The Wisconsin Badgers are spending part of their summer trying to make sure 2025 doesn’t become the new normal on defense.
Last season, Wisconsin finished 56th in KenPom on that end of the floor, its lowest ranking since 2018. The problems showed up early, and the Badgers never really climbed to the level they needed defensively as the year went on. That reality has shaped the way the offseason has started.
The roster changes point in the same direction. Wisconsin brought in Owen Foxwell, a point guard from the NBL who arrives with a strong defensive reputation, along with wings Trey Autry and Eian Elmer, both of whom should help on-ball. In the frontcourt, Victory Onuetu gives the Badgers a shot-blocking presence, while Jack Janicki and Hayden Jones are back and Will Garlock is being asked to take another step as a rim protector.
With summer workouts underway, the staff is making sure the message is clear from the start.
“Yeah, we have to be better,” head coach Greg Gard said about the team’s defense. “I mean, this year’s team is so much different than last year’s team, but we have to raise the bar defensively.
We just were not as good last year for a variety of reasons. And they understand that for us to be in the elite category nationally, we’re going to have to be really good defensively.
“Obviously it helps to get some 7’1 guys in the ring. They can correct a lot of mistakes, but collectively we have to be better.
And I think obviously the drills and stuff, we’ve done more this summer than previous summers just because I felt I wanted to make sure that was emphasized early and they understood it. So it’s going to be- I don’t want to depend on, you know, 2 or 3 7-footers sitting at the rim and blocking shots.
We have to be good out front too. But they understand the importance of that end of the floor, even though we have really raised the bar scoring-wise.
Finding that right balance, I think, is always the key.”
Wisconsin’s offense has pushed the program’s ceiling higher in recent seasons, but the formula still depends on the defense holding up in that familiar top-25 to top-30 range. This year’s group will look different from the 2025 team, and the big question is whether the Badgers can get back to being balanced enough to match their scoring punch.
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