Big Ten Football & Basketball Blog

Wow. Not many people saw that coming. After a 36-36 tie at the half, Wisconsin looked like they had the Davidson Wildcats well within reach with just halftime adjustments needed by Bo Ryan and his staff in order to send the Badgers to the Elite 8. What happened instead was a dominating 37-20 second half as Davidson topped Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament to end the Badgers’ season. #3 seed Wisconsin ends their season 31-5 while the Wildcats (29-6) will likely face #1 Kansas on Sunday with a trip to the Fianl Four on the line. While fans rush to buy Davidson apparel & merchandise, Wisconsin fans should not hang their heads as 2007-2008 was another very successful season.

It’s halftime at Ford Field in Detroit in the Midwest Regional’s first Sweet 16 game as the Wisconsin Badgers and Davidson Wildcats are tied 36-36. In a game that was expected to be defense-dominated, both teams are on pace to score over 70 points, not your typical final when defense is your focus. Before fans run out to get their Wisconsin Badgers clothing & apparel for a trip to the Elite 8, they need to find a way to stop Davidson star Stephen Curry who has 11 first half points. The Wildcats have 7 players who scored inthe first half while Wisconsin has just 5 players who have score and Trevon Hughes injured his foot in 8 minutes of play and will not return for the Badgers.

The Wisconsin Badgers are in action again tonight at the #3 seed in the Midwest as they face the #10 Davidson Wildcats in the Sweet 16. While Davidson merchandise is flying off the shelves thanks to Stephen Curry leading the Wildcats to the Sweet 16, Bo Ryan has his Badgers right where he wants them, as a darkhorse National Championship contender. The two teams will tip off shortly after 7 pm tonight at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, with the winner facing the winner of #1 Kansas vs. #12 Villanova in the Elite 8 on Sunday.

After another great Big Ten season, the Big Ten Tournament proved to be full of upsets and surprises. Both Minnesota & Illinois pulled off upsets as the Illini advanced to the Big Ten championship game, but in the end Wisconsin emerged as the winner. After all was said and done, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State & Purdue each were named to the 2008 NCAA Tournament. The Big Ten Champion Badgers earned a #3 seed in the Midwest, Michigan State was named a #5 seed in the South, Purdue is a #6 seed in the West and Indiana received a #8 seed in the East. College Sports Fans has added team capsules for all 65 teams in the 2008 NCAA Tournament which you can click on and read below.

> Wisconsin Badgers 2008 NCAA Tournament

> Michigan State Spartans 2008 NCAA Tournament

> Purdue Boilermakers 2008 NCAA Tournament

> Indiana Hoosiers 2008 NCAA Tournament

DFN Sports is proud to announce that DFN member sites BigTen-fans.com and CollegeSports-fans.com will carry coverage of the 2008 Big Ten Basketball Tournament and the 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament. Follow all of the great action in the Big Ten Tournament and the Big Dance online with DFN Sports sites!

On January 7th, 2008, the #1 Ohio State Buckeyes will make their 3rd appearance in the BCS National Championship Game as they look to avenge a loss in last year’s BCS Championship Game. A season ago, the #1 Buckeyes were surprised and upset by the #2 Florida Gators 41-14, but the 2007-2008 Buckeyes seemed poised for another chance until being upset in Columbus by the Illinois Fighting Illini in November. After defeating Michigan a week later, the Buckeyes had some good luck as Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, LSU & West Virginia all fell below the Buckeyes in the polls, vaulting Ohio State to #1 in the final BCS Standings. Now, Buckeye fans can buy Ohio State Championship apparel & clothing in preparation of their BCS National Championship Game and read the College Sports Fans BCS Championship bowl game preview.

New Year’s Day 2008 featured two Big Ten vs. SEC showdowns in bowl games as the Michigan Wolverines and Wisconsin Badgers matched up with SEC opponentts in their bowl games. #18 Wisconsin kicked off at 11 am in the Outback Bowl against #16 Tennessee and fell to the Vols 21-17. Just two hours later, unranked Michigan, led by head coach Lloyd Carr in his final game, faced heavy-favorite Florida in the Capital One Bowl. Michigan led 21-14 at the half over the #12 Gators and kicked two late FG’s and picked off a Tim Tebow pass to seal a 41-35 victory. With the win, Carr ends his coaching career at Michigan 122-40 overall and Chad Henne, Mike Hart & Jake Long, the three seniors who returned to Michigan this season to play for a National Championship, were able to get their first bowl win in four tries.

The Fighting Illini came off a 2-9 season in 2006 causing few to believe that the 2007 Illini would win 9 games, defeat #1 Ohio State in Columbus and make a BCS Bowl game, let alone the Rose Bowl. But Illinois has defied the odds all season long and while the College Sports Fans preview of the Rose Bowl between USC and Illinois does not paint a better picture for the Illini, don’t ever count Ron Zook’s team out. While Fighting Illini apparel & clothing is a hot-seller due to the Rose Bowl berth, Zook will surely have his team ready for their great January 1st test.

After Purdue kicked off the 2007-2008 bowl season for the Big Ten with a 51-48 win in the Motor City Bowl, Michigan State and Penn State were the next two teams up for the Big Ten. Michigan State faced off with Boston College on Friday in the Champs Sports Bowl and gave the Eagles a fight. But in the end, Boston College extended their bowl winning streak to 8 games with a 34-31 win over the Spartans. Meanwhile, Satuday’s Alamo Bowl featured the Penn State Nittany Lions in Joe Paterno’s 500th game as head coach @ PSU. The Lions fell behind 14-0 early but came back for a 24-17 victory.

As it stands now, the Big Ten is currently 2-1 in bowl games with Indiana playing on Monday, Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois on January 1st and Ohio State playing in the BCS Championship Game on January 7th.

The Michigan State Spartans are in action currently as they look to improve the Big Ten’s 2007-2008 bowl record to 2-0. After Purdue kicked a game-winning FG as time expired to defeat Central Michigan in the Motor City Bowl by a final of 51-48, the Big Ten began with a strong win. The Spartans’ opponent in today’s Champs Sports Bowl is the #14-ranked Boston College Eagles, a team who is tied for the highest current bowl winning streak and the ACC runners-up.

Purdue apparel & Michigan State clothing & merchandise can be found online through Big Ten Fans and DFN Sports sites.