Badgers get a first-round bye in Big Ten men’s basketball tourney

The Wisconsin men's basketball team has earned the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye for the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.

They’ll play fifth-seeded Indiana or No. 12 Penn State on Friday. Wisconsin, ranked 14th in one national poll, finished its regular season at 12-6 in the conference and 23-8 overall after beating Illinois at home Sunday, 70-56.

It was coach Bo Ryan's 265th victory at Madison, tying him with Bud Foster for the most wins in UW history.

Seniors Jordan Taylor and Rob Wilson played their final games at the Kohl Center. Taylor hit a pair of three-pointers early, and had 16 points on the afternoon. That tied Kirk Penney for eighth on Wisconsin's all-time scoring list.

Josh Gasser added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Badgers, who now have a three-game winning streak.

Wisconsin led by 13 at the half as Illinois scored a season-low 18 points in the first 20 minutes. The Badger students yelled "NIT" at the end, knowing that Illinois must win the league tournament to make the NCAA tournament. To do that, Bruce Weber's Illini would need a major change in momentum, as they've lost 11 of their last 13 games.

Snow delays Wisconsin boys tournament schedule

The recent snows have put the boys' state high school basketball regionals behind schedule. Thirty-three of the 80 regional finals that were supposed to be played on Saturday were delayed until Monday evening.

In the games that were played, three defending state champions went down to defeat - Whitefish Bay in Division 2, La Crosse Aquinas in Division 3 and Marathon in Division 4. All three lost to higher-seeded opponents.

Of the 40 top seeds, nine were upset during the weekend, including Milwaukee Morse in Division 2 and Bloomer and Little Chute in Division 3.

Four of the eight top seeds in Division 4 have been eliminated - Grantsburg, Elk Mound, Auburndale and Laconia. And in Division 5, top seeds Siren and Almond-Bancroft are out.

Fifteen No. 1 seeds have yet to get their regional finals in, including defending Division 5 champ Randolph.

Madison Memorial is the only returning champ to advance to the sectionals, which are scheduled to begin on Thursday. Once the regionals are completed, 16 schools will remain alive in each division.

UW-River Falls is out

UW-Whitewater is the only Wisconsin school to make the Sweet 16 in the men's NCAA Division III basketball tournament. The Warhawks earned the right to host the third and fourth rounds, and they'll play Wheaton on Friday.

Whitworth and Virginia Wesleyan will square off in the other Friday game of the Whitewater sectional. The two winners will play on Saturday for a bid to the Division III Final Four.

Whitewater advanced by crushing St. Thomas of Saint Paul, 91-62, in their second round game this past Saturday.

Wheaton advanced by eliminating Madison Edgewood by nine in Round 2.

Carroll lost to Wittenberg by 17 in the second round.

Stevens Point and River Falls were eliminated in the first round.

Tags: sports, wisconsin, basketball