Tip time, TV channel announced for Wisconsin basketball March Madness opener vs. Montana
The No. 3-seed Wisconsin Badgers will open their 2025 NCAA Tournament quest on Thursday afternoon against No. 14-seed Montana.
Wisconsin enters March Madness after a disappointing loss to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament championship game. Still, the team will carry significant momentum into the big dance after a successful conference tournament run, with victories over Northwestern, UCLA and Michigan State. The 26-9 Badgers are KenPom's No. 13-ranked team in the sport and the tournament's No. 12 overall seed.
Their opponent, the Montana Grizzlies, finished the season at 25-9, winning three straight postseason contests to capture the Big Sky Tournament title. Montana is KenPom's No. 157 overall team and the NCAA Tournament's No. 58 overall seed.
As recently announced, the Badgers and Grizzlies will tip off at 1:30 p.m. ET, 12:30 p.m. CT on Thursday afternoon. TNT will broadcast the game as part of its wire-to-wire March Madness coverage.
Watch Wisconsin vs. Montana live on Sling TV
Stay tuned throughout the week for specific previews and predictions for Wisconsin's opening matchup and broader NCAA Tournament quest. To start, here are major takeaways from the team's draw, seed and path.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Seahawks-Packers joint practice: Tempers boil over into fights; OL nearly settled
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Something about Ken Walker III crossing the goal line during a red zone period caused a scuffle between the Seattle Seahawks' offense and the Green Bay Packers' defense during a joint practice Thursday morning at Green Bay's practice facility. Once the fisticuffs began, Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold began to retreat toward the sideline. After about 10 steps or so, he turned around to peek at the fray. Advertisement 'Oh man, that pile has really grown a little bit,' Darnold thought to himself. 'Must be a serious scrum there.' Indeed, it was. Both sidelines cleared, which obstructed my view of the ruckus, though it did appear that Walker and Packers linebacker Quay Walker at point ended up on the ground at the bottom of the pile. That was the first of three fights during red zone drills. Once the skirmish between Seattle's offense and Green Bay's defense was cleared up, Seattle's defense got into it with Green Bay's offense on the far end of a separate field. Benches cleared in that instance — and again a few plays later. One of the fights was sparked when Seattle cornerback Devon Witherspoon entered the Green Bay huddle and was shoved by a Packers lineman. Witherspoon shoved back, and then Packers right tackle Zach Tom retaliated with a punch at Witherspoon. Linebacker Ernest Jones IV came to Witherspoon's defense and took multiple swings at Tom, connecting twice. A massive pile formed as teammates from both sides rushed to intervene. 100 Gorillas vs 1 Ernest Jones and 1 Spoon I know who I'm taking — ᴅᴏxx ⚡️ (@new_era72) August 21, 2025 'We got each other's backs, man,' Seattle safety Coby Bryant said. 'We brothers. We go to war with each other each and every day, practice hard with each other. That's what it's about. That's what brotherhood is about.' A fight between Seattle's offense and Green Bay's defense seemed inevitable based on all the post-play barking, most notably between receiver Jake Bobo and cornerback Kamal Hadden. They have no prior history, Bobo said; they just enjoyed jawing back and forth with one another. Green Bay seemed to feed off Hadden's energy the way Seattle feeds off Witherspoon. Regarding the fight involving Ken Walker, Bobo said when he sees a 'high-value individual' like his starting running back in the middle of a skirmish, the first instinct is to remove the teammate from the brawl, then 'take care of whatever he was trying to care of.' Bobo doesn't consider himself the team's enforcer by any means, but he and other players know some of their teammates are too important to be risking injury in a joint-practice tussle. Advertisement 'You have to have a guy that's willing to take care of some business that you don't want your top guys getting into,' Bobo said. 'I'll be that guy as long as I'm here. I'm just happy we got a couple scuffles out there today. That was fun.' Once practice ended and both sides broke their respective huddles before heading into the locker rooms, defensive tackle Leonard Williams was among the Seattle players jawing at members of the Packers. Teammates intervened to make sure there was no physical contact. 'I didn't appreciate them coming to our sideline while practice was over — we've already broken the huddle, our guys are on our side, their guys are on their side,' Williams said. 'It's hard with these joint practices because stuff like that always happens; you don't want it to happen, but it just happens. We try to avoid it as much as possible, but I didn't appreciate it.' Seattle coach Mike Macdonald, who was with the defense the entire day, said it was hard to tell what initiated all the fighting. He said joint practices tend to get chippy, but he was pleased to see his team maintain its composure afterwards. 'You want your guys to defend their (teammates),' Macdonald said. 