On court, on gridiron, Badgers on unmatched run of excellence

Nobody believed in Wisconsin, Bronson Koenig said after a dramatic victory Sunday night in the NCAA tournament. "Hopefully you guys believe now," he added.

Koenig channeled his "inner Steph Curry" to silence the doubters with a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the corner to upset No. 2 seed Xavier 66-63 and send Wisconsin into the Sweet 16.

Why would anyone doubt Wisconsin these days, though? The Badgers will play in a third consecutive Sweet 16 this week and are the only remaining team to achieve this feat. They played in the past two Final Fours and finished national runner-up a year ago.

Also, any guess which is the only program to play in five of the past six Sweet 16s? That's right: Wisconsin. Oh, and the Badgers have played in 18 consecutive NCAA tournaments, tied for fifth all-time with Gonzaga. Only Michigan State (19), Duke (21), North Carolina (27) and Kansas (27) have longer streaks.

There is one streak, though, arguably more impressive than 18 consecutive invitations to the Big Dance. The past 14 years, the Badgers have played in a college football bowl game and qualified for the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

It's the longest run in NCAA history.

March has become a month when Wisconsin celebrates its athletic department's muscle. The Badgers posted a graphic highlighting the streak to its Facebook page last week. The post recorded more than 21,000 likes and received over 400 comments.

Since the start of the 1996 season, Wisconsin's football and men's basketball teams have combined for more bowl and NCAA tournament appearances than any other school. Each team has 19 postseason appearances for a total of 38.

Wisconsin passed Texas for the longest bowl/NCAA tournament streak last season. Texas qualified for 12 in a row from 1998-99 to 2009-10. Michigan State holds an active streak of nine consecutive years (2007-08 to present). Florida also did it nine straight years (1998-99 to 2006-07).

The Badgers' run of success in these big revenue sports poses the question: "Is Wisconsin the best athletic program in the country?"

Gophers fans cringe at this idea and point to the "Border Battle," an organized competition used to determine which overall program is better each year. The Gophers have won six of the past seven years.

However, the last time the Gophers played in a bowl game and NCAA tournament in the same season was 2012-13, and in back-to-back seasons (2008-09 and 2009-10), only once in school history.