It's part three of our series looking back at the individuals that made up the 2011-12 Badgers and how they performed and contributed to the Sweet 16 effort.  Today it's the Bruiser himself, Mike Bruesewitz under the microscope as Cole and I had out our grade and our reasoning behind it.

Before getting to him don't forget to check out our looks at Jared Berggren and Ben Brust from earlier this week. 

Mike Bruesewitz entered 2012 as one of the only front court players we knew anything solid about.  The previous year he started 13 games and played nearly 20 minutes a ball game.  He was expected to be someone the Badgers leaned on up front because of his experience and because he is known for his effort on the defensive floor.  But did his play match expectations?  

Overall Stats: 

5.6ppg, 5.2rpg, 1.7apg, 38.7%FG shooting, 28.4% 3pt shooting, 70.6%FT shooting

Grades: 

Cole: C 

Andy:  C 

- Wisconsin started the same lineup for every game this year, the only team in all of Division I to do so and Bruesewitz was among that group.  However, he didn't really take the leap on the offensive end that some were hoping for.  The redshirt junior only averaged one more point per game despite playing nearly 6 more minutes a game.  He ended up averaging just 5.6ppg in 2011-12 and shot a putride 38.6% from the field this year.  On the plus side he did dish out 57 assists on the year.  The grades would've been lower had he not been someone that did well on the defensive end of the court where he ripped down an average of 5.2 rebounds a game and did well against some of the better 3's in the game.  Overall he scored in double digits 6 times for the Badgers this season, including a high of 13 points twice ( vs. BYU, Northwestern).  His best game was easily the home contest against Ohio State where Bruiser had a double double of 11 points and 11 rebounds in the losing effort.  

According to a report from Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel multiple sources say that Danny O'Brien is becoming a Wisconsin Badger, which was recently confirmed by the Badgers themselves.  O'Brien will be graduating from Maryland this Spring and under NCAA rules will be eligible to play immediately at Wisconsin.  He's also got two years of eligibility to bring to the Badgers.

"We're excited that Danny has chosen to attend Wisconsin," Badgers Head Coach Bret Bielema said in a statement.  "The first thing we did when we were aware of Danny's interest was to try and find out what type of person he was and if he would fit into our program.  From our dealings with him and the things I have heard from those who have been around him, he is a tremendous person and has great character.  He had a fantastic visit and our current players who met him came away impressed.  Having graduated from Maryland in just three years, you know right away that he is a smart kid."

Bielma also indicated that nothing was promised to him.  "As is the case with any player who joins our program, whe have not promised Danny anything other than the chance to come in during the fall and compete for the starting quarterback position," said Bielema.  "He understands that and is excited for the opportunity."

He chose Wisconsin after visiting just three schools (Wisconsin, Penn State, and Ole Miss) and considered Vanderbilt as well, which didn't get a visit by O'Brien.  His arrival this summer seemingly solves a glaring issue at quarterback for the Badgers.  But is it time to let out a collective sigh of relief just yet?  

One would have to assume it's time for Badger Nation to at least let go of some of the concern surrounding the QB position.  After all the Badgers are bringing in someone who's got a combination no other QB that will be in fall camp has in 1) actual starting experience in a college football game and 2) he's completely healthy.  

After spending more than half of the season on the road, the Wisconsin softball team finally comes home for the first time this weekend with a series against conference rival Northwestern. 

The Badgers (13-10, 2-1 Big Ten) and Wildcats square off in a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 12 p.m. before meeting again on Sunday at 2 p.m., all at Goodman Diamond just off of the UW campus. 

Wisconsin got the Big Ten season started on a high note last weekend, winning the season series over Iowa two games to one. The Badgers won the first game of last Saturday's doubleheader, 1-0, before giving up a two-run lead late in the second game to split the series at one game a piece going into Sunday's meeting. 

Sophomore starting pitcher Cassandra Darrah kept Iowa (11-17, 1-2) off of the scoreboard for most of the series finale until the sixth inning, when Katie Keim hit a three-run home run to put the Hawkeyes within 4-3. Junior Molly Spence then scored sophomore Mary Massei to give the Badgers an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Iowa scored another run to cut UW's lead in half but that was as close as they would get, as Darrah made the final batter ground out with the bases loaded to win the game.