'There's a line. Whether we go past the line — I don't think we did, which is good. Our guys stayed composed. But some of these things do tend to happen. … People are going to react to a certain extent, but I think our guys handled it pretty well.' Here are additional notes and takeaways from Seattle's joint practice, which I spent shadowing Darnold and the first-team offense as it went against the Green Bay defense. Jalen Sundell took the majority of the first-team reps at center Thursday. But for the first time since his back injury a couple of weeks ago, Olu Oluwatimi got some reps with the starters as well. This was Oluwatimi's first practice as a full participant in weeks. He has missed both preseason games due to back tightness. Advertisement When Darnold's unit took the field for a two-minute drill to end practice, Sundell was the center. Asked if Sundell is their starter, Macdonald said, 'Jalen's with the ones right now, yeah.' 'We'll probably make an announcement sometime next week,' Macdonald said when asked whether he needs to see anything from the final preseason game to inform his decisions on a starting center and right guard (Anthony Bradford continues to take all the first-team reps at the latter position). The coach said Seattle's starters will not play in the preseason finale Saturday. The starting five is trending toward featuring left guard Grey Zabel, Sundell, Bradford, right tackle Abe Lucas and left tackle Charles Cross, who was a limited participant in Thursday's practice. This was Cross' first padded practice since his finger surgery last month. Macdonald said it's fair to assume that Cross' ability to practice Thursday indicates he'll be available for Week 1. Seattle received 'great news' about Tyrice Knight, who has been sidelined for over a week because of a knee injury and a separate, undisclosed medical issue. Macdonald did not offer any other details, but it appears Knight is on track to play in the season opener. 'It's a health matter,' Macdonald said. 'But they basically said, 'We're good to go and rock and roll.' He can start working out. He hasn't really worked out in a week, so we've got to be smart with him coming back.' Darnold had success finding Jaxon Smith-Njigba multiple times for conversions during a third-down period (this was a team period with Oluwatimi at center). Whether on quick passes against a blitz or long-developing concepts over the middle, Smith-Njigba was able to find space against Green Bay's defense. In seven-on-seven drills, he couldn't get his feet down in the back of the end zone on a back-shoulder throw from Darnold, but they hooked up later for a touchdown after Darnold broke the pocket and rolled right. On the first play after the fight in the red zone period, Smith-Njigba beat Hadden for a touchdown on a goal-line fade. 'Jax makes it look so easy, it's kind of annoying,' Bobo said. 'He's just talented. Great play. Great shot by Sammy. It's very hard to defend a goal-line fade playing inside leverage on Jax. I would have hated to be that corner.' Darnold said his chemistry with Smith-Njigba is growing because of all the post-practice work they do together to correct things they didn't execute to their liking during practice. 'That's the way we've been doing things in training camp, and it's obviously paying off a little bit,' Darnold said. 'So, we're just going to continue to do that and work the timing of different routes.' Rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo had the play of the day on offense when he made a twisting, one-handed snag over Quay Walker for a touchdown on third down during the red zone period. Playmaker. @arroyo_elijah36 — Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) August 21, 2025 'When he went up there with one hand, that big mitt, I knew that it was over a 50 percent chance of catching it,' Darnold said. 'It was an incredible catch.' In a separate team period, Zach Charbonnet broke a long run that might have gone the distance in a real game (Sundell was the center for that period). After the play, Smith-Njigba got into a shoving match and swung at a Green Bay defender's helmet. Advertisement Malik Willis, filling in for injured quarterback Jordan Love, converted multiple first downs and moved the starting offense into field goal position during the opening series of a two-minute drill to end practice. The possession began with three straight incompletions; Jones nearly had an interception on second down, and cornerback Josh Jobe broke up a crossing route on third down. But Willis connected on a deep pass to wide receiver Malik Heath with cornerback Riq Woolen in coverage to keep the drive going. Following two more incompletions, Willis hit tight end Luke Musgrave for a first down after bailing from the pocket and rolling left. Willis spiked the ball on the next snap, ending the drill. 'We did pretty well,' Bryant said of the starting defense's final series. 'We stuck it out together, made our plays and got the job done.' Seattle's starting offense came on after that and converted second-and-10 with a completion to Smith-Njigba. But on third-and-long after a holding call on the previous snap pushed them backward, Darnold threw deep with pressure in his face — Zabel lost his matchup, and his footing — and was intercepted by safety Evan Williams. 'It'd be good to go down and score,' Macdonald said of his offense's final drive. 'Let's go see what happened and go improve on it.' Rookie quarterback Jalen Milroe didn't get many reps Thursday, but he will start and play the entire preseason finale Saturday. 'It's a great opportunity for him to get great experience,' Macdonald said. 'All rookies, they need reps, they need experience, and Jalen is right there. I know he's excited for the opportunity, and he's going to do a great job. So, go out and operate the offense and go play ball the way you know how, and let's go.' (Photo of Devon Witherspoon, right: Tork Mason / USA Today Network via Imagn Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Packers-Seahawks joint practice: One big brawl and 9 other observations
