It seems like we go through the same cycle every year with Wisconsin men’s basketball.
The team comes into the season underrated nationally, but they continue to finish in the top three or four of the Big Ten. The Badgers rarely lose at home, but struggle against top conference competition away from the Kohl Center. Then come tournament time, the Badgers seem to have a favorable road to an elite eight or final four appearance, but only manage to win a game or two.
Badger fans really can’t complain about this yearly trend for men’s basketball. They’ve consistently been a top team in the Big Ten for the past decade.
Head coach Bo Ryan is 242-91 (.727) in his ten seasons at Wisconsin. Every one of those years the Badgers have made the NCAA Tournament and they’ve never had a lower finish than fourth place in the Big Ten.
The next chapter for Bo Ryan and the Badgers begins this Saturday when their season tips off against Kennesaw State. However, this time rather than being disrespected and underrated entering the season, Wisconsin is ranked No. 14 nationally and is viewed as one of the top teams in the Big Ten.
The main contributor to Wisconsin’s unusually high preseason ranking is starting point guard Jordan Taylor. Taylor is just the second player in Badger history to be an AP preseason All-American. It’s a huge honor and essentially means Taylor is projected to be the best point guard in the NCAA. Last season Taylor averaged over 18 points a game and was phenomenal in three-point land, shooting .429 percent behind the arc. But the Badgers lost a handful of key seniors including current Milwaukee Buck Jon Leuer, Keaton Nankivil and Tim Jarmusz. The three combined for an average of 32 points per game last season.
This leaves a ton of pressure on Taylor this year. Typically the Badgers don’t have star players who carry the load but it seems that may be the case with Taylor. Ever since he blew up with 27 points in the victory against top-ranked Ohio State last year, Taylor has been highly regarded by the national media. Taylor has the talent to back up the hype but he’s going to need lots of help offensively for the Badgers to live up to their preseason ranking.
Where the Badgers really need production is their frontcourt. Taylor and the talented sophomore guard Josh Gasser will lead the charge in the backcourt, but losing Leuer and Nankivil last year leaves the frontcourt depleted. Big men Jerrod Berggren and Mike Bruesewitz will step into larger roles this season as starters. Their play in the frontcourt will be crucial to Wisconsin’s success this season.
Even with Taylor returning, should expectations be higher than usual for Wisconsin?
Probably not.
For as much success as Bo Ryan has had in his tenure at Wisconsin, he’s only taken the Badgers to the Elite Eight once. Ryan has never had an AP Preseason All-American, but Ryan will run still run his slower-paced swing style of offense.
Another sweet sixteen appearance for the Badgers would be regarded as a successful season; it’s realistic for the Wisconsin faithful to expect that. It’s hard to imagine them cracking the elite eight or final four, but it will take a considerable amount of time until we can gauge this team’s potential.
The Badgers have a very favorable schedule this season. They face only four ranked opponents, two of which are nonconference games. The Big Ten appears to be extremely weak this season outside of Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Michigan, so Wisconsin has a great opportunity to finish in the top two or three of the Big Ten.
Wisconsin’s performance will come down to the production from its frontcourt and role players off the bench. But ultimately Taylor needs to play up to his potential and the hype that has surrounded him. Taylor is clearly the leader of this team, and the Badgers will go as far as he takes them.
