Bucky's 5th Quarter

Happy Homecoming for Taylor, Badgers at The Barn

2012-02-10T05:08:35Z

UW collapses in regulation, pulls away in overtime with FTs

Cats may have nine lives, but the Badgers were glad to have two on Thursday night in Minneapolis.

Wisconsin (19-6, 8-4 Big Ten) survived the final 7:41 of the second half without scoring, which allowed Minnesota (17-8, 5-7) to erase a 10-point deficit and force overtime. The Badgers regrouped to strike first in the extra session and sank 15-of-17 free throws in the last four minutes to pull out a 68-61 win.

Seeking his first career win at Williams Arena, Bloomington, Minn. native Jordan Taylor led a hot-shooting Badger attack in the opening half with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Wisconsin shot 44% overall and 7-of-11 (63.6%) from behind the arc to take a 32-42 lead into the break.

"Anytime you can win on the road against a tough opponent it's always fun," Taylor said after the game. "I haven't won here, so I'd be lying to you if I said I didn't enjoy that a little bit."

The game could not have started any better for the Badgers. All three Minnesota natives in the UW starting lineup -- Taylor, then Mike Bruesewitz, then Jared Berggren -- connected on 3-pointers to get started. Taylor then beat Minnesota's light full court pressure with a long pass to Bruesewitz, who bounced to a swooping Ryan Evans for one-handed tomahawk jam from the baseline for 13-6 lead not even five minutes into the game.

Yet Minnesota were getting open looks. A few Gopher jumpers and a six-minute UW field goal drought later, Minnesota grabbed its first lead, 16-14, on a Julian Welch 3-pointer.

Then Taylor took over. The senior guard scored the game's next eight points and had 11 on jumpers in a seven-minute stretch. Taylor and Ben Brust both hit buzzer-beating threes during the 18-8 run that finished the half. Taylor finished with a game-high 27 points.

Wisconsin probed the Minnesota defense repeatedly with the dribble, which helped open up the floor for the barrage of jump shots. The Badgers had nine assists in the first half, none of them from Taylor. At the same time, Wisconsin got physical inside, frustrating Gopher star Rodney Williams with several blocked shots.

Aided by a few quick Minnesota turnovers, UW's lead would balloon to 13 points, at 42-29 with 15:46 left in the second half, when Gasser sank yet another 3-pointer. Wisconsin only committed two turnovers in the first half, finishing with nine overall. Minnesota turned the ball over eight times in the second half alone.

In a totally believable turn of events, however, Wisconsin's shooting percentage began to slip. Williams snapped a 3:10 scoring drought for Minnesota with a traditional three-point play. He began to show his potential by slipping past UW's tight man coverage to get to the rim. Freshman Andre Hollins found his rhythm as well, scoring nine of the final 15 points in regulation when the Gophers needed it most. Hollins finished with 20 points; Williams added 16.

Meanwhile, the Badgers moved away from the formula that worked well in the first half and appeared to shrink from the increased pressure the Gophers threw at them. Following Berggren's basket that extended Wisconsin's lead to 51-41, the Badgers missed their last six shots after Evans was called for a questionable traveling violation after stealing a long pass.

At one point, with the Williams Arena crowd finally on their feet, UW turned the ball over on three straight possessions. History appeared ready to repeat itself in a rivalry that saw Minnesota rip out Wisconsin's heart in the final minute twice in 2009.

Austin Hollins hit two free throws with a minute left to knot the game at 51. Wisconsin missed a 3-pointer at the other end, but Minnesota could not convert on two chances on its last possession.

Blessed with a second chance, the Badgers made the most of it. Taylor locked down on the Gopher guards in an impressive defensive sequence spanning the end of regulation and the start of overtime. With go-to scorers hard to come by, it was Minnesota's turn to wilt when Wisconsin regained the lead on two Gasser free throws.

Taylor's performance nearly overshadowed the first career double-double by Evans. The junior forward stayed aggressive on a bad shooting night and hit a gigantic bucket on the block off his offensive rebound to open the floodgates early in overtime. He finished with 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting to go with 11 rebounds.

The Badgers strung together 14 consecutive made free throws and got a key steal from Berggren to keep the Gophers at bay the rest of overtime.

Wisconsin's 17 points in overtime nearly equaled its embarrassing 19-point output in the second half. This despite finishing the game 8-of-28 (28.5%) from the field after halftime.

Minnesota finished with 13 turnovers and only 10 assists on 23 field goals. The Gophers came into the game ranked sixth in the nation in assists-per-made field goal (64.9%).

With the win, UW ran its stellar record away from the Kohl Center to 8-2, including six true road wins.

NCAA Basketball

---

Join the Badger conversation on Facebook! Go to our Facebook page and "like" us!

