Wisconsin Badgers Basketball

Need to know: Wisconsin

School: Wisconsin

Location: Madison, Wis.

Enrollment: 42,099.

Fun fact: Even though Wisconsin's mascot was a live badger in the early days, the nickname actually originated from lead miners in the 19th century who burrowed tunnels into the hillside in the winter months as a way to find shelter.

Name dropping: Students who have passed through the UW campus include Dick Cheney, Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell, Fox News host Greta Van Susteren, Nobel Prize for Literature winner Saul Bellow, aviator Charles Lindbergh, Heisman winner Alan Ameche and his Academy award-winning brother Don Ameche.

Big tradition: Before the fourth quarter of home games, Wisconsin fans jump and gyrate while "Jump Around" by House of Pain is played over the speakers. The tradition began in 1998 during a game against Purdue when a marketing agent suggested playing the song. Fans loved it. It gets crazy when the music comes on, crazy enough that school officials decided in 2003 to not play the song for fear it could cause some stadium damage while skyboxes were being built. Students were ticked. Petitions circulated. Before the next game, students were told they could jump again.

Biggest rival: Minnesota.

Power sports

Football. The Badgers have been to bowl games 14 of the past 15 years and won three Rose Bowls since 1993.

Basketball. The Badgers have become a force on the hardwood, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament the past 12 seasons. They made the Final Four in 2000 and were briefly ranked No. 1 in the country during the 2006-07 season.

Hockey. The men's hockey team has won six national championships. And in 2006, UW became the first school to have both its men's and women's teams win national championships in the same year. The women's team ended this past season at No. 1 for the fourth time in the program's history.

Athletic morale

On a scale of 1-5, with 1 being bad and 5 being peachy.

4

When you have Top 20 programs in both football and men's basketball at the same time, you're doing pretty well. Throw in the hockey success and the fact the men's track and field team won the national championship in 2007 and it's hard to complain right now if you're a Badger fan.

Taylor to try out for USA Basketball World University ... - Wisconsin

The USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee, chaired by NCAA representative Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), is expected on July 31 to announce finalists for the 2011 USA World University Games Team. Training camp will continue July 31-Aug. 7 at the USOTC, with the official roster being announced prior to the team’s departure for China on Aug. 8. “After a lot of thought and consideration of potential players, the committee has put together a very strong roster for the USA Men’s World University Games Team training camp,” said Boeheim. “As always, the committee will be looking for not only the most talented players, but also players that will work well as a team.” “I’m excited and honored to be invited to the USA basketball tryouts,” Taylor said. “As players, we all dream about representing our country and wearing the USA jersey. It should be a great opportunity to play with some of the best players in the country and hopefully I’ll get a chance to play against international competition. “This is a great opportunity to play against some outstanding players from around the country,” Ryan said. “If Jordan is fortunate enough to make the team, he’ll play against some really good international players and have a wonderful experience. Any time you get a chance to use basketball to learn about other cultures and experience different things, it’s always good.” The World University Games are held every other year and are organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The World University Games is a multi-sport competition open to men and women who are between the ages of 17 and 24 (born between Jan. 1, 1987 and Dec. 31, 1993), who are or have been within the past year, a student at a college or university. Eighteen players who have represented the USA in the World University Games have gone on to compete in the Olympic Games, including Ray Allen, Stacey Augmon, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Bill Bradley, Quinn Buckner, Tom Burleson, Ken Davis, Tim Duncan, Phil Hubbard, Allen Iverson, Mitch Kupchak, Karl Malone, Michael Redd, Mitch Richmond, Michael Silliman, Steve Smith and Jo Jo White.

Wisconsin Badgers Basketball, Wisconsin Badgers Basketball Venues, Wisconsin Badgers Men's Basketball, Wisconsin Badgers Women's Basketball

Wisconsin Badgers Men's Basketball, Gary Bender, 1940-41 Wisconsin Badgers Men's Basketball Team

Wisconsin Badgers Women's Basketball, Wisconsin Badgers Women's Basketball Coaches, Wisconsin Badgers Women's Basketball Players

Wisconsin Badgers Men's Basketball Coaches, Bo Ryan, Dick Bennett, Sean Miller, Tony Bennett, Rob Jeter, Stan Van Gundy, Brad Soderberg

Wisconsin Badgers Men's Basketball Players, Sam Barry, Chris Chambers, Ben Braun, Devin Harris, Michael Finley, Alando Tucker, Everett Case