Wisconsin women's basketball to renew in-state rivalry this fall
Wisconsin women's basketball to renew in-state rivalry this fall
The Wisconsin women's basketball program will renew its I-94 rivalry with Marquette as part of a home-and-home series beginning on Nov. 8, 2025.
UW will travel east to Milwaukee for the first leg of the series, then welcome the Golden Eagles to the Kohl Center in 2026. The two squads last squared off in 2017. The Golden Eagles own a 6-5 mark against the Badgers since the 2001-02 season.
Wisconsin's Nov. 8 contest against the in-state rival also marks the first game the Badgers' program has announced under new head coach Robin Pingeton, who took over following former head coach Marisa Moseley's resignation earlier this year.
The Badgers, who went 13-17 during the 2024-25 slate, will open the 2025-26 campaign with an entirely new roster. Former Wisconsin star Serah Williams and starting center Carter McCray transferred following the season's end, prompting Pingeton to look for talent in the portal.
The former Missouri coach responded with seven transfer commitments. Those include Croatian center Dorja Zaja, Illinois forward Shay Bollin, Stony Brook guard Breauna Ware, Howard guard Destiny Howell, NC State guard Laci Steele, Southern Illinois forward Gift Uchenna and Missouri State guard Kyrah Daniels. The Badgers also signed class of 2025 standout Nikki Kerstein in April, bolstering the program's backcourt depth.
While both Williams and McCray departed, starting guard Ronnie Porter returns for her fourth season in Madison as the Badgers' leading veteran presence. She, alongside new acquisitions Uchenna and Howell, projects to spearhead Wisconsin's offensive attack this coming season.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
11 hours ago
- USA Today
Wisconsin basketball to play in-state opponent for first time since 2019
🚨 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗟𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 🚨Too big of a game to wait on this one!The Panthers will head to Madison to take on the Badgers for the first time in 5⃣ years in December!Panthers And Badgers Set To Meet December 30 Wisconsin basketball will tip off against the UW-Milwaukee Panthers for the first time since the 2019-20 season on Dec. 30, 2025, at the Kohl Center. UW's scheduled clash against UW-Milwaukee marks the latest nonconference announcement for the program's 2025-26 slate. The Badgers will start their season in late October with an exhibition against Oklahoma in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, before traveling to Salt Lake City, Utah, for a showdown against future No. 1 draft pick AJ Dybantsa and the BYU Cougars in mid-November. Then, Greg Gard's platoon will head to San Diego, California, for the Rady Children's Invitational in late November for games against Providence and TCU or Florida ahead of its Dec. 6 I-94 bout vs. Marquette Golden Eagles in Madison. UW will conclude its non-Big Ten slate with mid-December contest against Villanova at the Fiserv Forum prior to the Dec. 30 showdown vs. Milwaukee. "We are grateful to the Wisconsin program and to Coach Gard for agreeing to play this game," Milwaukee head coach Bart Lundy told "This contest will be terrific for Panther fans and for all basketball fans in the state of Wisconsin. We are excited to renew the in-state rivalry and wish that there were more of these games for the state and for each fanbase. We are certainly looking forward to competing in Madison in December." The Dec. 30 match marks the first time the two programs will face one another since UW's 83-64 victory over the Panthers on Dec. 21, 2019. The Badgers own a 9-1 overall record against Milwaukee dating back to the 2008-09 regular season. The two first tipped off during the 1992-93 campaign. The Panthers finished with a 21-11 overall mark during the 2024-25 season in their third year under Lundy. Milwaukee ranked No. 141 in KenPom, completing its third consecutive season with at least 20 victories. By the time it faces the Panthers, Wisconsin's starting lineup, captained by returning starters John Blackwell and Nolan Winter, plus transfers Nick Boyd, Andrew Rohde and Austin Rapp, will be in full force. UW's five-man unit figures to become one of the more formidable ensembles in the Big Ten, and it will look to build off an impressive 27-10 output a season ago. Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
Miami Facing Groundbreaking NIL Lawsuit Over Alleged Player Tampering
