Badgers big win opens door for Big Ten race

In an effort to begin 2010 with the biggest understatement of the new decade, the Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team’s win over No. 5 Michigan State Tuesday night was big.

For starters, the No. 16 Badgers (17-5 overall, 7-3 conference) didn’t squeak out a win like they did against Michigan and Penn State. Rather Wisconsin poured it on, beating the Spartans (19-4, 9-1), who were previously undefeated in Big Ten play, by the final score 67-49. The Badgers shot slightly better than 50 percent overall from the floor and connected on nine 3s to the Spartans two.

Furthermore, Wisconsin dominated Michigan State without former-leading scorer, Jon Leuer, who is still recovering from a wrist injury. Keaton Nankivil stepped up again in Leuer’s absence to lead the team with 19 points and five rebounds.

Beyond that, Wisconsin whooped the Spartans early and took a 15-point lead into halftime with guard Trevon Hughes on the bench with two fouls. Jordan Taylor took over the game, scoring 17 points – including three 3s. He also chipped in four rebounds and four assists. Jason Bohannon did his part behind the arc also, shooting 3-for-9 from long range.

By far the most impressive stat was how few turnovers the Badgers committed. Wisconsin turned the ball over a mere five times compared to 13 Spartan turnovers. The ball control is a great demonstration of how the Badgers rise to task of important games – a good sign headed toward the tournament. Tuesday marked the third time this year Wisconsin has beat a top-10 team (Duke Dec. 2 and Purdue Jan. 9 were the others).

The best part of Tuesday’s win – at least in the eyes of other Big Ten teams – is Michigan State won’t run away with the conference season championship. The Spartans are just two games ahead of Wisconsin, and two and half games ahead of Ohio State, Illinois and Purdue who all play either Wednesday or Thursday. Michigan has to play Illinois again, Purdue twice and Ohio State once more – all while wearing a big target on their back. The Badgers, however, only have to play one team, Illinois, who has a winning conference record. Wisconsin will play them twice, though.

The Badgers’ win Tuesday night has guaranteed the Big Ten regular season race will be a good one coming down the home stretch.

Welcome to I Am Sportacus

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I Am Sportacus:
A blog focusing on local prep sports in the south central Wisconsin area. It will cover high school athletes and competition in various conferences across the area. Starting soon, the writers will regularly post a new feature, including interviews and player profiles, with various coaches and players in the area every Thursday. You will be updated when the first piece will be posted.

In addition to local high school athletics, there will be regularly published opinion pieces and column-style writing in a broader scope discussing issues in the realm of professional and collegiate sports. The writers will pick topics relevant to each day’s events and post them on the blog in various formats. The writers will also answer to any comments posted to keep a circular flow of information.

Our mission statement:
The creators are dedicated to the pursuit of an accurate, newsworthy and professional approach to creating an endless flow of information between media and readers. They encourage others to interact and contribute ideas of their own. In the ever-changing world of journalism, a new approach is needed to continue the growth of the industry. I Am Sportacus will do everything it can to evolve with its readers and build credibility through the never-ending demand for perfection.

Let’s meet the writers:
Anthony Iozzo, after working part-time as a sport’s assistant at the Wisconsin State Journal, is a full-time assistant sports editor for the Unified News Group, writing for weekly newspapers the Verona Press, Oregon Observer and Stoughton Courier Hub. He is quickly building a reputation as a reliable reporter and talented writer. He developed the idea as well as the style and format of the blog.

Josh Smith, after getting a start at the Daily Jefferson County Union as a sports intern and writing for the Waterloo-Marshall Courier, is back at the Daily Jefferson County Union as a full-time sports reporter. He is joining Anthony to contribute his ideas to the blog.

Anthony and Josh, both graduates of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, have met and interviewed many coaches and athletes in the south-central Wisconsin area. We will use our valuable experience in the print world to develop this blog while still contributing on a daily basis at our respective newspapers.

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I Am Sportacus team