For more Wisconsin basketball coverage, follow Phil on Twitter @hoopsmarinara. Follow @hoopsmarinara

LIVE GAMETHREAD: No. 21/22 Wisconsin at Minnesota

2012-02-09T23:30:10Z

Big Ten Men's Basketball No. 21/22 Wisconsin vs. Minnesota
	vs
18-6 (7-4 Big Ten)		17-7 (5-6 Big Ten)
Feb. 9, 2012 6:00 PM CT Williams Arena (14,625), Minneapolis, MN
TV: ESPN (Dave O'Brien, Stephen Bardo) Radio: 1070 FM / 1310 AM (Matt Lepay, Mike Lucas)
All-time Series: Minnesota leads 100-89 Last Meeting: UW won 68-60 (12/28/10)

Big Ten Men's Basketball

No. 21/22 Wisconsin vs. Minnesota

18-6 (7-4 Big Ten)

17-7 (5-6 Big Ten)

Feb. 9, 2012 6:00 PM CT

Williams Arena (14,625), Minneapolis, MN

TV: ESPN (Dave O'Brien, Stephen Bardo)

Radio: 1070 FM / 1310 AM (Matt Lepay, Mike Lucas)

All-time Series: Minnesota leads 100-89

Last Meeting: UW won 68-60 (12/28/10)

The border battle between the Badgers and Gophers renews for the 190th time tonight. Minnesota leads the series in Minneapolis, 67-30.

Gopher fans can only wish that Minnesota native Jordan Taylor had stayed home, because Tubby Smith's team lacks a true point guard. What they do have is a bevy of young guards in the 6'1 to 6'4" range, like the Hollins brothers. Freshman Joe Coleman in particular has raised his level of play lately to bring some toughness to the backcourt. Both he and high-flying Rodney Williams have been the keys to Minnesota's remarkable turnaround. After starting 0-4 in conference, the Gophers have won five of seven.

Wisconsin is trying to avoid starting another losing streak and will have to shake off the rough shooting performance they produced against Ohio State. Taylor must also regain his recent form taking care of the ball. Ryan Evans is coming off his third-straight game in double figures and is now scoring 10 ppg in Big Ten play.

Badger Bits: Gordon Gee is obnoxious

2012-02-09T16:41:46Z

Gordon Gee has something to say about football. Gordon Gee always has something to say about football, which is a curious thing, because as the president of a major university like Ohio State one would think he would have plenty to talk about on the academic side without having to dip into the seedy, icky, money-printing underbelly that is college football. Many college presidents prefer the ivory tower, thumbing their noses at the bored polemical fanbase below. Gee seems to relish the fray, and unfortunately there is no one to tell him "no."

This week, he inserted himself directly into the Bret Bielema V. Urban Meyer kerfluffle with a comment that, if you looked hard enough, you could probably find written word-for-word on a comment section or message board somewhere. His response to Bielema's accusations of behavior unbecoming of today's Big Ten gentleman:

"We hired the best coach and we went out and got the best kids, so get a life."

What makes Gee obnoxious is not that he's wrong, at least in this case. Bielema stood in front of a microphone and claimed that Meyer did something he didn't like, a few things "I didn't want to see in this league that I had seen take place in other leagues." Without specific details, nor any indication of an NCAA violation, the statement came off as sour grapes that Wisconsin missed out on Kyle Dodson, a kid that seemed to be looking for the first excuse he could to jump ship to the Buckeyes anyway.

No, Gee's obnoxiousness is more visceral if anything. The hot-air balloon suspenders and bow ties and science-geek demeanor would make him an easy figure to laugh at and ignore, except that he is a powerful man with a pulpit. And that would be fine too, except that instead of using said pulpit to extoll the virtues of an Ohio State education he has used it to, knowingly or not, defend a liar with nothing but condescension in his voice.

Wisconsin-Ohio State has picked up steam over the past two years, the Bielema-Meyer tiff being the latest log to stoke the flames. I won't pretend that this isn't fun. Gee's comments gave any outside observers of the situation a good reason to swing back around to the Wisconsin side of things after Bielema rubbed many the wrong way. And as someone who enjoys the drama surrounding sports as much as the strictly competitive portions, I have to thank Gee for giving us something to talk as the college football doldrums approach.

But as someone who tends to cringe when people make a fool of themselves, I would like to suggest to Gee that he stop making a fool of himself. Or not, I guess.

Thursday's Links

Tom Oates writes that the difference between 2011 and 2012 Jordan Taylor is all in the supporting cast.

Dave Heller rounds up bracketology projections for the Badgers. The spread goes from 4 to 6, with one 8-seed outlier.

Another reminder that Russell Wilson is just the greatest.

More proof that Bielema and Alvarez were very conscious of recruiting when making their coaching hires. Andy Buh and Mike Markuson are natural choices to handle the west and south, respectively.

Eight Badgers are headed to the NFL Combine later this month. Aaron Henry did not make the list.

Off Tackle Empire writes about the mighty might of Jim Delany in this week's State of the B1G. This being the latest instance of bringing out the big guns.

Except for the whole "Leaders and Legends" thing. Here's SI's Holly Anderson on Delany's attempt to frost our dear conference's weird choices for division names.

Minnesota Pre-game: B5Q grills The Daily Gopher

2012-02-09T16:07:00Z

It's easy to forget, but Minnesota has been a thorn in Wisconsin's side of late. The Badgers snapped a three-game losing streak against the Gophers last year, but still has a two-game slide going up at Williams Arena. The unbalanced scheduling has limited the two teams to just one meeting each of the last two seasons, tempering the rivalry.

Wisconsin famously has four Minnesota natives on its roster, just one fewer than the Gophers have. But only Jordan Taylor has scored at Williams and no one has had much success there. A win by UW is vital to keep pace with Michigan in the upper tier of the Big Ten.