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Zach Tom is the Packers' right tackle, one of the best in football at his position. On Thursday, he moonlighted as a Muhammad Ali impersonator. Tom, who signed a four-year, $88 million extension on the eve of training camp, got kicked out of joint practice with the Seahawks by head coach Matt LaFleur for throwing haymakers. The first two recipients were Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV and cornerback Devon Witherspoon. Advertisement Tom said Jones entered the Packers' huddle during an 11-on-11 period and hit a teammate, prompting his open-fisted swings. 'I saw him jump over the top of somebody and hit one of our guys … It was one of the other O-linemen. I'm not going to say his name,' Tom said. 'The play before that, it was a goal-line play and they were kind of going at it and (Jones) followed him into the huddle and he was all up in the huddle.' Crazy fight at #Packers #Seahawks joint practice. Zach Tom going to war (📹 @ on IG) — Alexander Basara (@Basaraski) August 21, 2025 Tom said that was the worst football fight he's ever been involved in and that he knows the team is going to fine him. He also said he's going to appeal the in-house fine and that the team better have footage of the entire incident, not just the part where he threw hands. 'I can have better control — not throwing punches — but, I don't know, it is what it is, you know? I can only control what I can control,' Tom said. 'It's already disrespectful that they're in our huddle, and then somebody gets hit while we're in the huddle. Got to have some pride, you know?' Other than Tom's melee with the Seahawks, here are nine other observations from the Packers' last practice of training camp after I watched Green Bay's defense against Seattle's offense for most of the day. 1. The Packers defense started the day well in 11-on-11 work during a first-down period against the Seahawks. Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper burst through the line of scrimmage for a run stuff of Zach Charbonnet, a similar play to one Cooper has made multiple other times in camp as he looks to build off a breakout rookie season. Linebacker Kristian Welch showed once again he can impact the defensive side of the ball and not just special teams, this time stuffing a Kenneth Walker III run up the middle. Amid two strong runs from Walker were a handful of standout defensive plays by the Packers, including a run stuff by undrafted rookie defensive tackle Nazir Stackhouse, defensive end Kingsley Enagbare's two-handed swat of Drew Lock's pass in the backfield and linebacker Ty'Ron Hopper's run stuff near the line of scrimmage. Advertisement 2. The Seahawks started a third-down period by converting four of their first five pass attempts to move the chains. Receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught three of those passes, one a phenomenal catch on third-and-2 for a big gain down the left sideline with cornerback Carrington Valentine in coverage, one on third-and-6 and the third on third-and-9 over the middle. On third-and-11, wideout Cooper Kupp drew a defensive pass interference flag on cornerback Kalen King. 'Cooper Kupp and 11 (Smith-Njigba) didn't do 1-on-1s, so that kinda irritated me,' cornerback Keisean Nixon said. 'But other than that, it was good work. Eleven, hell of a player. Cooper Kupp is who he is, and then everybody else, it is what it is.' The Packers finished the period well, highlighted by cornerback Kamal Hadden jumping a pass to former Packers receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, both defensive tackle Colby Wooden and Enagbare sacking the quarterback and cornerback Corey Ballentine breaking up a pass. 3. The Seahawks completed passes on nine of 12 plays in a 7-on-7 red-zone period. LaFleur said Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald allowed the Packers to add that period so quarterback Jordan Love and his rehabbing left thumb could get competitive reps outside 11-on-11 periods that Love didn't participate in. LaFleur 'despises' 7-on-7s. The absence of offensive and defensive lines makes them relatively useless in simulating realistic action. During this period between Green Bay's defense and Seattle's offense, Smith-Njigba had a nifty touchdown catch against Nixon on a back-shoulder play and another score on the next play off a scramble drill. Cornerback Bo Melton had good coverage to help force an incompletion on a fade to the left side, King drew an offensive pass interference call against tight end Marshall Lang, Hadden broke up a pass over the middle for wideout Tyrone Broden and receiver Ricky White III caught a touchdown on an in-breaking route against cornerback Tyron Herring. 