Although Wisconsin is 3-0 against these teams heading into the Big 10 Semi-Final with IU, they again are the underdog.
Against Michigan, a team they beat head to head and finished ahead of in the Big 10 standings, the Wolverines were favored as a top ten team in the country. (Sometimes college math is hard to figure!)
The Hoosiers have had a great year and may even be a great team - sometimes the match-ups can just go your way. It was my privilege to attend some I.U. home games while living in Indiana and Assembly Hall is an awesome place to watch a game. The fans I sat near were nice and polite and the times when Wisconsin beat I.U. they were even complimentary of the Badger's effort.
My friend, Mark, who took me to the I.U. games, both football and basketball, in Bloomington is a great guy who lives and dies with his team. It's a team he has watched in person at home since he was a student in the mid-70s and there are few, if any, games he's missed since that time. We will likely text back and forth a bit during the game in good fun and congratulate the winner.
As a Badger fan, I'm thrilled with how the season has gone, as the team surpassed the expectations of me and most fans and pundits. The team somehow represents the state in it's hard-nosed and gritty play under Coach Bo Ryan. Ryan was born and raised in Pennsylvania... but he's lived and coached in Wisconsin long enough he looks like ol' Bucky himself.
Let's go, guys - beat back expectations one more time - Go, Badgers!
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