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Preview: Wisconsin Looks For Eighth-Straight Win Over Minnesota

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Preview: Wisconsin Looks For Eighth-Straight Win Over Minnesota


Preview: Wisconsin Looks For Eighth-Straight Win Over Minnesota

Minnesota (8-7, 0-4 Big Ten) vs. Wisconsin (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten)

Date/Time – Friday, January 10, 6 p.m.

Arena – Kohl Center (16,838)

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Watch – Peacock (Chris Vosters and Stephen Bardo)

Radio – Badgers Radio Network (Matt Lepay and Brian Butch), Sirius 106 or 195, stream online on iHeartRadio.

Series – Wisconsin leads 108-104 (Wisconsin leads 68-34 in Madison)

Last Meeting – Wisconsin won, 61-59, on January 23, 2024, in Minneapolis

Follow Online: The Badgers’ Den

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Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting line: Wisconsin -13

Projected Starting Five (Wisconsin)

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Player to Watch: Tonje is shooting 46.0 percent from the floor. He is second in the Big Ten shooting 93.5 percent at the FT line and is second on UW at 37.7 percent on three-point field goals.

Projected Starting Five (Minnesota)

Player to watch: Isaac Asuma continues to shine as a freshman for the Gophers. Against Ohio State, the rookie added 18 points, which bettered his previous best of 11 he set against Wake Forest in November. He played 40 minutes and was 7-of-11 with three treys, all career bests.

Series Notes

Wisconsin and Minnesota will be playing for the 213th time on Friday, making the Gophers the most-played opponent in UW history.

The Badgers have won seven straight games against Minnesota, 16 of the last 18 meetings, and are 36-9 since 1999.

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Wisconsin is 12-2 overall against Minnesota under head coach Greg Gard.

A total of 16 points decided the past five Badgers-Gophers contests.

UW’s roster features 5 players from Minnesota: senior Steven Crowl (Eagan), sophomore Nolan Winter (Lakeville), redshirt freshman Jack Janicki and true freshmen Daniel Freitag (Bloomington) and Jack Robison (Lakeville). Winter’s father, Trevor, played basketball on Minnesota’s 1997 Final Four team, and his mother, Heidi, played volleyball at Minnesota.

In five career starts vs. Minnesota, Crowl is averaging 15.2 ppg and 5.2 rpg, shooting 31-49 FG (63.3 percent).

Wisconsin Notes

Wisconsin ranks 12th in the nation in offensive efficiency per KenPom. UW’s mark of 121.1 would rank as the school’s fourth-highest mark in the KenPom era (1997).

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Three different Badgers have scored 25+ points in a game this season, and the Badgers have four 30-point efforts already: John Tonje (41 vs. ARIZ, 33 vs. Pitt), John Blackwell (32 vs. Iowa, 30 vs. UTRGV), and Max Klesmit (26 pts vs. Montana St).

The Badgers lead the NCAA shooting 85.5 percent (272-for-318) from the free throw line. At this rate, UW is on pace to shatter Villanova’s NCAA record of 83.0 percent and the Big Ten record – which UW set at 81.8 percent in 2010-11.

UW is holding opponents to 30.5 percent from 3-point range this season. Only five of UW’s 15 opponents have hit 35 percent or better from deep.

Winter averaged 2.4 points per game last season. His points per game increase of 8.8 points per game is the fourth-largest increase in the Big Ten, trailing Penn State’s Trey Kaufman-Renn (+11.4), Northwestern’s Nick Martinelli (+10.6), and Ohio State’s Devin Royal (+9.9).

Minnesota Notes

Minnesota has 10 seniors on its team this year, tied for the most in the Big Ten with USC. The Gophers have an average team age of 22.3. The breakdown of the season is 10 seniors, one junior, three sophomores and two freshmen. Eleven of the 16 players began their college careers at another school.

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Minnesota’s scoring defense ranks fourth in the Big Ten. Minnesota has allowed 66.7 points per game (1,000 total) in its 15 games into the season, which trails only UCLA, Maryland, and Northwestern.

Minnesota holds the Big Ten lead in blocks averaging 5.4 and that ranks 20th nationally. They also rank third in assist/turnover ratio (1.62).

Dawson Garcia was the first player since Jordan Murphy in 2017-18 to lead the Gophers in both points (17.6) and rebounds (6.7) during the 2023-24 season. He leads the Gophers in both categories this season.