Tom from our sister site at SB Nation, The Daily Gopher, joined me to preview this renewal of the border battle. He had some interesting things to say about the rivalry, Tubby Smith and Minnesota's recruiting.

B5Q: Thanks to a midseason revival of sorts, the Gophers find themselves in bubble territory nevertheless. To get to 8 or 9 conference wins, Thursday's game with Wisconsin is basically a must-win. And it's on your campus. Is this the game of the year?

DG: I don't know that I've looked at this game as being that important. It is certainly a big game but I lump it in with all of the games we have remaining against teams above us in the standings. Considering we have lost to Iowa (twice), we need to steal one from Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan State or Indiana. All home games. Wisconsin might be more winable than OSU or MSU and this is a big game but I'm not willing to label it as game of the year yet.

B5Q: The ACL injury Trevor Mbakwe suffered early on was obviously a huge loss. Based on how you've seen the team operate on the court since then, how long did the incident cloud over the team this season before they really seemed to snap out of it and move on?

DG: Mbakwe was this team's identity and it has been a difficult transition to figure out what their new identity was going to be. I don't think they really snapped out of it until after the four-game skid to start the Big Ten season. Minnesota was fortunate to have several games against weak competition after the Mbakwe injury to figure things out. Then the Big Ten season hit and they had to learn to do it against much better teams. I think they are still figuring things out but they are coming along.

B5Q: Minnesota's style has given the Badgers some problems in the last few meetings. Does Tubby have the horses to run, press and crash the boards again? Who are the fresh faces that might surprise Badger fans?

DG: We do not rebound very well anymore and we don't really press with much success. This team is a little bit different than the last few years but I am hoping we still match-up well with the Badgers who also seem to be a different team than we have seen the last few years. I could name a "fresh face" or two but it seems to be a different player every night that steps up. Freshman, Joe Coleman has been the added toughness to the team that was sorely missing after Mbakwe went down. He is fearless to the hoop and gets to the free throw line a lot. Chip Armelin has been a sparkplug off the bench lately but he is fairly inconsistent. If the Gophers play well enough to win I would imagine one or both of those guys will have to have a big game.

B5Q: Big wins at Indiana and in overtime against Illinois restored some of the team's mojo. Who has been the catalyst in the turnaround?

DG: Those games were won with completely different contributors. The starters really carried the team to the win over Indiana. Austin Hollins had 18 points, Rodney Williams had 12 and Julian Welch had 10. The Illinois win was primarily because of the play of the Gopher bench. Chip Armelin and Andre Hollins came off the bench to combine for 26 points and both played for most of (if not all) of the OT period. This team is still working things out and getting consistent production from key players is an issue. Some nights it works well with someone randomly stepping up to carry the load, other nights it doesn't work out that way.

B5Q: Has Ralph Sampson III been a disappointment as a Gopher? Has he been able to pick up the slack in Mbakwe's absence?

DG: I'll answer you second question first. NO, he has not stepped up to pick up the slack in the absence of Mbakwe. Has he been a disappointment as a Gopher? Probably, but some of that is because people were expecting more. If you accept Ralph for what he is then I think you can be OK with his career as a Gopher. He is soft, he is a jump-shooting center and he is just OK defensively. But he is also only the fifth Gopher in the program's history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 150 blocked shots. Also in that group is Kevin McHale, Mychal Thompson and Randy Breuer so it isn't like he's been all that unproductive. The problem is people want more and at this point in his career we know what we are going to get from RSIII. Toughness and aggressiveness are just not in his nature. On any given night he can give you 16+ points and 8 rebounds but on the next he'll foul out with 4 points and 3 boards. I'm not sure if his career has been a total disappointment, but I would say that his senior season certainly has been.

B5Q: A typical season under Smith includes Minnesota jumping out to a fast start, stumbling in Big Ten play, then usually clawing its way into a 20-win season somehow. Despite some Big Ten tournament success, however, Minnesota has not won a game in the Big Dance under Tubby Smith. How can Minnesota fans be happy about Smith's tenure right now?

DG: A lot of fans are not happy with the state of the program largely for the reasons you laid out. People certainly expected in year five of Tubby Smith that the program would be further along than it is. Some of the roadblocks to success have been bad luck and some of it certainly has to be the fault of the head coach. Injuries to Al Nolen last year and Trevor Mbakwe this plus the handling of Royce White two years ago were certainly out of Tubby's control. But the transfers of Devoe Joseph and Justin Cobbs severely hurt our backcourt depth and talent. As is often the case within a fanbase there are two distinct camps forming. One that blames everything on Tubby and thinks a change is the best option. Another that believes Tubby is a victim of horrible luck and the Final Four is coming when things start going our way. Clearly Tubby is to blame for some things, has had some bad luck and we all want the program to be further along. But I currently still hold the belief that we have a better chance of having that breakout season with Tubby Smith than we do by hiring someone new.

B5Q: Bear with me on this one. Neither Wisconsin nor Minnesota has a lot of home-state talent on their rosters, but Tubby has grabbed recruits from California and down South rather than the more regional recruits that Wisconsin has signed. What are your thoughts on Minnesota players coming down to play for Bo Ryan? We've heard the excuses, ranging from "Tubby didn't want these guys" to "Tubby would have gotten them if he'd been around." Do Minnesota fans wish the program went after more local talent? Can the natives truly hate Jordan Taylor, Mike Bruesewitz, Jared Berggren or Jordan Smith for picking Wisconsin?

