{image1} The Badgers and Panthers are rated high in their respective conferences. Marquette enters its last season in the Conference USA. A couple small colleges look strong.
It all adds up to another entertaining season of college hoops for state basketball fans. Coach Bo Ryan's main challenge at UW will be to find a replacement for All-American point guard Devin Harris, who now is with the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA.
Boo Wade seemed the natural replacement, but he is on indefinite leave for personal reasons. Sophomore Kammran Taylor is making a bid for the spot.
Senior forward Mike Wilkinson and sophomore Alando Tucker, who is coming off an injury that cost him last season, have made several pre-season All Big Ten teams. Zach Morley, who showed offensive ability last season, and transfer Shariff Chambliss also should be contributors.
The Badgers were picked third, behind Illinois and Michigan State, in the Big Ten, but if Ryan can find a decent point guard look for UW to challenge for the top again.
Coach Bruce Pearl has lost star Dylan Page to graduation, but has Ed McCants and Joah Tucker back. Both were picked to pre-season All Horizon League teams.
Forward Adrian Tigert also brings experience and some bulk up front. An interesting player could turn out to be James Wright, who was a budding star before a serious leg injury two years ago. Wright saw limited duty last season, but could be ready to regain his status this season.
UWM was picked to win the Horizon in pre-season polls. Illinois-Chicago and UW-Green Bay are expected to be the Panthers' closest challengers.
Marquette will be playing its last season in C-USA. After this year, the Golden Eagles -- along with Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville and South Florida -- head to the Big East.
The Golden Eagles are picked to finish in the middle of the pack of C-USA, but coach Tom Crean could have some surprises in store. Guard Travis Diener won't surprise anybody. He's an All-American candidate and the best player in the state.
If freshman Dameon Mason lives up to his potential, and a couple other underclassmen develop, Marquette could make some noise in its last season in C-USA.
UW-Stevens Point, the NCAA Div. III champ last season, is rated No. 1 again by D3hoops.com. The Pointers, also favorites to win the WIAC, are led by Jason Kalsow, who averaged 17.9 points a game last season, and Nick Bennett, who averaged 25.5 in the NCAA tournament.
Platteville is rated 24th by D3 and should give the Pointers a run for their money in the WIAC. UWP returns four starters. Whitewater, River Falls and Oshkosh also are given honorable mentions by D3.
Stevens Point and Platteville are playing Division I schools in the state this season. The Pointers lost to Marquette, 78-65, Tuesday night. Platteville played the Badgers Wednesday night. See a Sports Buzz Update at the end of this column on Thursday for that score.
Lawrence, which finished 24-5 last season, is rated seventh by D3.
Admirals Update
An un-named local investor reportedly has expressed some interest in buying the Admirals, after Fran Croak, governor of the hockey franchise, confirmed last week that negotiations have ended with Denver investor Bill Stewart. A breakdown in talks with Stewart was reported two weeks ago in this column.
The Admirals have been for sale for months. The operators of the Pettit trust fund, which currently owns the team, has said the team would play this season, but gave no guarantee after that. Two longtime front office employees of the team were let go last week.
Despite the uncertainty in ownership, the Admirals have gotten off to a strong defense of their American Hockey League championship with an 8-0-1-0 record as of this writing.
Hot Tix
The Packers return from a bye week to take on the Minnesota Vikings in a 3:15 p.m. game at Lambeau Field Sunday. The Packers need a win if they are going to keep the momentum they built before the bye week.
In college football, the UW Badgers travel to Michigan State to try to keep their undefeated season going. The Badgers are ranked fifth in the BCS poll this week.
UW-La Crosse and UW-Whitewater square off for the WIAC football title at 1 p.m. Saturday in Whitewater. Both teams take 4-2 records into the game.
Carthage College hosts Elmhurst in Kenosha at 1 p.m. Saturday in its final CCIW game. Carthage, 8-1 overall, 5-1 in the conference, snuck into the Division III national ratings and is tied for the CCIW lead with Wheaton and Augustana.
The Bucks host New Orleans at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Bradley Center. Before that game on Saturday, the Admirals host Houston at 1:30 p.m. in the B.C. The Wave hosts Cleveland in soccer at 6:05 p.m. Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Arena.
In college basketball, Marquette hosts the BCA Classic at the Bradley Center starting Sunday and running through Tuesday. UW plays Platteville next Tuesday. UWM played Lawrence Wednesday night. The results will be posted as a Sports Buzz Update at the end of this column on Thursday. The Panthers are then off until Nov. 20 when they host Prairie View at the U.S. Cellular Arena.