Prediction

Minnesota had a chance to build its first momentum in Big Ten play on Monday. Having a good Ohio State team on the ropes, the Gophers shot 45.7 percent from the field and 12-for-29 from three-point range. The problem was free throws, a glaring issue since the start of the season. Minnesota went 12-for-27 from the line, including three of four in the final minute of regulation. The result was a double overtime loss, another gut punch, and a fifth straight loss to a Power-Four team.

The Gophers should be better. Garcia is putting up career numbers in his final season of college basketball, shooting a career-best 49.4 percent from the floor and is a three-point threat (35.6). Head coach Ben Johnson has a group that guards aggressively and force over 11 turnovers a game. Minnesota average 68.8 points per game (316th in Division-1) but that’s partially due to its methodical pace, ranking 360th nationally in adjusted tempo.

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Can the Gophers slow Wisconsin? UW ranks 11th in adjusted offensive efficiency. The best offensive unit the Gophers have played to this point is Purdue, which is ranked one spot behind UW. Minnesota held Purdue to 28 points in the first half, but saw the Boilermakers drop 53 on them in the second half eight days ago. Purdue shot 50 percent from the field, 44 percent from the perimeter, and averaged 1.421 points per possession.

I expect a similar result, a close game early that Wisconsin blows open in the second half.

Worgull’s Prediction: Wisconsin by 17

Record: 12-3 (11-4 ATS)

Points off Prediction: 130 (8.7 per game)

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Impact Day: Wintry mix to 60s in SE Wisconsin

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Impact Day: Wintry mix to 60s in SE Wisconsin


Impact Day: Wintry mix to 60s in SE Wisconsin

Sprinkles early Wednesday ahead of a big warmup to end the week.

