In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Mike Lucas and Tom Oates assess how the transfer portal and name, image, likeness (NIL) money are impacting the Badgers men’s basketball team. Since the season ended, stars Connor Essegian, AJ Storr, and Chucky Hepburn have all sought greener pastures.  “You know what the most sobering thing is for Wisconsin? They aren’t in the top-tier in terms of NIL money…. Now all of a sudden, Wisconsin is a feeder program,”says Oates, the former Wisconsin State Journal sports columnist. “The system is broken. It’s complete chaos. College basketball ..read more

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Mike Lucas and Tom Oates review the 2024 Masters Tournament in which Scottie Scheffler won another green jacket. Tiger Woods made the cut at the Augusta Nationals for a record-setting 24th consecutive time but finished with one of the worst scores of his long career.  “Watching Tiger play was kind of painful. He finished, like, 16 over. 16 over!” says Lucas, a Cap Times sports freelance writer and former radio color analyst for the Badgers. “He looked in rough shape. He was pained. It was like he was struggling just to get up to the gree ..read more

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Mike Lucas and Tom Oates debrief the men’s and women’s NCAA championship games. Purdue and Iowa both lost to UConn and South Carolina respectively, but at least the Big Ten was represented in the finals of both tournaments.  “I think what happened — if you want to draw parallels between the two —  is they both ran into a really good team,” says Oates, the former Wisconsin State Journal sports columnist. “South Carolina is deep and they are good. And the UConn men’s team is a complete team. They waltzed through this tournament two ye ..read more

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Mike Lucas and Tom Oates react to the news that the Badgers are losing sophomore guard Connor Essegian to the transfer portal. Last season, Essegian made the Big Ten’s All-Freshman team and played in every game. It was a different story this year.  “When Essegian had chances, he didn’t make the most of it. But the coaching staff didn't do him any favors,” says Oates, the former Wisconsin State Journal sports columnist. “There were multiple points this season when they could have used his scoring ability. Essegian was capable of averaging ..read more

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Mike Lucas coaxes Tom Oates into divulging his tips for filling out a bracket in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. “Take your Final Four and work backward. .... Remember the first weekend is always chaos,” advises Oates, the former Wisconsin State Journal sports columnist. But he says look out for the teams that may be better than they appear on paper. “Auburn is absolutely the most underseeded in the tournament.” The veteran journalists are also thrilled that the Badgers played up to their full potential in the Big Ten Tournament. Wiscon ..read more

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Mike Lucas and Tom Oates discuss Green Bay adding top-notch running back Josh Jacobs to its roster while releasing longtime Packer Aaron Jones. “I thought Jones would have been a perfect match with Josh Jacobs,” says Oates, the former Wisconsin State Journal sports columnist. “However, the Packers have a lot of picks in the draft and they can go find themselves another running back. But I can guarantee you one thing, whoever they draft won’t be as good as Aaron Jones.” The veteran sports journalists also preview the Wisconsin men’s basketball ..read more

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Mike Lucas and Tom Oates continue to wait for the Wisconsin men’s basketball team to shore up its defensive game. The Badgers scored 83 points against the Fighting Illini and still lost by eight points.  “Wisconsin has to play defense for 40 minutes like they play for about 20 minutes every game,” says Oates, the former Wisconsin State Journal sports columnist. “Sometimes, the Badgers just can’t get a stop and it’s been at critical times in games.  Lucas thinks the Badgers have had lackluster ball pressure all season.   “I ..read more

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Mike Lucas and Tom Oates talk about how to deal with college fans storming the basketball court after a big win. After Wake Forest’s recent upset against Duke, fans injured Blue Devils star Kyle Filipowski.  “How do you even contain it? There were kids on the floor before the final second ticked off in that Duke game against Wake Forest,” says Oates, the former Wisconsin State Journal sports columnist. “Security has to really concentrate on the visiting players and coaches because that’s where the problem comes in.”  Lucas says the ..read more

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Mike Lucas and Tom Oates provide the history for why former Wisconsin men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan deserves to be inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.  “What he did at UW-Platteville — alone — is worthy of getting him into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame,” says Oates, the former Wisconsin State Journal sports columnist. “Bo didn’t get there by recruiting 5-star players. He’s a phenomenal coach…. It’s ridiculous he’s not in already.”  Lucas says Ryan has great passion for the sport.  “If you watched ..read more

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Mike Lucas and Tom Oates recap the Kansas City Chiefs' victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. Lucas says the better quarterback won.  “(Chiefs QB) Patrick Mahomes led the team in rushing. He’s got one of the most deceptive gates,” says Lucas, a Cap Times sports freelance writer and former radio color analyst for the Badgers. “I did think it was a bad first half for a Super Bowl. I thought it dragged. I thought there wasn’t much going.”  Oates agrees Mahomes proved why he’s the best quarterback in the league. “The ..read more