DG: I don't think anyone hates Jordan Taylor for going to Wisconsin but we obviously would love to have him in maroon and gold. And I don't really feel like anyone else snubbed the Gophers to play for Wisconsin anymore than Badger fans would feel we "stole" Wally Ellenson (who we clearly didn't steal). Every one of those guys is a different story. Jared Berggren really wasn't recruited by Tubby because he was landing Ralph Sampson and Colten Iverson. Jordan Taylor committed to Wisconsin in 2006 so Tubby was way too far behind by the time he came in 2007. In 2009 Bruesewitz was arguably only the fifth best player in Minnesota and Tubby landed Royce White and Rodney Williams instead.

Really since Tubby has been here I do not feel that anyone has stolen any local talent that Minnesota wanted, it is nothing like when Monson was here. Outside of the local kids Tubby is tapping into the recruiting base he built over the years in Georgia, Tennessee and other non-midwest areas. You have to utilize the relationships you have built. We have gone after some regional kids that we just couldn't land (Adam Woodbury from Iowa, Josh Oglesby from Iowa, Verdell Jones from Illinois currently at Indiana among others).

B5Q: I think playing only once in each of the past two years has hurt this rivalry just as the Gophers were gaining back some ground. Where do you rank Wisconsin among Minnesota's basketball rivals?

DG: I think that Bo Ryan's comments earlier this week were spot on. This rivalry, while it is a rivalry, doesn't have remotely the same weight as the football game. Strictly because of the nature of the basketball season. You play 18 different basketball games and as soon as this one is over you have to start getting ready for the next one that could be in just two days. So the anticipation and the added intensity just isn't there for basketball. With that said it is a big game and beating Wisconsin is always a fun thing. Of all Big Ten basketball games, this would be the "biggest" basketball rival for sure. But when the goal is making the NCAA Tournament this is more about building the resume than it is about beating the Badgers. I'll take both!

---

Join the Badger conversation on Facebook! Go to our Facebook page and "like" us!

For more Wisconsin basketball coverage, follow Phil on Twitter @hoopsmarinara. Follow @hoopsmarinara

Hockey Recruiting: International Badger

2012-02-09T16:06:01Z

Kerdiles To Play In Finland This Week

It's a huge week for 2012 Wisconsin recruit Nic Kerdiles. The potential first round NHL Draft pick and his USA U18 teammates are currently in Europe for the 2012 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament.

The event taking place in Pori, Finland features five of the elite hockey countries in the world (Sweden, Czech Republic, and Russia, in addition to the United States and Finland). It's not the most high profile international event at the U18 level, but it's a preview of the U18 World Championships that will take place later in the spring.

Kerdiles currently leads the USA U18's in goals scored as well as total points. NHL Draft publications continue to project the future Badger as a high pick. TSN Mid-season report (38), Hockey Prospectus (26), and Future Considerations (17), all rank the Irvine, California native as a top two round talent.

Team USA kicks off the tournament today against the Czech Republic at 11:30 AM Central Time.

Besse Looks Like The Real Deal

Wisconsin fans were ecstatic when the Badgers landed a verbal commitment from Benilde-St. Margaret's forward Grant Besse.The 5'10, 175 pound forward is widely considered one of the top prep players from the state of Minnesota.

The winger from Wayzata was having a pretty solid season when he gave his pledge to Mike Eaves and the Badgers on January 8th. Since that date, Besse has exploded for 37 points over 12 games including 27 goals.

Besse has been outstanding and is fourth in the state of Minnesota in total points with 67 through just 22 games. That equates to a ridiculous 3.05 points per game. The 2014 Badger recruit has recorded a point in every game this season and has notched multiple points in 16 of 22.

The Red Knights are currently ranked #8 in class AA by both the Minnesota Hockey Hub and Let's Play Hockey.

Benilde has three games remaining and will start playoffs in about a week and a half.

Davison Set For WIAA Playoffs

2013 Badger defense recruit Tim Davison recently wrapped up the regular season with his Notre Dame Academy club. Davison finished the regular season with 40 points (9 goals, 31 assists) which was good for third on the Tritons.

Notre Dame Academy heads into the WIAA playoffs with targets on their backs. The 21-3 Tritons have been ranked #1 in the state for the majority of the season according to Wisconsin Prep Hockey and are the #1 seed in section 5.

NDA, who has made it to Madison for the state tournament the past two seasons will receive a first round bye in the regional. They will host the winner of DePere/Oshkosh on February 16th.

Davison had an opportunity to go to the USHL the past two seasons but stayed at Notre Dame in part to bring the Tritons their first state title. You have to think this is their best shot.

By the way, there are rumors that Davison will still play in the USHL this season. Chicago owns his rights and could bring in Davison after the high school season. It will be interesting to hear what Team Wisconsin would say about that decision.

Zulinick Leads Salmon Arm

2012 Badger recruit Morgan Zulinick continues to score for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. The 17 year old forward from Kamloops, B.C. leads the club with 56 points in 48 games, 9 points more than any other player.

