MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz says his confidence hasn’t wavered even during an offseason in which Oklahoma transfer Caleb Williams’ name got mentioned as his potential replacement.
Mike Krzyzewski's farewell tour was thisclose to over.
Duke trailed Michigan State 70-65 with 5:10 left to play Sunday and there was next to nothing he could do about it.
“I’m an Army guy,” recalled Krzyzewski, who played for Bobby Knight at West Point and started his coaching career there.
Duke survived a tense finish against Michigan State and extended Mike Krzyzewski’s final NCAA Tournament run, beating Tom Izzo’s Spartans 85-76 on Sunday in the Hall of Fame coaches’ bittersweet last tussle.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Gabe Kalscheur made a handful of big shots for Iowa State, and he helped the Cyclones put together another stellar defensive performance.
No Minnesota nice for Kalscheur. Not in Wisconsin, anyway.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Early-morning workouts on a soccer field. Advice on nutrition and sleep habits. Yoga sessions.
Iowa State's road from two wins all the way to the NCAA Tournament was paved by work.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Johnny Davis offered a simple explanation for how Wisconsin stepped up down the stretch to avoid a first-round upset.
“We just stopped being lazy on defense and non-fundamental,” the All-America guard and Big Ten player of the year said.
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Duke began retiring Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski’s final NCAA Tournament with minimal stress, beating Cal State Fullerton 78-61 on Friday night.
Freshman Paolo Banchero scored 17 points to lead the Blue Devils (29-6), who jumped to a double-digit lead in the first 4 1/2 minutes and remained in control throughout.
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Auburn coach Bruce Pearl is grateful he can joke about his last NCAA Tournament game three years ago in the Final Four, no matter how gut-wrenching the outcome.
“It doesn't flash in my mind very often,” Pearl said Thursday about Virginia's 63-62, drama-filled victory in the 2019 national semifinals.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin guard Johnny Davis drives to the basket with the same ferocity he used to show while running over defenders as a high school quarterback.
Keegan Murray has given Iowa a first-team Associated Press All-American for the third straight year, and Kofi Cockburn has made it two in a row for Illinois — not bad for a couple programs that haven't had a whole lot of them.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas fought its way through arguably the toughest league in college basketball this season, ultimately sharing the Big 12 regular-season title with Baylor before romping past Texas Tech to win the conference tournament.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Marcus Bingham Jr. embraced being the game-changer Friday night.
Tyson Walker helped seventh-seeded Michigan State make sure the title stuck.
Bingham scored 11 of his career-high matching 19 points during a crucial second-half stretch and Walker scored nine of his 11 points in the final 93 seconds to help the Spartans beat No.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin star Johnny Davis says he expects to play in the Big Ten Tournament after getting knocked out of the Badgers’ regular-season finale on a hit he described as “dirty and uncalled for.”
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan coach Juwan Howard looked and sounded contrite about the swipe that forced him to watch his basketball team play five games on TV.
Wisconsin's Johnny Davis is The Associated Press player of the year in the Big Ten Conference and the Badgers' Greg Gard is coach of the year.
Davis won top honors over Iowa's Keegan Murray on Tuesday, and both were unanimous picks for spots on the AP All-Big Ten team along with Purdue's Jaden Ivey in voting of journalists who cover the conference.
Michigan coach Juwan Howard’s return and Wisconsin guard Johnny Davis’ injury are the major plotlines heading into the Big Ten Tournament that starts Wednesday in Indianapolis.
Howard is returning from a five-game suspension as the Wolverines attempt to play their way off the bubble and into the 68-team NCAA Tournament field.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Tenth-ranked Wisconsin lost leading scorer Johnny Davis when he was injured on a flagrant foul early in the second half, and the Badgers missed a chance to clinch the Big Ten title outright by falling to Nebraska 74-73 Sunday.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Tenth-ranked Wisconsin lost leading scorer Johnny Davis when he was injured on a flagrant foul early in the second half, and the Badgers missed a chance to clinch the Big Ten title outright by falling to Nebraska 74-73 Sunday.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin showed its confidence in Chucky Hepburn months ago by making him the Badgers' first true freshman in two decades to start a season opener.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Da’Monte Williams made four 3-pointers on his way to a season-high 14 points, helping No. 20 Illinois hold off Penn State 60-55 on Thursday night.