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REALLY AWESOME TO SEE HOW FAR HOPEFULLY THIS CAN TAKE US TO MORE EXPLORATION. YES, YES, 100%. AND THIS MORNING, OTHERWISE NOT PERFECT. IT’S NOT TOO BAD. WE’RE WAKING UP TO A FEW SHOWERS ACROSS SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN, BUT IF YOU DIDN’T LIKE THE WEATHER YESTERDAY, WE ARE GOING TO BE DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT BY THIS AFTERNOON. HIGH TEMPERATURES YESTERDAY TOPPED OUT CLOSE TO ABOUT 34 DEGREES. THAT’S WHERE WE’RE SITTING FOR A LOT OF SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN RIGHT NOW. WE’RE GOING TO WARM UP INTO THE 60S THIS AFTERNOON. YES, SOME OF US ARE WAKING UP TO MAYBE A FEW SNOWFLAKES OUT THERE. MOST OF US ARE WAKING UP JUST TO RAIN SHOWERS TO KICK OFF THE DAY TODAY, SOME DRIER CONDITIONS SOUTH OF I 94 IN OUR VIEWING AREA RIGHT NOW. BUT YOU CAN SEE THE ACTIVITY THAT’S STRETCHING BACK WEST OF MADISON. JUST A FEW LIGHT SHOWERS AND SPRINKLES ARE LOOKING POSSIBLE THROUGH ABOUT 10:00. THERE’S RAIN ALL THE WAY BACK CLOSE TO WATERLOO RIGHT NOW, SO IT’S NOT GOING TO STICK AROUND THE ENTIRE TIME. WE’LL HAVE DRY TIME BETWEEN NOW AND 10:00, BUT ON AND OFF SHOWERS ARE STILL POSSIBLE. MILWAUKEE HAS HAD SOME SHOWERS THIS MORNING. YOU CAN SEE THE RAINDROPS ON THE CAMERA LENS THERE IN OCONOMOWOC, AS WELL AS BROOKFIELD. DELAVAN SO FAR HAS STAYED PRETTY DRY AND RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS LIKE RAIN IS A LITTLE MORE LIKELY. CLOSER TO AND NORTH OF I-94. RAIN IN MILWAUKEE RIGHT NOW. THOSE CHANCES STICK AROUND INTO THE MORNING. BUT THE BIG STORY TODAY IT IS THE WARM UP. IT IS GOING TO BE NICE LATER THIS AFTERNOON. SHOWER CHANCES JUST ABOUT 9 OR 10:00. THEN THE REST OF YOUR WEDNESDAY IS GOING TO BE DRY OVERNIGHT TONIGHT. ANOTHER CHANCE FOR SOME RAIN THAT MOVES OUT BY THURSDAY. BUT THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY, ANOTHER RAIN CHANCE IS ON THE WAY. MOST OF OUR DAYLIGHT HOURS ARE LOOKING DRY 56 DEGREES ON SATURDAY, DRY FOR SATURDAY. THEN WE’RE TRACKING. WILL TRACK MORE RAIN CHANCES SUNDAY, MONDAY AND TUESDAY AND A BIG COOLDOWN AS WE HEAD INTO TUESDAY. BY WEDNESDAY OF NEXT WEEK, TEMPERATURES COULD BE ON THE CHILLY SIDE. ONCE AGAIN. HERE’S FUTURE CAST. NOTICE IT’S MAINLY RAIN THAT WE’RE SEEING, BUT I CAN’T RULE OUT A FEW SNOWFLAKES HERE. OVER THE NEXT HOUR OR SO. THEN JUST SOME SHOWERS FOR THE EARLY PART OF THE DAY. AND THEN SUNSHINE IS BACK. IT WILL BE WINDY, SOME GUSTS AS HIGH AS 35MPH, BUT THAT’S BRINGING IN TEMPERATURES IN THE 60S LATER TODAY. AND THEN A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH AND RAIN CHANCES BUILD BACK IN REALLY FROM ABOUT 10:00 TONIGHT THROUGH ABOUT THREE, 4:00 IN THE MORNING. AND MOST OF YOUR THURSDAY IS DRY AND SUNNY. THEN NOTICE LATE THURSDAY EVENING INTO EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. THAT’S WHEN WE’LL TRACK OUR NEXT CHANCE FOR SOME RAIN. SO THE BOTTOM LINE, THE BIG CHANGE FROM WHAT WE SAW THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS IS THE TEMPERATURES WILL BE BACK IN THE 50S AND THE 60S TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY, AND REALLY THROUGH MOST OF THE SEVEN DAY FORECAST, WE HAVE RAIN CHANCES EVERY SINGLE DAY, BUT MOST OF THAT RAIN IS FALLING DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS, AND WE COULD HAVE A FEW SHOWERS LINGERING OR BUILDING IN IN THE EVENING OR LINGERING INTO THE MORNING. BUT FOR THE MOST PART, DAYLIGHT HOURS. AS WE HEAD THROUGH THE REST OF THE WORKWEEK IS GOING TO BE DRY, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME SHOWERS OUT THERE TO KICK OFF THE DAY. TODAY THERE COULD BE SOME WET ROADS FOR YOUR MORNING COMMUTE. RAIN CHANCES RETURN LATE THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT TONIGHT. SOME SHOWER CHANCES LATE TOMORROW INTO THURSDAY, BUT AGAIN MAINLY OVERNIGHT RAIN CHANCES. SO THOSE 50S AND 60S WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO GET OUTSIDE AND ENJOY 56 DEGREES ON SATURDAY. RIGHT NOW, SUNDAY 70. THAT’S FANTASTIC. AND IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE A WASHOUT, BUT WE ARE TRACKING STORM CHANCES SUNDAY AND MONDAY. OH MY GOODNESS. HOPEFULLY WE’RE TURNING A CORNER, BUT IT IS STILL SO EARLY. FINGERS CROSSED. IT’S WILD TO THINK THAT WE PROBABLY HAVE SOME SNOWFLAKES AROUND RIGHT NOW AND WE’

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Impact Day: Wintry mix to 60s in SE Wisconsin

Sprinkles early Wednesday ahead of a big warmup to end the week.

Updated: 5:46 AM CDT Apr 8, 2026

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Editorial Standards

Early rain showers Wednesday morning, with parts of the area seeing a wintry mix as temperatures start near freezing. Showers move out later this morning. Skies will gradually clear through the afternoon, with highs warming into the low to middle 60s.Rain with a few thunderstorms return late Wednesday evening and night. Rain will move out by early Thursday morning. Thursday will be a bit cooler, but still mild with a mix of sun and clouds. Another chance for rain returns late in the evening, with shower chances lingering into early Friday. Most of Friday is expected to stay dry, with highs in the low 50s.Drier Saturday with seasonable temperatures in the low 50s. Looking ahead, a more active pattern returns with chances for storms Sunday and Monday as temperatures jump into the low 70s. Rain chances continue Tuesday, with afternoon highs dropping back into the low 50s.