Zulinick is currently 17th in the BCHL in total points, but I'm not sure that's a fair assessment. Zulinick is one of only three 17 year olds in the top 20.

Additionally, nine of the top 13 spots are filled with players from the 42-3-2 Penticton Vees. Zulinick is playing for one of the two or three worst teams in the BCHL.

Salmon Arm has seven games remaining and it's likely that those will be the last seven games of Zulinick's season. Salmon Arm is 14 points out of a playoff spot which means barring a miracle of epic proportions, the Silverbacks season will end in a few weeks.

Player	Team	Position	Arrival	Size	DOB	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Grant Besse	Benilde-St. Margaret's	F	2014	5'10, 175	7-14-1994	22	37	30	67
	Team Northwest***1					24	17	18	35
Tim Davison	Notre Dame Academy	D	2013	5'10, 169	3-2-1994	24	9	31	40
	Team Wisconsin***2					21	1	11	12
Nicolas Kerdiles	USA NTDP U18	F	2012	6'1, 194	1-11-1994	36	13	13	26
Jake Linhart	Chicago Mission U16	D	2014	5'10, 160	1-17-1996	22	4	9	13
Corbin McGuire	Springfield (EJHL)***3	F	2013	5'8, 185	3-2-1994	11	4	2	6
	Jersey (EJHL)					25	3	12	15
Kevin Schulze	Muskegon (USHL)***4	D	2012	5'9, 155	4-29-1993	8	0	6	6
	Omaha (USHL)					30	1	13	14
Eddie Wittchow	Waterloo (USHL)	D	2012	6'4, 200	10-31-1992	36	2	11	13
Morgan Zulinick	Salmon Arm (BCHL)	C	2012	5'11, 185	6-29-1994	46	22	34	56

Player	Team	Position	Arrival	Size	DOB	Record	GAA	Save %	SO
Gabe Grunwald	Michigan (NAHL)***5	G	2013	6'3, 190	3-15-1993	0-4	4.56	.871	0
	Kenai River (NAHL)					1-1	3.15	.906	0

Updated: 2/9/12 7:00 AM

***=Not currently on active roster

1-Team Northwest is Grant Besse's Upper Midwest HS Elite League team (before & after HS season).

2-Team Wisconsin is Tim Davison's Upper Midwest HS Elite League team (before & after HS season).

3-Corbin McGuire was traded from Springfield to Jersey.

4-Kevin Schulze was traded from Muskegon to Omaha.

5-Gabe Grunwald was traded from Michigan to Kenai River.

Join the Badger conversation on Facebook! Go to our Facebook page and "like" us!

For more Wisconsin hockey coverage, follow Chuck on Twitter (@UWChuckSchwartz)

Chuck can also be reached via e-mail at chuckschwartz@live.com

Ducks Expected To Quack For Schultz

2012-02-09T03:24:51Z

Let's get one thing out of the way right now. This is the last season we'll see Justin Schultz in a Wisconsin hockey sweater.

The junior defenseman from West Kelowna, B.C. will have a year of eligibility left next season, but the chances of him quitting the sport are better than him returning for a fourth year. He's as ready as anyone has ever been to move on to the next level, and there's no reason to hold him back.

In a recent podcast on USCHO.com, Wisconsin State Journal beat writer Andy Baggot, who has covered college hockey since 1986, called Schultz one of the five best players he's covered at this level.

The Anaheim Ducks of the NHL currently own his rights as they selected him in the second round of the NHL draft in 2008, 43rd overall. The general consensus would be that Schultz would sign a contract with the Ducks and start his professional career.

However that might not be so simple.

There's a chance Schultz could exercise a little used loophole in the collective bargaining agreement and become a free agent over the summer.

And that possibility scares the hell out of Anaheim fans.

Schultz is widely considered one of the best players in the world not currently playing in the NHL. Hockey Prospectus, a very well regarded hockey scouting service recently ranked Schultz as the #10 overall NHL prospect in the world.

"Schultz looks filthy good every shift he takes for Wisconsin and he clearly doesn't belong in college anymore. His ability to make plays at both ends and control the game is pretty high end," HP writer Corey Pronman wrote on January 18th.

So what are Justin's options?

First of all, he holds all the cards here. By coming back to Wisconsin for his junior season he essentially maximized his value.

Option 1

The first possibility for Schultz would be to finish his junior season at Wisconsin (that will happen regardless), and sign a contract with Anaheim sometime this summer. Since he's turning 22 in July, he'll be signed to a two year NHL two-way contract for 2012-13 and 2013-14.

He'll receive $875,000 for each season (if he's in the NHL). He'll also receive a $87,500 signing bonus both seasons regardless of where he plays.

Option 2

Schultz finishes the season with Wisconsin and signs an entry level contract (ELC) with Anaheim the minute the Badgers season is over. This option isn't outstanding for the Ducks because it means that Schultz can become a restricted free agent earlier. Signing during this NHL season would burn a year off his ELC.

Let's say the Badgers are eliminated after the first round of the WCHA playoffs (which let's be honest, is very possible), Schultz could sign with Anaheim as soon as March 12th. Schultz would immediately receive a $87,500 signing bonus for this season.

