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Alright, I'll admit I was nervous. The Badgers beat Belmont 72-58, and with the win advance to the second round where they will play the Kansas State Wildcats. Let's wrap up the win with some Badger Bits!
Rob Schultz of Madison.com writes that Mike Bruesewitz played a key role in the first round win. It certainly looked to me like Bruiser was ecstatic to be able to play at all, after spraining his knee against Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament. Schultz spoke with Bruesewitz about his performance: "I was excited to get out there and play and I tried to exude that to my teammates as much as possible, and I saw a couple guys smiling a little more than usual."
With the win, the Badgers move to the second round to take on the Kansas State Wildcats, who defeated Utah State 73-68 last night. For more info on the Wildcats, head on over to Bring On the Cats, SB Nation's resident K-State site. If this match-up seems a little familiar to you, you're not crazy. (That would be me, for changing my Morehead State pick to Louisville at 10:59 yesterday morning.) The Badgers and the Wildcats last played in 2008, when the Badgers won 72-58 and advanced to the Sweet 16.
More Badger Bits after the jump!
Let's keep the linkage within the SB Nation mothership for a bit, shall we? Battle Red Blog, SBN's Texans community, has a pre-draft preview of former Wisconsin defensive end J.J. Watt.---
Remember that highly-touted guard that committed to the Badgers recently? Well, his coach thinks he's the best lineman prospect to come out of Barrington, Ill. While that might not mean a whole lot for other cities, his program produced some impressive prospects in the past.
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Bruce Feldman of ESPN.com thinks the Badgers have a good coaching duo of Bret Bielema and Bo Ryan. He ranked the pair fifth in the nation, and third in the Big Ten. (ESPN Insider required.)
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Wisconsin defenseman Justin Schultz is a finalist for the Hobey Baker award, given to the nation's top men's hockey player. While Schultz is a long-shot to win it, it's still good to see UW getting some representation despite not making the NCAA tournament.
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And finally, Chuck Schwartz at Sixty Minutes. No Alibis. No Regrets. hears that the new B1G Ten Hockey Conference could be announced as soon as Monday. Both Minnesota and Wisconsin would leave the WCHA, and join Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Penn State.