4. An 11-on-11 red-zone period saw the first scuffle of the day between the Packers defense and Seahawks offense. Nickel Javon Bullard and a Seahawks offensive lineman started it, with Bullard offering a two-handed shove after taking exception to something (in these periods, it's sometimes difficult to see what's happening because reporters are standing behind the Seahawks sideline and not allowed to move for a better view). Defensive end Rashan Gary began the period with two consecutive impressive plays against the run before rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo made a spectacular one-handed touchdown catch with linebacker Quay Walker in coverage. Stackhouse broke into the backfield to flush quarterback Jalen Milroe out of the pocket on one play and Smith-Njigba caught another touchdown during this period. Advertisement 5. The Seahawks ripped off three consecutive big runs in an 11-on-11 move-the-ball period, two by Charbonnet and one by Walker. Smith-Njigba also made another big catch down the middle from quarterback Sam Darnold. Seattle was flagged four times during this period, including when Cooper threatening near the line of scrimmage pre-snap might've caused right tackle Abraham Lucas to jump early. Bullard also narrowly missed an interception, all-out diving for a Darnold pass over the middle that found Smith-Njigba for a first down. Cooper Kupp, Sam Darnold and Drew Lock riding bikes to practice here in Green Bay — Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) August 21, 2025 6. Both the Packers' starting and backup defenses won their respective two-minute drills against Seattle's offense. In 1s vs. 1s, Valentine broke up a slant for Smith-Njigba on the first play of the drive before Smith-Njigba converted against Valentine on the next play for a first down. Pressure on Darnold and coverage from safety Evan Williams helped force an incompletion on first-and-10 before a Seahawks' holding penalty gave them a second-and-20. Darnold then underthrew Smith-Njigba deep down the right sideline, a faulty throw that was caused by rookie defensive tackle Warren Brinson splitting two offensive linemen to get in Darnold's face. Smith-Njigba got behind Nixon, but the underthrow allowed Williams to range over for the interception. Williams hasn't made as many splash plays like he did in his rookie camp, but count that as one for the 24-year-old who has started at deep safety all preseason. 'I got to my post, I got good depth and yeah, he let it launch. It might have been in the air a little too long, and I was able to go cover some ground,' Williams said. 'I was honestly so juiced, hearing the crowd and all that. After I picked it off, I wanted to go return it, but I heard Coach Haf (defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley) yelling, 'Get down,' so I'll get down.' Seattle's backup offense went four-and-out against Green Bay's No. 2 defense, a sequence capped off by Enagbare sacking Lock. 'I think just the multiple defenses that they run, the way they like to move their safeties around, they do a good job,' Darnold, the former Vikings quarterback, said of Green Bay's defense. 'I think their nickel does a really good job of understanding leverages and not giving any tips or giving anything away in that way. And then the defensive line, that defensive line knows how to rush the passer … we had to game-plan a lot for the rush when I was in Minnesota, and that's a credit to those guys, guys like Rashan, Kenny (Clark). You've got some beasts up front and you've got to be able to play against guys like that.' 7. After practice, Packers center Elgton Jenkins didn't have his jersey on but still approached the Seahawks sideline in a helmet. LaFleur reprimanded him, but that didn't stop another skirmish from breaking out. Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams was chirping Packers cornerback Nate Hobbs by saying he didn't know who he was and that he wasn't even in pads (Hobbs is rehabbing from knee surgery). Nixon also said someone on the Seahawks was 'talking crazy' for a bald person. Told in the locker room that he was heard saying that, Nixon let out a hearty laugh. There was a bald reporter in the scrum, ESPN's Rob Demovsky, and Nixon asked how old he was. After being told Demovsky is 54, Nixon tried to make him feel better. 'I think he was like 21 and bald,' Nixon said of the unidentified Seahawks player. 'It's a difference.' In a post-joint practice skirmish, Keisean Nixon said someone was talking crazy for a bald person. Here he absolves @RobDemovsky. Nixon to Rob: 'How old are you?' '54' Nixon: 'Yeah, I think he was like 21 and bald. It's a difference.' — Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) August 21, 2025 8. Packers first-team All-Pro safety Xavier McKinney returned to practice in a limited capacity from a calf injury for the first time in two weeks. McKinney only did individual drills on Thursday and reiterated he'll be good to go Week 1 against the Lions, which he said when he first missed practice. He added that he'll do 11-on-11 work next week in the lead-up to the season opener. Advertisement 'I feel good,' McKinney said. 