As for salary, the NHL goes by days under contract. Schultz would spend 26 days in the NHL to end the season, and would make approximately $5,000 per day. That means he'd end up banking around $130,000 in salary. Add that to his $87,500 signing bonus and he'd end this hockey season with a cool $217,500.

Next season Schultz would receive the second year of his signing bonus (another $87,500) and an NHL salary of $875,000.

In this scenario Schultz would become a free agent a year sooner than in option one, and that obviously means his earning potential increases significantly.

Option 3

Since Schultz played a year of junior hockey after being drafted, he can become a free agent over the summer if he chooses. The NHL CBA has a loophole that says if you officially withdraw from school (simply has to tell UW he's leaving) and it's the fourth summer after you've been drafted, you can choose to become a free agent.

Not many players do this, but Jason Gregoire from North Dakota chose this route last year. Other players like Bill Sweatt from Colorado College have done the same.

In this scenario, Schultz could earn $925,000 in salary each season with a $92,500 signing bonus both years.

The obvious advantage to this would be that Justin could pick and choose where he wants to play. Being a top 10 prospect in the world, Schultz could essentially choose any team in the NHL to play for next season. Would he want to be closer to his home and play for the Vancouver Canucks? Would he want to go play with a former teammate, or choose a better situation?

Let's review

Option 1 (Sign with Anaheim this summer)

*2012-13: $875,000 + $87,500 signing bonus

*2013-14: $875,000 + $87,500 signing bonus

*Restricted Free Agent: 2014-2015

Option 2 (Sign with Anaheim immediately after the Wisconsin season)

*2011-12: $130,000 + $87,500 signing bonus

*2012-13: $875,000 + $87,500 signing bonus

*Restricted Free Agent: 2013-2014 (one year earlier than option 1)

Option 3 (Choose your destination this summer)

*2012-13: $925,00 + $92,500 signing bonus

*2013-14: $925,00 + $92,500 signing bonus

*Restricted Free Agent: 2014-2015

So what's going to happen?

Obviously the best option for the Ducks is option #1. They get to control Schultz for two full seasons under his entry level contract. It's the best for them in years, and dollars.

However, Schultz has the leverage in this scenario, and If his advisor (agent when he becomes a pro) is any good he'll immediately let the Ducks know that they aren't going to get away with option number one.

Schultz has the leverage because if the Duck's don't offer to bring him in immediately at the end of the Wisconsin season, and let him burn a year off his entry level contract, he'll choose to become a free agent at the end of the season and choose his team.

He would obviously choose option 3 over option 1. He can make more money, and pick his team.

Therefore the Ducks will be forced into offering him a spot immediately at the end of the season. If they don't, they almost certainly will lose his rights.

It sounds like the Ducks are willing to burn the year off his ELC and bring Schultz in. Over the weekend GM Bob Murray talked about Justin during a "State of the Franchise" type thing held at the Honda Center for the fans.

SBN Duck's blog "Anaheim Calling" recapped what Murray said about Schultz.

"On the topic of Justin Schultz, Murray was very effusive and praised his intelligence and play. He said that the team hopes to see Schultz before next camp (which seems to confirm whispers that the Ducks will give up a cup of coffee this season) and that he believes Schultz will not go back to Wisconsin for his senior year, although nothing is set in stone."

So that's when Schultz has to decide what he wants more. Does he want a nice chunk of change at the end of this season and the ability to become a restricted free agent sooner (where you can make more money than in an ELC)? Or does he want to pick what NHL franchise he wants to play for?

In the end I think he'll choose the Ducks and sign immediately at the end of the Wisconsin season. It makes the most sense financially, and he will get an opportunity to jump in and get his feet wet in the NHL this season. The Ducks are terrible this year and Schulz should get some solid playing time. He could potentially play in as many as 13 games to finish the season.

Ducks fans are already pissed they lost one former Badger (Jake Gardiner) in a trade to Toronto. I can't imagine their reaction if they lose another.

Is that the route he will take? I guess we'll find out in a month or so. But I bet Anaheim fan's are going to be sweating it out until he makes that decision.

Join the Badger conversation on Facebook! Go to our Facebook page and "like" us!

For more Wisconsin hockey coverage, follow Chuck on Twitter (@UWChuckSchwartz)

Chuck can also be reached via e-mail at chuckschwartz@live.com

A walk down rivalry lane

2012-02-09T00:12:45Z

By any point of view, Wisconsin's fourth home loss of the season was disheartening. The Badgers shot terribly and still had an upset over third-ranked Ohio State at their fingertips. But they let it slip away uncharacteristically via turnovers. Another 40 minutes of proof that Wisconsin is a poor 3-point shooting team that won't stop launching them and cannot get to the free throw line only adds to the frustration of losing.

It stung maybe a little more because it was Ohio State too. My thoughts lingered on the loss for days despite the fact that Wisconsin travels to Minnesota this week to resume its most high-profile border war on Thursday night. It was not too long ago when Tubby Smith, in his second season in the Twin Cities, orchestrated one of the most heart-wrenching two-game sweeps of Wisconsin in my lifetime. Because the two teams have only played twice over the past two seasons, this matchup has lost some of the luster it once had.