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Early rain showers Wednesday morning, with parts of the area seeing a wintry mix as temperatures start near freezing. Showers move out later this morning. Skies will gradually clear through the afternoon, with highs warming into the low to middle 60s.

Rain with a few thunderstorms return late Wednesday evening and night. Rain will move out by early Thursday morning. Thursday will be a bit cooler, but still mild with a mix of sun and clouds. Another chance for rain returns late in the evening, with shower chances lingering into early Friday. Most of Friday is expected to stay dry, with highs in the low 50s.

Drier Saturday with seasonable temperatures in the low 50s. Looking ahead, a more active pattern returns with chances for storms Sunday and Monday as temperatures jump into the low 70s. Rain chances continue Tuesday, with afternoon highs dropping back into the low 50s.

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Wisconsin defense lawyers argue conviction in Oshkosh boat crash should be overturned

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Wisconsin defense lawyers argue conviction in Oshkosh boat crash should be overturned


OSHKOSH (WLUK) — The state defense lawyers association argues the judge made a mistake in allowing a Winnebago County jury to hear the case against Jason Lindemann, who crashed his power boat into a cruise boat.

Lindemann was sentenced to five months in jail and three years on probation and ordered to perform 150 hours of community service as a result of the July 9, 2022, crash between his powerboat and the On The Loos paddlewheel cruise boat. He was also ordered to pay $11,702.79 in restitution. The crash injured more than a dozen people.

Lindemann has appealed, claiming he drove his boat like “every boater does” and that the evidence doesn’t support the convictions. Prosecutors replied it believes Lindemann’s conviction should be upheld. Lindemann’s reply brief due is due April 14, then the appeals court will review the case and issue a ruling. That’s expected to take several months.

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Surveillance video of a July 9, 2022, boat crash on the Fox River in Oshkosh. (Courtesy Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office)

On Tuesday, the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed what’s known as a ‘friend of the court’ brief, offering its input on the issue of jury selection.

Brief from the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers arguing for Jason Lindemann’s conviction in an Oshkosh boat crash to be overturned.

Click here to view the PDF file

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It noted the extensive publicity on case, from the day of the crash, onwards.

“WACDL submits that a careful analysis of precedent, and a realistic assessment of the pretrial publicity at issue, require that prejudice be presumed. Lindemann’s community was sufficiently against him that drawing his jury from Winnebago County violated his due process rights. The circuit court thus erred in denying his request for a change of venue, and reversal is warranted,” wrote attorney Megan Sanders.

The brief also argues the judge’s faith in voir dire — the juror screening and selection process — was “unfounded,” given the case’s publicity.

It argues the convictions should be overturned.

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“There is an effective solution for the due process problem at issue here. Case law supports it, Lindemann sought it, and the State — after explaining its concerns about proceeding in Winnebago County — declined to contest his request. Under these circumstances, and with no cogent rationale for keeping the case in Oshkosh, the circuit court erred in denying Lindemann’s motion for a change of venue,” the brief states.



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John Blackwell’s Wisconsin teammates comment on his departure

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John Blackwell’s Wisconsin teammates comment on his departure


A pair of John Blackwell’s former teammates wasted no time expressing how they felt about his departure.

The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball squad took a huge hit on April 6 when its star point guard announced he’d be entering the transfer portal.

Blackwell posted a farewell message that received mixed reactions, but both Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp expressed their gratitude for getting to play alongside the Michigan native.

“My brother!! Coming into college with you, it’s meant everything to do it by your side. Through all the ups and downs we went through, I won’t forget a second of any of it… go do what you do JB. For life,” Winter wrote.

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Rapp added, “Gonna miss big bro, appreciate this year with you John Blackwell.”

Winter has been with the Badgers since the 2023-24 season, the same year Blackwell joined the program. Rapp, the Portland transfer, only was able to spend one year with Wisconsin’s guard who averaged just shy of 20 points per game.

Badgers fans are still awaiting decisions from Winter and Rapp, though neither has indicated they’ll be continuing their collegiate careers elsewhere.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion.





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