The University of Wisconsin women’s basketball program has hit hard times as of late, missing out on the NCAA tournament since the 2009-10 season and missing out on the postseason for each of the past four seasons.
However, that won’t stop BTN from airing games featuring the Badgers this season. In fact, the Badgers will appear on the network four times.
Those four BTN appearances are set to be aired from the Kohl Center on Jan. 10 vs. Penn State; Jan. 23 vs. Minnesota; Feb. 8 vs. Purdue; and Feb. 20 vs. Northwestern.
Penn State struggled through a year of transition and youth last season, missing out on the NCAA tournament for the first time and failing to make it a four-year reign at the top of the Big Ten standings as well.
That matchup could represent the two programs’ statement games, as both are looking to climb towards the top of the standings.
Both Minnesota and Northwestern will provide huge challenges for the Badgers, coming off NCAA appearances last season. The Gophers were a No. 8 seed, falling to No. 9-seed DePaul (79-72) and Northwestern was a No. 7 seed in the same region, falling in a heartbreaking 57-55 loss in the opening round as well.
Purdue struggled along with Penn State, finishing last season with an 11-20 record (3-15 B1G) and failed to make the NCAA tournament for back-to-back years after making it to every NCAA tournament in its history.
Wisconsin will get star forward Michaela Johnson back after a brutal knee injury ended her season last year. It was a big blow, as she was named first team All-Big Ten in 2014 after starting all 29 games, averaging 32.9 minutes per game, leading the Badgers with 16.6 points per game.
She scored in double figures in a team-best 21 games, had one 30-plus scoring game and scored 20-or-more points in 11 games and recorded a career-high 32 points at Northwestern (Jan. 18).
Kelsey didn’t receive the annual rolling renewal of her contract, signaling this could be the make-or-break year for the head coach and this program.
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