Conversely, even in defeat I derived great pleasure from how seriously Buckeyes fans were taking the matchup last weekend. The Ohio State rivalry has blossomed into something significant, thanks to two top-notch basketball programs and statements from the head coaches of UW's basketball and football teams. Meanwhile, younger generations only know the Golden Gophers as a team Bucky beats up in football every year.

Ryan's "Deal with it" quote after his Badgers upset No. 1 Ohio State last season transitioned the two basketball programs from budding rivals to entrenched ones. The phrase was transformed into an official rallying cry for the Buckeyes, used in pregame video at Value City Arena.

And even better, they think it bothers Badgers fans. Look at all the blog posts that reference it (here, here and here). The truth is it's far from bothersome really. In fact, I love it. By all means, bring it on OSU.

The best part about it is that typically, unlike Minnesota, Ohio State does in fact bring it on. After being toppled in both sports a year ago, the Buckeyes responded with force each time. Thad Matta's bunch annihilated Wisconsin, 93-65, in Columbus last March. Then a downtrodden post-Tressel football team stunned the vaunted Badger gridders in October. Saturday's win put OSU in the driver's seat for a third consecutive Big Ten hoops title, while Wisconsin is in the midst of a four-year drought.

That is enough to irritate any sports fan. The school with all the resources -- second-largest athletic department budget in the country -- finally wised up and started bullying its mates in basketball too. Competing for superiority in two major sports is an important step towards a major rivalry though. Even better, throw in some off-the-field jabs to intensifiy the disdain.

Besides the comments by Ryan, the impeccable timing of Bret Bielema added more fuel to the fire when he lobbed unsubstantiated recruiting allegations at Urban Meyer. Bielema has been rightly ridiculed as a cry baby. On the flip side, who looked like the cry baby when Wisconsin upset Ohio State on the hardwood? Yup, man-child Jared Sullinger, who made unsupported claims that he was spit on by Badger fans ~~when they rushed the court~~ in the tunnel ~~after the game~~ before and after the game. In spite of the fact that there is no evidence of an incident, nor any corroborating witnesses from Ohio State, the Internet now treats the accusations as fact in Buckeye circles.

Look around at which basketball games we as fans get most worked up over. You'll find a distinct pattern of non-basketball incidents.

The gold standard (pun intended) for a Wisconsin basketball rival has been Marquette. The I-94 rivalry is routinely listed as one of the most hotly contest basketball rivalries in the country and part of the reason is the same public vs. private angle the Duke-North Carolina rivalry boasts. The programs are close together, they fight over recruits, they divide family allegiances, and on top of all that you have to work two cubicles down from John Q. Eagle and hear how great Buzz Williams' dance moves are all the time.

The fact that there is no football program actually adds to the rivalry in this case, as well as enhancing the big brother-little brother dichotomy.

When you think of hoops rivalries right now, Marquette and Ohio State have to top the list right now, with the still smoldering Michigan State feud right there with them. Remember Dick Bennett's Final Four team lost four times to the national champion Spartans during the 1999-2000 season. And Wisconsin returned the favor by surprising Michigan State several years in a row after Ryan took the helm.

But what really ignited the rivalry was Tom Izzo crying about a late alley-oop from Devin Harris to Alando Tucker in 2003 and vowing "I'll remember that." That moment set off a long string of Spartan disappointments that included Wisconsin spoiling MSU's hopes for a conference title when the Spartans were all set to unfurl their Big Ten championship banner at the Breslin Center in 2004. The rivalry seemingly came full circle when the clock malfunction at the Kohl Center this season allowed Izzo to escape with his first-ever win over Ryan in Madison. This rivalry will remain strong as long as these two head coaches man their respective benches.

What I come back to is that not much is going on in the Minnesota-Wisconsin rivalry right now except for a few bad losses on either side. Even though the fans live along each state's longest border and in some cases compete for the same jobs, it's hard to generate much passion. End of reciprocity? That's old news. Wisconsin is grabbing its best basketball players from its western neighbors? Minnesota claims to hardly care these days.

Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa have all cycled through as basketball rivals for Wisconsin when both teams are good, but the competition experiences a lull otherwise. So it makes perfect sense that you wouldn't care anymore about UW beating Iowa than Penn State. Nothing off the court has driven those games for years -- never mind Trevor Mbakwe's lighthearted attempts to get Jordan Taylor too crunk to play Thursday.

As Ryan explained this week, there are too many games in this sport to stress any one of them to your team more than the others. Luckily as fans, we don't have that restriction. In the end, the burning aggression between fans of what goes on between the lines isn't ever restricted to basketball. Ask a Tar Heel. He'll tell you that no matter how many times Duke rolls over in football, hating the Blue Devils is a way of life.

---

Join the Badger conversation on Facebook! Go to our Facebook page and "like" us!

For more Wisconsin basketball coverage, follow Phil on Twitter @hoopsmarinara. Follow @hoopsmarinara

Big Ten Alters Hockey Playoff Plans

2012-02-08T06:32:10Z

Last spring when the Big Ten Hockey conference was formed, representatives from the six member schools that will make up the future conference set to start in 2013-14 (Penn State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State) voted on potential playoff options.

They eventually settled upon a two-weekend format with the #3 seed hosting the #6 seed and the #4 seed hosting the #5 seed in a best of three series the first weekend and the top two seeds receiving byes.The winners would advance to the next weekend which would be hosted by the top overall seed.