Miami Facing Groundbreaking NIL Lawsuit Over Alleged Player Tampering originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The ever-evolving world of college athletics, particularly NIL, may have reached a legal tipping point. The University of Miami now finds itself at the center of a groundbreaking lawsuit filed by the University of Wisconsin and its NIL collective, focused on alleged tampering involving cornerback Xavier Lucas. Advertisement According to a report from Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger, the University of Wisconsin and its NIL collective filed a complaint in state circuit court, claiming 'tortious interference' by Miami. The complaint alleges that the Hurricanes made impermissible contact with Lucas while he was still under contract with Wisconsin. This is believed to be the first legal action of its kind directly tied to NIL-era tampering. Wisconsin cornerback Xavier Lucas (6) is shown during the first quarter of their game against South Dakota Saturday, September 7 , 2024 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel At the heart of the case is Lucas, a South Florida native who signed a new contract with Wisconsin in December before transferring to Miami in January, without formally entering the NCAA transfer portal. The Badgers allege that Miami knowingly engaged with Lucas despite his existing agreement, which resulted in him breaching that deal and transferring. 'Miami interfered with UW-Madison's relationship with Student-Athlete A by making impermissible contact with him and engaging in tampering,' the suit reads, with Wisconsin seeking 'unspecified damages, transparency, and accountability.' Advertisement Whether the courts agree remains to be seen. However, legal experts and college football insiders believe this case could set a precedent for how tampering is defined and enforced moving forward. For now, Lucas remains eligible to play for the Hurricanes this fall, where he's expected to make an immediate impact on a secondary that allowed the sixth-most passing touchdowns per game in the ACC last season. Lucas was 247Sports' 20th overall player and first-ranked cornerback in the transfer portal this offseason. His addition was viewed as a major win for new Hurricanes defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman's defense, and it now carries potentially significant off-field implications. As the NIL era continues to evolve, Miami's role in this case could shape how schools recruit, retain, and protect their athletes and navigate the legal lines surrounding NIL, player contracts, and tampering. The Hurricanes have not yet issued a public statement on the lawsuit. Related: Rookie QB Cam Ward's Surprising Trash Talk Highlights His Confidence at Titans OTAs This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
WATCH: The moment the Utah Jazz selected Wisconsin basketball star John Tonje
After being selected in the second round of the 2025 NBA draft, former Wisconsin basketball star John Tonje will officially don NBA threads during the 2025-26 season. On Thursday, the Utah Jazz selected the North Omaha, Nebraska, native with the 53rd overall pick of the draft. After six years of collegiate basketball with three different programs, Tonje becomes the first Badger to be drafted since 2022, joining lottery pick and former Big Ten Player of the Year Johnny Davis. Advertisement And, like his fellow 58 draftees, Tonje witnessed his dream materialize before his very eyes. On Thursday evening at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Deputy Commissioner of the NBA Mark Tatum uttered the words every aspiring professional hooper hopes to hear: "With the 53rd pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, the Utah Jazz select John Tonje from the University of Wisconsin." The AP Second-Team All-American and First-Team All-Big Ten team member certainly earned his position on the Jazz. In 37 appearances in 2024-25, Tonje averaged 19.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting a blistering 46.5% from the field, 39% from 3 and 91% from the free-throw line. Tonje also recorded three 30+ point performances against top-10 opponents, including a 41-tally outburst against No. 9 Arizona in November, a 32-point explosion against No. 7 Purdue in February, and another 32-point barrage vs. No. 7 Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship semifinal in March. Tonje punctuated his collegiate career with 37 points in Wisconsin's NCAA Tournament Round of 32 loss against BYU. That outing gave him the program record for the most points in an NCAA Tournament game. Advertisement "Just had a great year at Wisconsin," ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas said on the broadcast. "John Tonje has a strong frame. He's tough, he's aggressive, [a] good shooter with a high release and a good driver. He's very good on the move, but it's his physicality, he just bullied his way to the free throw line over and over again this year. He made the most free throws of any player this last year in Division I basketball." Tonje is one of three Jazz draftees alongside Rutgers forward Ace Bailey (No. 5 overall) and Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. (No. 18). He will join Johnny Juzang, Brice Sensabaugh, Kyle Filipowski, Keyonte George, Jordan Clarkson and Taylor Hendricks in Utah's second unit. The Jazz will look to improve off a 17-65 finish during the 2024-25 season and secure its first playoff birth since 2022. Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin Basketball star John Tonje Utah Jazz NBA Draft Announcement
