UW releases men’s basketball schedule
The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team’s 2005-06 Big Ten schedule has been released. The conference slate includes seven nationally televised games.
Wisconsin hosts Iowa and Michigan State Jan. 5 and 7 to open its conference season and also invites Northwestern, Penn State, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State and Minnesota to the Kohl Center. The Badgers will hit the road for games at Minnesota, Ohio State, Michigan, Purdue, Penn State, Northwestern, Michigan State and Iowa.
The Badgers conclude their conference games with the Big Ten Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis March 9-12.
Volleyball picked third; Shaw nets preseason honors
The No. 10 Wisconsin volleyball team was picked to finish third in the Big Ten this season, while senior middle blocker Sheila Shaw was named to the preseason all-conference team. League coaches participate in the preseason poll.
Penn State is picked to win the conference, while Minnesota is predicted to finish No. 2.
“It’s not surprising that we’re picked third after seeing the national poll last week,” UW coach Pete Waite said. “I think it says that the coaches have a lot of respect for our team; that we’re in the upper echelon of the league and that we have a shot at the title. That’s exciting to us.”
Wisconsin finished fourth in the conference with a 13-7 record last season, behind 2004 NCAA runner-up Minnesota and conference champion Penn State. The Badgers, who finished 22-10 last year, begin the season ranked No. 10 according to the preseason CSTV/AVCA Top 25 coaches poll.
Last season, Shaw led the team with 3.81 kills per game and led the league with 1.36 blocks per game. She was a unanimous 2004 All-Big Ten pick.
Women’s soccer No. 25 in preseason poll
The Wisconsin women’s soccer team is ranked No. 25 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas preseason poll, which was released Tuesday.
Joining Wisconsin in the top 25 are Penn State (No. 8), Ohio State (10) and Illinois (13).
“It’s great to be ranked in the Top 25,” Badger head coach Dean Duerst said. “It shows a lot of respect for our program and for the conference. We look forward to playing many ranked teams this season.”
The Badgers are No. 17 in the Soccer Buzz magazine preseason poll.