Wisconsin was the only school to originally oppose the format. It creates major conflicts with the Kohl Center since UW would have to reserve the building for both possible weekends. Unfortunately, those are weekends that the WIAA has traditionally held state basketball and wrestling tournaments.

However since the original structure was voted on, the college hockey landscape has changed tenfold. Schools like North Dakota, Denver, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha, St. Cloud and Colorado College branched off from the WCHA to join with Miami and Western Michigan of the CCHA to form the NCHC, which they feel will be a rival conference to the Big Ten.

Additionally, Wisconsin isn't the only school with building problems. Ohio State also rents out their building for state tournaments and has since changed their opinions on the future conference tournament.

Recently, the six schools from the Big Ten convened and decided to alter their future playoff plans. The Wisconsin State Journal reported late Monday night that the Big Ten will instead adopt a neutral site one weekend playoff format.

The format would be single elimination at one site with the #6 seed playing the #3 seed and the #4 seed playing the #5 seed on Thursday with the winners advancing to semi-finals vs the top two seeds on Friday. A championship game would be played Saturday night.

No official venues have been selected but it's believed that the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul and the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit are two of the options being considered. It's conceivable that the league's member schools would choose to utilize both sites on a rotating basis.

One of the major advantages to a neutral site tournament is the ability to plan for the event. Knowing a full year in advance where the tournament will be held will allow fans from all schools in the conference to to acquire lodging and set up travel plans.

As a fan who has attended the WCHA Final Five tournament for over the past ten seasons, this is a very important point. The end of the year conference tournament carries more importance than simply the games. It's an opportunity for fans from schools all over the conference to join up and celebrate the league.

If games are held at campus sites, no one will know where their team will be playing until a week or two before the tournament. It creates huge logistic problems and probably eliminates traveling fans from attending the tournament on an every year basis like Wisconsin and Minnesota fans have become accustomed to in St. Paul.

It's also likely that the conference can pretty much bank on specific dollar amounts at a neutral site where if the potential money made in by holding it at campus locations could vary significantly.

The WCHA Final Five, a tournament that will be similar to what the Big Ten is trying to accomplish has an attendance record over the tournament close to 90,000.

It's expected that a Big Ten tournament could fall somewhere between 70,000 and that 90,000. With Wisconsin and Minnesota knowing it's a guarantee their teams will be playing in St. Paul, attendance will be strong enough for those two schools alone to carry the event.

It starts to get sticky if the tournament was with the old format even though it meant they could potentially play more games. The neutral site would be 5 games, where as the two-weekend option could potentially be as many as nine if there are 3 game series in the first weekend.

Figuring attendance figures is a bit tricky, but heres what my best guess would be. (Penn State-6,000; Ohio State-6,000; Michigan State-6,500; Michigan-6,500; Wisconsin-13,000; Minnesota-10,000) And that's figuring the building will sell out (which probably won't happen) at every building but Wisconsin and Ohio State.

BEST case would be Wisconsin, and Minnesota hosting 3 game series in the first round with the second round at either Michigan or Michigan State. That has the highest ceiling.

However, if series aren't held by Wisconsin or Minnesota the league is kind of screwed. For example, if Michigan, Penn State, and Michigan State were to host, you would be a looking at a tournament that maxes out at 57,000 ONLY if they max out the total number of games and sell out every single time. Neither is likely to happen.

So here's what we have. A neutral site with a potential to have attendance of 70,000-90,000.

Or home sites where it could be anywhere from 40,000 to 90,000.

Add in knowing where the tournament will be held at least a year in advance, the camaraderie of passionate fan bases from the entire league joining together for the event, as well as playing in beautiful NHL arena's in college hockey friendly cities like St. Paul and Detroit and it's pretty much a no-brainer in this humble blogger's opinion.

Good move Big Ten.

Join the Badger conversation on Facebook! Go to our Facebook page and "like" us!

For more Wisconsin hockey coverage, follow Chuck on Twitter (@UWChuckSchwartz)

Chuck can also be reached via e-mail at chuckschwartz@live.com

Bucky's 5th Quarter

Happy Homecoming for Taylor, Badgers at The Barn

UW collapses in regulation, pulls away in overtime with FTs

LIVE GAMETHREAD: No. 21/22 Wisconsin at Minnesota

Badger Bits: Gordon Gee is obnoxious

Minnesota Pre-game: B5Q grills The Daily Gopher

Hockey Recruiting: International Badger

Kerdiles To Play In Finland This Week

Besse Looks Like The Real Deal

Davison Set For WIAA Playoffs

Zulinick Leads Salmon Arm

Player

Team

Position

Arrival

Size

DOB

Games

Goals

Assists

Points

Grant Besse

F

2014

5'10, 175

7-14-1994

22

37

30

67

24

17

18

35

Tim Davison

D

2013

5'10, 169

3-2-1994

24

9

31

40

21

1

11

12

Nicolas Kerdiles

F

2012

6'1, 194

1-11-1994

36

13

13

26

Jake Linhart

D

2014

5'10, 160

1-17-1996

22

4

9

13

Corbin McGuire

F

2013

5'8, 185

3-2-1994

11

4

2

6

25

3

12

15

Kevin Schulze

D