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Madison, Wisconsin (AP) — Wisconsin is back in the spotlight.
The 14th-placed Badgers look poised to significantly beat their preseason expectations for the second year in a row. This time, they’re doing it without the benefit of picking his NBA lottery ticket on the roster.
Wisconsin (11-2, 3-0 Big Ten) is on a six-game winning streak and shares first place in the Big 10 standings with Michigan (9-5, 3-0). The Badgers can make his first 4-0 start in a Big His Ten tournament since 2012-13 with Saturday’s win in Illinois (9-5, 0-3).
That’s quite an achievement for a team that didn’t get a single vote in the AP’s top 25 before the season.
Point guard Chucky Hepburn said, “We all believe we can do what we have to do. And we know we can.” actually chase each other.
The next few weeks could show if Wisconsin is a serious conference title contender, with four of the next six games underway. Top scorer Tyler’s condition in the Illinois game is unknown after his wall injured his ankle against Minnesota on Wednesday, missing the 63-60 win and missing practice the next day. remained.
Yet the Badgers have already shown they are doing better than their preseason predictions suggest. It was the same last season. While the Big Ten do not conduct official preseason polls, The Columbus Dispatch and The Athletic have announced their own beat writer polls throughout the conference. In that poll, Wisconsin was ranked 9th out of 14 teams.
A year ago, Wisconsin was named No. 10 and would eventually share the Big Ten regular season title with Illinois.
“It doesn’t matter what they say or who says what,” said center Stephen Kroll. I think we’re doing great with our brand of basketball, Badger Basketball.”
Badgers’ current roster does not include a single prospect in the top 125, according to a comprehensive ranking of job sites compiled by 247Sports.
Wisconsin’s lack of success in the recent NCAA tournament may also have been overlooked. The Badgers reached the championship game in 2015 and joined the Sweet 16 in 2017, but have not advanced beyond the round of 32 since.
Additionally, Wisconsin had to replace All-America first-team selection Johnny Davis, who moved to the Washington Wizards 10th overall in this year’s draft. Still, the team performed well, last season he had a 30.6% 3-point percentage (lowest in his Big Ten team), but this season he finished second in the league with 38.2%.
“We’re a better 3-point shooter this year and have a lot more room to drive,” said Hepburn, who made 28 of 55 shots from across the arc.
Badgers have successfully found the right player regardless of rating.
Wall, who could be No. 204 nationally in his high school class, is a three-year starter scoring 13.2 points per game, according to the 247Sports Composite. Ranked 235 in the world, Crawl is a 7-footer and has enough passing to record a team-high 3.2 assists per game. Ranked 226, Connor Essegian is averaging 10.5 points as a freshman.
Wisconsin’s potential was revealed at Battle 4 Atlantis in November. 1 Kansas before dropping to 69-68 in overtime. Wisconsin lost his 78-75 at home to Wake Forest the following week, but then picked up the knack of winning close games.
Four of the Badgers’ six wins in a row came by five points or less, including overtime wins at Marquette and Iowa. Since the start of last season, Wisconsin has won 18 and lost 5 games by 5 points or less.
“Good teams find their way,” manager Greg Gard said after the Minnesota game. We’ll dig in and find a way to get it done.”
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