Sports

Badgers can top last year’s squad

Unlike last season when it was the first No. 1 versus No. 1 game in regular season history, there was no hype surrounding Wisconsin’s game at Ohio State Sunday.

And unlike last season, Wisconsin got a win and left with its Big Ten title hopes still intact.

No one will argue that last season was a magical year for Wisconsin basketball. Hype surrounded the team all season long from its preseason top 10 ranking and Sports Illustrated cover to earning the first No. 1 ranking in school history.

The team set numerous records last season as well, including the most conference wins (13), wins in a season (30), home wins (19) and longest winning streak (17).

But after reaching the top of the rankings, things started to go downhill starting with the Ohio State game last season when Brian Butch was lost for the remainder of the year. Yes, the Badgers made it to the Big Ten tournament championship (and lost to Ohio State again) and earned a No. 2 seed — the highest in team history — but lost in the second round when everyone expected another Final Four trip.

Yet despite how magical last season was for Wisconsin basketball fans, this year’s team has a chance to one-up last year’s squad.

With the loss of Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor, not much was expected of this team; yet with two weeks remaining in the regular season it controls its own destiny for at least a share of a Big Ten title. All UW has to do is win out, and it clinches its first Big Ten title since 2002.

And now Wisconsin has a favorable schedule ahead of them after going into Illinois and Ohio State and coming out with a pair of wins. The Badgers face Michigan State Thursday at home in probably their toughest test. Then they wrap up the season next week at home against Penn State (ninth in the Big Ten) and on the road against Northwestern (last in the Big Ten).

Of the three teams still in the title hunt — Indiana, Purdue and Wisconsin — UW also seems to have the most momentum going forward. The Badgers have won four in a row, including three on the road, while Purdue lost its last time out to Indiana, and the Hoosiers are still dealing with the Kelvin Sampson controversy and almost lost to last-place Northwestern Saturday.

In addition to having momentum, the Badgers also have the easiest schedule down the stretch. UW has three games remaining, with two at home and one on the road. The combined record of its opponents is 41-37. While both Indiana and Purdue have four games left (two at home and two on the road), Purdue’s opponents have a combined record of 64-41, and Indiana faces opponents with a 68-38 record.

Besides the possibility of winning a third Big Ten title under Bo Ryan, this year’s squad also has a chance to break the records set just one year ago.

They have already broken a 94-year-old school record with their win over Ohio State. The win Sunday pushed UW’s conference road record to 7-1 this season, the most ever. They also are the only team in the country with two road wins against top 15 teams (Texas and Indiana).

But with three games remaining, Ryan’s squad is almost assured to break one record and has a good shot of breaking and, at the very least, tying another.

Wisconsin will not reach the top of the rankings this year unless they win it all, but with one more win over the last three games, UW will set a record for conference wins at 14.

The Badgers also have a shot of reaching the 30-win plateau again this season. Should Wisconsin win out, it will have 26 wins heading into the postseason. Wisconsin then would at the very worst be a two-seed in the Big Ten tournament should they share the conference title with Purdue.

So then if UW makes it to the championship game, it would at most need two wins in the NCAA tournament to reach 30. And unlike last year, Wisconsin’s opponents can’t focus all its energy on shutting down one player, which bodes well for the tournament.

While only time will tell if the Badgers are able to top last year’s squad, 10 years from now when fans look back at this two-year run of Wisconsin basketball, this year’s squad might end up being the team fans remember more.

 

Greg is a senior majoring communication arts. Let him know what season will be more memorable at gschmitz@badgerherald.com