The Streak: Sweet 17
March 27, 2007 | Men's Basketball
In the fourth of a 10-part series reviewing the historic 2006-07 men's basketball season, assistant director of athletic communications Brian Lucas takes a look at the Badgers' record-setting 17-game winning streak.
You don't mount a winning streak by looking ahead. You take care of this game and then start looking at the next one. It's one of Coach Ryan's basic coaching tenets, what's next' And while you're in the middle of it, you really don't analyze it, you just hope it doesn't end with the next one. That's how it was in December and January. There was another game on the schedule and somehow, when the buzzer sounded, there was another W in the final column. Now that it's over, though, we can analyze it a little.
There wasn't much time to celebrate Coach Ryan's 500th victory. After beating Auburn we headed back to the hotel for a quick shower then off to the airport for the flight back to Madison. We arrived home later that night and returned to the practice floor on Sunday to prepare for a Tuesday night ACC-Big Ten Challenge showdown with Florida State.
In one of the few bright spots for the Big Ten in made-for-TV event, Wisconsin defeated the Seminoles, 81-66. Alando Tucker made his 2006-07 national television debut with 22 points ( sportid=116&storyid=9802"> --> Game Recap ). The Badgers closed November with a 6-1 record and ranked 12th by the Associated Press.
To open December, UW hosted a pair of teams a day apart. Mother Nature nearly had something to say about that as Florida International, the team Wisconsin was scheduled to play on Saturday, Dec. 2, almost didn't make it to Madison in time for tip-off. And when they did arrive, their gear was nowhere to be found. Thanks to some local businesses, the Golden Panthers were outfitted with jerseys and sneakers. For a team that didn't get in town until 5 a.m. for a 1 p.m. start, FIU put forth a valiant effort, falling 79-63 ( sportid=116&storyid=9827"> --> Game Recap ).
Two days later the Winthrop Eagles came to town. Four months before they would become the darlings of bracketologists around the country, Winthrop almost became one of the few visiting teams to leave the Kohl Center with a win. The Eagles set a building record with 15 3-pointers but Michael Flowers' career-high 21 points and game-tying putback in the final seconds of regulation saved the Badgers ( sportid=116&storyid=9843"> --> Game Recap ).
Next was a national TV date with in-state rival Marquette. The largest crowd to ever see a college basketball game in the state of Wisconsin witnessed an intense matchup. The MU student section was just about full when the Badgers took the court for warm-ups an hour and a half before tip-off. The game had its share of great UW moments, including Marcus Landry's left-handed block of a David Cubillan attempted breakaway lay-up, but I 'll remember it for Alando Tucker not allowing the Badgers to lose. He finished with 28 points, including two driving lay-ups after Marquette cut the lead to four points with less than 1:30 to play ( sportid=116&storyid=9873"> --> Game Recap ).
Following a home win over UW-Milwaukee ( sportid=116&storyid=9901"> --> Game Recap ), the Badgers faced No. 2 Pitt in a nationally televised home game, the first of Dick Vitale's two visits to Madison this season. Tucker and Brian Butch dominated for UW, combining for 59 points and 21 rebounds ( sportid=116&storyid=9912"> --> Game Recap ). Partly because of Vitale's presence but mainly because of his unconscious shooting (who will forget his step-back, fadeaway 3-pointer) Tucker firmly established himself as a legitimate national player of the year candidate with that performance. And with its second Top-20 win in a week, the Badgers jumped into fourth in the A.P. poll, their highest national ranking ever.
UW sandwiched the Christmas Holiday with wins over Pacific ( sportid=116&storyid=9939"> --> Game Recap ) and Gardner-Webb ( sportid=116&storyid=9948"> --> Game Recap ). To close the non-conference season, Wisconsin traveled to Georgia. Though slightly warmer than Madison at the end of December, Athens was wet and chilly. Another lights-out performance by Tucker ( sportid=116&storyid=9961"> --> Game Recap ) eased the trouble of having to bus to Atlanta following the game. Turns out our plane couldn't get into Athens because of the weather.
So Wisconsin entered Big Ten play with a 14-1 record, ranked fourth in the country and having won 10 consecutive games. The 14-1 start was the best since the 1928-29 season. The Badgers hosted Minnesota to open the conference season and dispatched the Gophers 68-45 ( sportid=116&storyid=9986"> --> Game Recap ), a game highlighted by the dunk of the season by Michael Flowers.
That set up a top-five showdown with Ohio State, the first of what would be three meetings with the Buckeyes this season. Dick Vitale was back and while Alando Tucker was good, it was Kammron Taylor who stole the show with 25 points. A 14-0 Badger run in the second half gave them enough breathing room to hold off OSU down the stretch ( sportid=116&storyid=10007"> --> Game Recap ).
The OSU win gave UW 12 straight victories, tying for the fifth-longest streak in school history. After a win at Northwestern ( sportid=116&storyid=10065"> --> Game Recap ) Wisconsin moved up to second in the A.P. poll, behind only Florida. In the battle of the brothers Landry, Carl had 16 points, Marcus had a monster block of a dunk attempt by Carl and the Badgers prevailed 69-64 ( sportid=116&storyid=10095"> --> Game Recap ). With 14 straight wins, UW was now just one shy of the school record.
And to get it, the Badgers had to win in the only Big Ten arena that head coach Bo Ryan had yet to walk out of a winner, Illinois' Assembly Hall. With a surprise performance by Greg Stiemsma (12 points) and gutsy plays by Tucker and Taylor down the stretch, Wisconsin exorcised the demons with a 71-64 some-from-behind victory ( sportid=116&storyid=10112"> --> Game Recap ).
Michigan was next at the Kohl Center, arriving just one game behind UW for first place in the Big Ten. The Wolverines scored the first nine points but Wisconsin outscored them 71-49 the rest of the way for the victory ( sportid=116&storyid=10153"> --> Game Recap ). The 16-game winning streak was the longest in the country and the longest single-season streak in school history. More importantly it gave the Badgers a 6-0 record in the conference and kept them in first place.
On their way to getting win No. 17 in a row, the Badgers made a quick pit stop, literally. On the trip to Iowa City from Madison on Jan. 27, the team bus stopped off at UW-Platteville to join in honoring head coach Bo Ryan. The Pioneers dedicated the court Williams Fieldhouse in Ryan's honor, re-naming it 'Bo Ryan Court.' Alando Tucker was obviously fired up by the ceremony because he went out the next day on national television and lit up Iowa for 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting. The 57-46 win ( sportid=116&storyid=10190"> --> Game Recap ) made UW 7-0 in Big Ten play for the first time since 1913-14 and 21-1 for the first time in school history.
As everyone knows, the winning streak came to an end at Indiana ( sportid=116&storyid=10218"> --> Game Recap ), with the Hoosier fans storming the court. Here are some facts and figures on the 17-game streak:
* UW went 11-0 at home, 5-0 on the road and 1-0 at neutral sites.
* Three of the wins came against Top-20 teams.
* Wisconsin outscored its opponents by an average of 15.1 points.
* It was tied for the third-longest streak in the country this season.
* The Badgers went 67 days without a loss.
Be sure to check out the 2006-07 men's basketball season review page here for daily updates and links to final statistics, records, honors and much more.