“That was a critical weekend for us, to put together some wins,” said head coach Yvette Healy in a recent press conference. “They weren't pretty games, and they were all one-run games, but to come out with two wins is huge on the road.”

Massei also scored the lone run of the opening game and went 1-for-2 with 1 RBI in the loss. Freshman Maria Van Abel, who currently leads the Big Ten with her .455 batting average, was one of eight Badgers who scored at least one run over the weekend. Classmate Marissa Mersch finished Sunday's game with 2 RBIs as one of four players who had at least one RBI in Iowa City. Darrah got the nod on the mound all weekend, pitching 20 total innings of work and three complete games, while improving her record to 9-5. 

Although the Badgers' 23-game road stand to start the season was cut short at times due to inclement weather, Healy says she's learned a lot about her young squad, both on and off of the field. 

“They are just a nice, hardworking group of athletes,” she said. “We're looking for a little more grit, and we're starting to get it. 

“You see that they want to win, and they're starting to put the time and the effort, and they're really emotionally invested in it.”

Healy is hoping to see more of that from her team this weekend against Northwestern (11-17, 0-3), which was swept by conference newcomer Nebraska over the weekend. Despite losing all three games against the Huskers, the Wildcats kept it close, rallying to cut Nebraska's lead to 7-6 in the second game. Northwestern as a team also scored more runs against the Huskers in the opening game (Nebraska won 9-6) than they allowed in their last seven games. 

Sophomore Marisa Bast leads the Wildcats with her .434 batting average, while classmate Sammy Albanese leads the Northwestern pitchers with a 2.65 ERA. Darrah, meanwhile, leads the Badgers and is seventh among all conference pitchers with a 2.30 ERA. 

Northwestern hosts city rival UIC on Wednesday afternoon before its series with the Badgers, who visit the Flames next week during Wisconsin's spring break. 

First pitch for Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for 12 p.m., while Sunday's game is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Fans can listen to all of the Badgers' home games on 91.7 FM in Madison or at wsum.org. Sunday's series finale will also be broadcast live on BTN.

In football the Quarterback position is the glamour position and right now at Wisconsin it couldn't be more less-than glamorous thanks to injuries that will limit or keep out 2 QB's from Spring and have left the Badgers depleted to say the least.  It's left many wondering what needs to change to correct this issue, or if there is anything that can be done?  Monday we got a few answers from Bret Bielema as he sat down with the media to update how the beginning of Spring football has been going.  

The depth at the QB position has been a huge concern as right now Wisconsin is looking at only two being healthy enough to work in the Spring game on April 28th in Junior Joe Brennan and Redshirt Freshman Joel Stave.  

But doing some research it's become clear that this problem actually took shape all the way back in 2009.  That's when James Stallons left the program because of grades and left Wisconsin really one QB short ever since.  

Not only that but Curt Phillips, now a Senior, has suffered through 3 ACL surgeries and hasn't seen the field since 2009 in his own right.  Right there the Badgers began to really become two quarterbacks short on the roster.

Because of the health issues some have questioned Bielema's annual grab of just one quarterback per recruiting class.  Thanks to Jon Budmayr and Curt Phillips' injuries and incoming QB Bart Houston probably limited at the start of fall camp coming off of shoulder surgery it's easy to see why some would bring up those questions this Spring.

However, for Bielema it's not even a concern at this point.  

"First off, I made a decision, conscientious decision my first year: we were going to sign one quarterback and one tailback every year," said Bielema.  "Obviously, the predicament that you get in is if you have two quarterbacks, or in our situation, three quarterbacks, and it didn't work out because of injuries and with James Stallons because he flunked out."

Last season the Badgers were faced with nearly the same situation as this year, the only difference being what we assumed was a healthy Jon Budmayr out of Spring football.  Wisconsin knew it needed some experience and landed Russell Wilson who as it turned out saved the Badgers season as Budmayr wouldn't go beyond the first week or so in Fall camp and was later on shut down for the entire season with an elbow injury.

It's day two in our Grading the Basketball Badgers series and it's Jared Berggren's turn under the microscope.  

If you missed our first player in the series, the Madison Microwave himself you can find our look at Ben Brust by clicking here.  But here is our look at Jared Berggren's 2011-12 season.

One of the biggest question marks entering the 2011-12 season was the front court for Wisconsin.  The Badgers had to replace both star Jon Leuer and fellow big man Keaton Nankivil.  The one person that we knew would be in the mix was Mike Bruesewitz and the one guy that had the biggest question mark was Jared Berggren.  He had played a very minor role over his first two seasons and we simply didn't know how he'd respond to the increased minutes and the increased pressure of starting at the Big Ten level.  

So how did his first season as a starter turn out?  

Overall Stats: 

10.5ppg, 4.9rpg, 45.2%FG's, 37.2%3pt FG's, 60 blocks

Grades: 

Cole: A 

Andy: A 

- Berggren went from a complete bit player last year to the 3rd leading scorer and rebounder on this team.  His numbers increased dramatically and by the season's end he was the one person the Badgers looked to on the inside.  However, he also was deadly from outside hitting 45 three pointers on the year, good for 3rd on the team.  All of his stats led him to be a consensus Honorable Mention All- Big Ten selection.  The one thing that prevented me from giving him an A + was that his shooting numbers and scoring dropped in conference play where he only averaged 8.9ppg and shot just 39% from the field.  He did however grab 5.1 rebounds a game, better than his overall average.  He also had trouble with fouls and that was never more evident than in the season ending loss to Syracuse in the Sweet 16.

Heading into his senior season he'll now be counted on to be one of the rocks on the team as there will be no Jordan Taylor to lead the way in scoring.  The question he's about to face is what can he do to improve on the numbers he put up and can he handle being one of the leaders of the team along with Ryan Evans and Mike Bruesewitz.

The MTB Radio Network brought you the full breakdown of what we saw from the Regional Rounds of the NCAA tournament as well as took a look at the Final Four weekend ahead in New Orleans.  

We asked the hard hitting questions like "Would you want to be a security guard at the Kentucky vs. Louisville game?" and much much more.  So take a listen to College Tournament Central - Final Four Here We Come! hosted by our editor Andy and his trusted college basketball buddy Mike Holder.  

So sit back for a great hour of basketball talk and join us next Monday night for our "One Shining Moment" special that will follow the end of the NCAA Tournament Championship game!!  

Here is tonight's episode: 

With the Badgers season ending this past Thursday it's time to grade out the Badgers on an individual basis as both Cole (our basketball reporter) and myself give you a look at the players and their individual seasons.

Did they live up to expectations?  Over produce or under produce? All of those things were taken into account and today we start our series with the name at the top of the alphabet this year and that's Ben Brust.  

Overall Stats: 

7.3 points per game, 2.2 rebounds per game, .389% 3 point shooting & 21.3 minutes a game

Grades:                                                                                    

Cole: B-                                                                                    

Andy: C +

- Coming into the season Brust was expected to be one of the best options off the bench and for the most part he was a very good option for the Badgers when Gasser or Taylor needed a spell.  However, as the season went on he dissapeared a bit.  His numbers dipped in Big Ten play nearly all around as he averaged just 5.5 points per game and shot just .299 % from deep.  Those numbers just won't cut it for a guy who's supposed to be a sharp shooter off the bench for Wisconsin.  Had his numbers in conference play been a bit higher I would've agreed with Cole's grade more and I can see why a B - is possible because he did a lot more than just shoot from deep this year, but I can't get over the drop in production during conference games.  Brust did finish the season with the 6th most minutes played on the Badgers team and had then 8th highest point average of all bench players in the Big Ten, but I was honestly expecting him to be more of a factor all season and he just wasn't a guy that stood out for the most part especially when the conference season hit.

He scored a career high 25 points against UNLV, tying a school record with 7 three pointers (7-7) in the game.  Brust topped 20 points one other time in non-conference play, going for 21 points against BYU.  He also scored 13 points against both Indiana and Purdue as his higlights of the year.  However, he also had 4 conference games in which he failed to record a single point along with both Big Ten tournament games where he failed to score a point.  