'Right now, I'm just trying to make sure that my wind is where it needs to be and just continuing to sharpen up while I'm not actually out there practicing. So that's really all I need.' 9. The Packers DNP list remained almost the same as it was on Tuesday: wide receiver Christian Watson (knee), wide receiver Jayden Reed (foot), wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks (calf), Hobbs (knee), running back MarShawn Lloyd (hamstring), safety Zayne Anderson (knee), safety Omar Brown (lung), defensive end Collin Oliver (hamstring), linebacker Jared Bartlett (undisclosed), offensive lineman Jacob Monk (hamstring), left guard Aaron Banks (back), offensive lineman John Williams (back), wide receiver Savion Williams (hamstring) and defensive end Barryn Sorrell (knee). (Photo of Sean Clifford and Josh Jacobs: Mark Hoffman / Imagn Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Packers' Love says his thumb 'feels good' after participating in 7-on-7 drills during joint practice
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love says the thumb on his non-throwing hand feels fine a week after he underwent surgery on it. Love was limited to participating in 7-on-7 drills Thursday during a joint practice with the Seattle Seahawks, but said he'd be able to play if the Packers had a regular-season game this week. Love has been practicing all week with his left thumb heavily taped. 'It feels good right now,' Love said. The health of his receiving group is a bit less certain with Jayden Reed (foot), Dontayvion Wicks (calf) and rookie third-round pick Savion Williams (hamstring) all limited to varying degrees as the Packers close training camp and prepare for their Sept. 7 opener against the Detroit Lions. Green Bay's injury issues at receiver may help explain why Love went just 3 of 12 in red zone drills against Seattle's defense on Thursday. 'I think those guys have been doing a great job staying locked in on the side,' Love said. 'Obviously, they're missing a lot of reps, which isn't great, but I think once they get back out there, we'll be able to hit the ground running.' As for the Seahawks' quarterback situation, coach Mike Macdonald said rookie third-round pick Jalen Milroe will play the entire preseason game Saturday at Green Bay as Sam Darnold gets to rest for the regular-season opener Sept. 7 against the San Francisco 49ers. 'I think it's just a great opportunity for him to get great experience,' Macdonald said. 'All rookies, they need reps, they need experience. Jalen's right there. He's really excited for the opportunity. He's going to do a great job. Go out, operate the offense and go play ball the way you know how.' Joint practice features multiple fights Two fights took place in rapid-fire succession between Green Bay's offense and Seattle's defense during red zone drills. Some of the main participants included Packers right tackle Zach Tom, Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV and Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon. Tom said afterward that he was kicked out of the joint practice for throwing a punch. 'They were in our huddle and I saw somebody to my left got hit, so I just reacted,' Tom said. 'So, it's really nothing more than that.' The jawing between the two teams continued even after practice had ended, which annoyed Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams. 'I didn't appreciate in general them coming to our sideline while practice is over and we already broke the huddle,' Williams said. 'Our guys are on our side, their guys are on their side, and people were coming over. It's hard with these joint practices because stuff like that always happens. You don't want it to happen, but it just happens. We try to avoid it as much as possible. Yeah, I didn't appreciate it.' Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon was one of the players doing some trash-talking at the end of the practice. Nixon said it shouldn't be much of a surprise when fights occur during joint practices. 'I mean the coaches are not going to like it, but it just comes with the territory, for real,' Nixon said. 'That's just how it goes. It's too many alphas on the field.' NOTES: Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker Jr., who has been limited by a sore foot for much of camp, was a full participant in Thursday's practice. … Macdonald says he plans to announce the Seahawks starters at center and right guard next week. Jalen Sundell, Anthony Bradford, Olu Oluwatimi, Christian Haynes and Josh Jones are competing for the two spots. … Packers S Evan Williams delivered one of the best plays of Thursday's practice when he intercepted a long pass from Darnold during two-minute drills. Other standouts included Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Packers TEs Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave. … Packers S Xavier McKinney participated in individual drills Thursday. The All-Pro selection has been dealing with a calf issue during training camp. 'I feel good,' McKinney said. 'Like said before, I'll be ready to go. Right now, I'm just trying to make sure that my wind is where it needs to be and just continuing to sharpen up while I'm not actually out there practicing. So that's really all I need.' ___ AP NFL:
