Wisconsin

Preview: Wisconsin Looks For Eighth-Straight Win Over Minnesota

Published

12 months ago

January 10, 2025

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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)

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

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Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting line: Wisconsin -13

Projected Starting Five (Wisconsin)

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.

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).

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.

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.

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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Wisconsin

Wisconsin DHS reaffirms childhood vaccine recommendations after CDC changes

Published

7 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin DHS reaffirms childhood vaccine recommendations after CDC changes

article

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Health Services on Thursday reaffirmed its recommended childhood vaccine schedule after recent changes at the federal level.

Wisconsin vaccine guidance

Local perspective:

On Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control announced changes to its childhood vaccine schedule. The DHS said those modifications further stray “from alignment with America’s leading medical associations and organizations.”

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At this time, the DHS said it is not making changes to its vaccine recommendations – including no changes to Wisconsin’s school or child care vaccine recommendations.

The DHS said it continues to endorse the American Academy of Pediatrics schedule and has issued guidance to Wisconsin health care providers reaffirming that recommendation.

What they’re saying:

“The CDC’s new recommendations were based on a brief review of other countries’ practices and not based on data or evidence regarding disease risks to children in the United States,” DHS Secretary Kirsten Johnson said in a statement. “This upends our longstanding, evidence-based approach of protecting our children from the viruses that pose a risk in our country.

“Copying another country’s schedule without its health and social infrastructure will not produce the same health outcomes. It creates chaos and confusion and risks the health of Wisconsin’s youngest and most vulnerable citizens.”

Big picture view:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the CDC will continue to recommend that all children are immunized against 10 diseases for which there is international consensus, as well as chickenpox.

The updated schedule is in contrast to the CDC child and adolescent schedule at the end of 2024, which recommended 17 immunizations for all children. On the new schedule, vaccines – such as those for hepatitis A and B, meningitis, rotavirus and seasonal flu – are now more restricted. They are recommended only for those at high risk or after consultation with a health care provider.

What they’re saying:

“President Trump directed us to examine how other developed nations protect their children and to take action if they are doing better,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said. “After an exhaustive review of the evidence, we are aligning the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule with international consensus while strengthening transparency and informed consent. This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health.”

The Source: The Wisconsin DHS released information about its childhood vaccine recommendations. Information about the CDC changes is from LiveNOW from FOX with contributions from The Associated Press.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin man accused of killing parents to fund Trump assassination plot set to enter plea deal

Published

19 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin man accused of killing parents to fund Trump assassination plot set to enter plea deal

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin man accused of killing his parents and stealing their money to fund a plan to assassinate President Donald Trump is set to enter a plea deal resolving the case Thursday.

Nikita Casap, 18, is expected to agree to the deal during a morning hearing in Waukesha County Circuit Court in suburban Milwaukee. He goes into the hearing facing multiple charges, including two homicide counts, two counts of hiding a corpse and theft, with a trial scheduled to begin March 2.

Online court records did not list the terms of the plea agreement. Harm Venhuizen, a spokesperson for the state public defender’s office, which is representing Casap, said state Supreme Court ethics rules prevent the office from commenting on cases. The Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office did not respond to questions about the deal.

According to a criminal complaint, investigators believe Casap shot his mother, Tatiana Casap, and his stepfather, Donald Mayer, at their home in the village of Waukesha on or around Feb. 11.

He lived with the decomposing bodies for weeks before fleeing across the country in his stepfather’s SUV with $14,000 in cash, jewelry, passports, his stepfather’s gun and the family dog, according to the complaint. He was eventually arrested during a traffic stop in Kansas on Feb. 28.

Federal authorities have accused Casap of planning his parents’ murders, buying a drone and explosives and sharing his plans with others, including a Russian speaker. They said in a federal search warrant that he wrote a manifest calling for Trump’s assassination and was in touch with others about his plan to kill Trump and overthrow the U.S. government.

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“The killing of his parents appeared to be an effort to obtain the financial means and autonomy necessary to carrying out his plan,” that warrant said.

Detectives found several messages on Casap’s cellphone from January 2025 in which Casap asks how long he will have to hide before he is moved to Ukraine. An unknown individual responded in Russian, the complaint said, but the document doesn’t say what that person told Casap. In another message Casap asks: “So while in Ukraine, I’ll be able to live a normal life? Even if it’s found out I did it?”

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin bill stirs issue of parental voice, trans youth autonomy

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin bill stirs issue of parental voice, trans youth autonomy

A Republican-authored bill would require Wisconsin school boards to adopt a policy that would inform a parent or guardian if a student requests to be called by names and pronouns not aligned with their gender assigned at birth.

The bill would require legal documentation, parental approval and a principal to approve changes to a student’s name and pronouns. The bill makes exceptions for nicknames or students going by their middle names.

Although the bill has no chance of being signed into law by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, it reflects the continuing political energy of two issues: parental authority in schools, and the treatment of trans youths.

Notably, hundreds of trans-related bills were introduced at multiple levels of government across the country in the last year.

The lawmakers who introduced the bill, Rep. Barbara Dittrich (R-Oconomowoc) and state Sen. Andre Jacque (R-Franken), said it is about parental rights and transparency. At a Capitol public hearing Jan. 6, Jacque cited a ruling from October 2023 in which a Waukesha judge sided with parents who sued the Kettle Moraine School District after staff at the middle school used a child’s chosen name and pronouns. The parents did not support their child’s transition.

But the Senate Committee on Education hearing grew heated as LGBTQ+ youth, parents of transgender children, Democratic lawmakers and other advocates called the bill unnecessary and potentially violence-inducing. They said it makes life worse for a vulnerable population that makes up less than 1% of Wisconsin pupils.

Jacque argued that without the bill, educators can make decisions about children’s health and well-being in secrecy.

“Hiding from us important things that are going on in their lives is not only disrespectful to parents, it is harmful to our children and deliberately sabotaging the ability for vital communication to take place,” Jacque said.

Sen. Sarah Keyeski (D-Lodi) questioned why the Legislature should be involved when school boards already have the ability to approve such policies.

“I think it’s interesting how much you lean on local control for certain things, but then all of a sudden, you want government control,” she said.

Abigail Swetz, executive director of Fair Wisconsin, said such a bill would prevent educators from “engaging in the best practice” for using names and pronouns. Swetz, a former middle school teacher who advised a Gender and Sexuality Alliance club, said she’s seen firsthand the positive impact of affirming trans and nonbinary students.

“The mental health struggles that trans youth face are not a self-fulfilling prophecy. They’re entirely pressured outcomes, and bills like SB120 add to that pressure,” Swetz said.

Jenna Gormal, the public policy director at End Abuse Wisconsin, said forcing students to come out to parents before they’re ready reinforces power and control while stripping students of their autonomy.

Alison Selje, who uses they/them pronouns, spoke of the seismic shift in their well-being and academic performance when someone used their correct pronouns. Selje was a student at Madison West High School at the time. The Madison Metropolitan School District has a policy – which has survived a court challenge – protecting the use of names and pronouns of trans students.

“I remember the first time I heard someone use the right pronoun for me. This was during the pandemic so I was still wearing a mask, but underneath it, I was smiling ear to ear,” Selje said. “The use of my pronouns was a confidence boost, but it was also a lifesaver.”

Support for the bill came from two women representing Moms for Liberty. Laura Ackman and Amber Infusimo shared stories of parents finding out about their children’s new gender identity through school playbills and yearbooks.

“This bill rightly affirms schools shouldn’t be making significant decisions without parental knowledge or involvement,” Ackman said. “It does not prevent kindness, respect or compassion.”

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