(photo courtesy Jim Prisching/AP)

We're only a few practices into the Spring football camp, but it's already made an impact on in-state recruit Austim Ramesh.  Ramesh committeed to Wisconsin after practice on Saturday according to multiple reports from Badge247 and The Badger Nation.  

He will look to probably "grayshirt", meaning he'll pay his own way for the first semester and then become a scholarship player.  It's due to the small number of scholarships available and with Ramesh being an in-state recruit it's easier for him to pay his own way for one semester.  

So, what does Ramesh bring to the table?  Let's check out his recruiting stats:

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 215lbs.

Hometown/High School: Eagle River, WI/Northland Pines

Rankings: 

247sports: 4*, NR nationally, 21st ATH, 2nd state

Rivals: 3*, NR nationally, position, or state

Scout: NR at all as of yet

According to reports he's being looked at as a FB or linebacker for the Badgers.  He most likely will get a look at the fullback spot first because of a lack of depth at that position.  He ran for 2,200 yards this past season for Northland Pines and had offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan, and a few more.  He joins MLB Garrett Dooley as the first two commits in the class of 2013 for the Badgers.

Here's a video of him if you want to see what he looked like in his Junior season.

We pride ourselves on bringing you the most complete and comprehensive coverage here at MadTown Badgers and with that we'd like to welcome the newest addition to our staff in Caissa Casarez.  She's joining our team as our Women's Sports Editor and will be contributing in other ways.  

She comes to us with experience covering and working with Wisconsin athletics and that experience combined with her passion give her a great voice for Badger Women's sports.  We hope you enjoy our efforts to cover the Badgers in ways no other source of information does for you.  

Join myself and the rest of the staff in welcoming Caissa to the team and we can't wait to expand our coverage of Women's sports here at MadTown Badgers.  ON WISCONSIN!!

The Wisconsin Badger's season ended last Thursday night with a heart breaking 64-63 loss at the hands of top seeded Syracuse. The Badgers were only a shot away from one of the greatest wins in school history and a rematch with Ohio State with a Final Four on the line. It was a roller coaster ride all season for Badger fans. Wisconsin finished with a 26-10 record and were 12-6 in the Big Ten. Here we look back at the Badger's season.

Coming in to the season, expectations weren't sky high for the Badgers. After losing big men Jon Leuer and Keaton Nankivil, there were many uncertainties of who whould fill their roles. Jared Berggren had recieved minimal minutes backing up Leuer the previous year and Ryan Evans was still a developing player. Who would have thought that these two players would be the biggest key to Wisconsin's success? 

There also was a lot of anticipation regarding Jordan Taylor's senior season. Taylor put up big numbers the previous year in route to being named a All-American. Everyone thought that he had a chance to have one of the greatest seasons in school history. 

Wisconsin started off the season strong by going 6-0 including a win over BYU to win the Chicago Invintational Tournament. On November 30th the Badgers traveled to Chapel Hill to take on the #5 Tarheels in the B1G-ACC challenge. The Badgers showed signs of briliance in the three point loss, but UNC's talent was just too much. Many Badger fans gained some faith after that game.

That faith didn't last very long, though. Just four days later state rival Marquette marched in to the Kohl Center and beat the Badgers 61-54. Wisconsin looked uninspired and inspired and lathargic in the loss. They responded with a 6 game winning streak that included a win over UNLV and a win in their Big Ten opener at Nebraska. The Badgers seemed to be on the right track.

It didn't take very long for them to get off that right track though, as the Badgers returned home to one of the ugliest home loses in the Bo Ryan era. Unranked Iowa came in to the Kohl Center on New Years Eve and outplayed the Badgers 72-65. Three days later, #11 Michigan State came to town and topped the Badgers 63-60, after the refs waved off Ryan Evan's buzzer beater three. After that, Wisconsin traveled to Ann Arbor and got stomped by #13 Michigan. The 1-3 record in the Big Ten was one of Bo Ryan's worst conference starts. But then, the team started to get hot.