the Nebraska Cornhuskers (ranked 8th) play their very first Big Ten Conference game this Saturday against Wisconsin (ranked 7th). Here’s a look at the previous match-ups between the two teams.
1. Wisconsin and Nebraska have faced each other five times previous to Saturday. Nebraska holds the edge with three wins and two losses. The Cornhuskers have played 146 games against Big Ten opponents compiling a 74-64-8 record. They are 43-21-4 at home, 4-1 at neutral sites and 27-42-4 in away games. They are 8-1 in their last nine games against Big Ten teams.
2. The very first game played between Wisconsin and Nebraska was on November 2, 1901. The game was played in Milwaukee. Wisconsin won 18-0. The Badgers went on the finish 9-0 that season, the first time they went undefeated in a season in school history. Touchdowns scored in games in 1901 accounted for only five points; the Badgers scored three touchdowns and had three extra points (called goals) in the game.
3. Nebraska won the second match-up 37-0 in a game October 9, 1965 in Lincoln, Neb. The Cornhuskers were ranked number one going in to the game; they finished ranked second in the nation that season after a Cotton Bowl loss to Alabama. The Badgers finished 2-7-1 that season.
4. Wisconsin hosted Nebraska the following year in Madison. The Cornhuskers, ranked number seven coming in to the game, prevailed again, this time by a score of 31-3. One of the interceptions in that game was made by a Nebraska linebacker named Barry Alvarez… yes, that same Barry Alvarez!
5. On September 23, 1973 the two teams played for the fourth time. Nebraska was ranked number two in the nation, but the Badgers gave them all they could handle. Nebraska won the game 20-16. The Badgers that season ended up 4-7; they lost their first three games that year by a total of eight points.
6. The last time the two teams met was Sept. 21, 1974 in Madison, a date many Badgers fans remember. Wisconsin won the game 21-20 over the fourth-ranked Cornhuskers. Nebraska ended the season 9-3, while the Badgers ended 7-4. Wisconsin was ranked number 11 in the polls after their upset win over Nebraska, but they lost their next game to Colorado 24-21. The 7-4 record for the Badgers was their first winning season since 1962.
SIX STATS you might not know about… University of Wisconsin football team
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1. The Badgers football team has never won 10 or more games three seasons in a row. They won 11 in 2010; 10 in 2009.
2. Three Wisconsin coaches have won a bowl game with the Badgers: Barry Alvarez won eight bowl games; Bret Bielema has won two; Dave McClain won one.
3. The last losing season for the Badgers was in 2001 when they went 5-7. Their longest streak of losing seasons was 10 from 1964-73.
4. Their current streak of nine straight winning seasons is not a record. The school had 18 straight winning seasons from 1892-1909.
5. Bret Bielema has started his career as head coach with five straight winning seasons. Three other head coaches had winning seasons in their first six seasons (or more). Phil King had eight straight winning seasons to start his coaching career at Wisconsin from 1896-1905. Two other coaches had six straight winning seasons to start their Wisconsin head coaching careers… JR Richards (1919-24) and Ivy Williamson (1949-54).
6. The highest the Badgers have been ranked in a preseason AP poll was #4 in 2000. The highest the team has been ranked in the AP poll at the end of a season is #2 after the 1962 campaign.
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