The victory kept the Illini (21-8, 14-5 Big Ten) in contention for a share of the conference title if they beat Iowa and Wisconsin loses to Nebraska on Sunday.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Chucky Hepburn tried to keep a straight face as the freshman insisted he knew his game-winning 3-pointer was accurate as soon as he took the shot.
The laughter from his teammates told a different story.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin leads the Big Ten and has emerged as one of college basketball’s biggest surprises because of an uncanny ability to win close games.
The 10th-ranked Badgers have won their last 14 games that were decided by six points or fewer.
MORAGA, Calif. (AP) — Tommy Kuhse had 14 points and six rebounds and No. 23 Saint Mary’s beat No. 1 Gonzaga 67-57 on Saturday night to prevent the Bulldogs from completing another undefeated run in the West Coast Conference.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — While they weren't the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten Conference, Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said that's been his team's goal since the start of the season.
A look at the upcoming weekend around the Big Ten Conference:
GAME OF THE WEEKEND
No. 13 Wisconsin at Rutgers, Saturday. The Badgers (22-5, 13-4) must avenge their Feb. 12 loss to the Scarlet Knights to set up a Tuesday home game against No.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Johnny Davis had a quiet game that ended early, when Wisconsin's standout guard fouled out with 2:35 to go and the 13th-ranked Badgers gripping hard on a one-point lead at Minnesota.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Jared Bynum scored 27 points, including a key 3-pointer, to help 11th-ranked Providence hold off Xavier 99-92 in triple overtime Wednesday night.
A.J. Reeves added 16 points and Al Durham had 13 to help the first-place Friars (23-3, 13-2 Big East) win their second consecutive overtime game.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard has been suspended the final five games of the regular season and fined $40,000 for hitting a Wisconsin assistant in the head, triggering a postgame melee.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Angry about Wisconsin calling a late timeout, Michigan coach Juwan Howard began arguing in the postgame handshake line.
Moments later, he hit a Badgers assistant in the head, and mayhem followed.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Michigan coach Juwan Howard hit Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft during the handshake line, setting off a fracas between the team following the 15th-ranked Badgers' 77-63 victory Sunday.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Johnny Davis packed a powerful closing punch Tuesday night.
Indiana couldn't counter.
The sophomore guard scored the final 13 points for No. 15 Wisconsin, finished with 30 and boosted the Badgers' Big Ten title hopes with a 74-69 comeback victory over the Hoosiers.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Rutgers understands it must prove it can beat quality teams on the road to get back into consideration for the NCAA Tournament.
The Scarlet Knights took a giant step in that direction Saturday by winning at Wisconsin for the first time and posting their third straight victory over a ranked opponent.
A look at the weekend action around the Big Ten Conference:
GAME OF THE WEEKEND
Michigan (13-9, 7-5) is trying to play its way back into title contention, and Saturday's game against No.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — JD Notae scored 28 points and Arkansas used clutch foul shooting in overtime to knock off No. 1 Auburn 80-76 on Tuesday night.
The Razorbacks (19-5, 8-3 Southeastern Conference) hit 11 of 14 free throws in the final 1:52 of overtime in front of a raucous crowd at Bud Walton Arena.
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Johnny Davis had a game-high 25 points, leading No. 14 Wisconsin to a 70-62 victory over No. 17 Michigan State on Tuesday night.
The win lifted the second-place Badgers (19-4 overall, 10-3 Big Ten) to within a half-game of first-place Illinois in the Big Ten Conference.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin proved it can win even when it doesn’t get much offense from national player of the year candidate Johnny Davis or fifth-year senior Brad Davison.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Expected to take a step back this season. Wisconsin instead has made a major leap forward.
Wisconsin (17-3, 8-2) is ranked 11th and heads into February sharing the Big Ten lead with No.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — After relying on a balanced attack for most of the day, Wisconsin knew exactly who needed to have the ball in his hands in the closing minutes of a tie game.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — It should have been a day of celebration for Wisconsin freshman Chucky Hepburn.
He returned to his home state to face the Nebraska Cornhuskers on the same court where he played two state high school championship games, and he scored 13 points and made two key steals as the 11th-ranked Badgers won 73-65 on Thursday.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Malik Hall scored 14 points and No. 14 Michigan State beat No. 8 Wisconsin 86-74 on Friday night to snap the Badgers’ seven-game winning streak.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Malik Hall scored 14 points and No. 14 Michigan State beat No. 8 Wisconsin 86-74 on Friday night to snap the Badgers’ seven-game winning streak.