The preseason AP Poll painted a pretty clear picture of where Wisconsin sits heading into the new college basketball season: outside the conversation.
While the Badgers have managed to land in the Top 25 every year they’ve been in the preseason AP Poll over the last eight seasons, this year brought a different result. Wisconsin was left out entirely, and even more notably, it did not receive a single vote.
That puts the Badgers behind 19 teams that also missed the Top 25 but still drew some support from voters. Missouri led that group with 167 votes, followed by Nebraska with 70, Purdue with 53, Ohio State with 39, North Carolina with 20, TCU with 17, Saint Louis with 13, VCU with 12, Iowa with 12, Virginia Tech with 10, Indiana with 8, Texas A&M with 6, Villanova with 6, Auburn with 4, Marquette with 3, Nevada with 2, Grand Canyon with 2, Utah State with 2, and Santa Clara with 1.
For Wisconsin, the message is simple: as the season opens, the Badgers are not being viewed as one of the top 40 teams in the country.
That comes with a roster that has a very different look. Wisconsin brought in guard Owen Foxwell and forward Eian Elmer as its primary new additions, and also added guard Trey Autry and center Victory Onetu through the transfer portal. A group of freshmen is in the mix as well.
Those newcomers join a returning and projected rotational core that includes Nolan Winter, Austin Rapp, Braeden Carrington - assuming his eligibility holds - Zach Kinziger, Will Garlock, Hayden Jones, and Jack Janicki.
The Big Ten still has plenty of representation near the top of the poll. Illinois checks in at No. 3 after reaching the Final Four, while Michigan State sits at No. 6 with Player of the Year candidate Jeremy Fears Jr. back.
Michigan is ranked No. 16, USC No. 21, and UCLA No.
Even among the teams outside the Top 25 that still picked up votes, Wisconsin was nowhere to be found. Nebraska, Purdue, Ohio State, Iowa, and Indiana all got mentioned by voters, leaving the Badgers outside the top 10 in the Big Ten pecking order as things stand now.
In Other News...
Wisconsin May Have An Obvious Fix For Its Roster-Building Problem
Wisconsins new football front office already has a familiar connection to one of the NFLs more respected talent evaluators. The Badgers recently hired Morocco Brown as Football General Manager, and Brown comes from the Chris Ballard tree after working under the former Indianapolis Colts GM, who was relieved of his duties after a poor season in Indianapolis. For a program trying to sharpen how it builds and manages its roster, that link alone makes the situation worth watching.
Ballards availability has naturally raised a bigger question for Wisconsin: whether the Badgers could lean on his experience in some kind of consulting or temporary capacity to help modernize the way they evaluate and assemble talent. Nothing of that sort is confirmed, but the logic is easy to follow given Browns background and the programs stated need for better roster management. If Wisconsin is looking for an obvious way to accelerate that process, the answer may already be sitting in the same professional orbit. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Faces One Brutal Question With USC Coming To Camp Randall
Wisconsin came back from its trip to UCLA with a frustrating reminder that one sturdy part of the defense can still be undone by everything else around it. The Badgers held down the Bruins rushing game, but they were exposed through the air and never found enough on offense to make up for it, leaving a loss that felt more about missed answers than one isolated breakdown.
Now the conversation shifts to USC coming into Camp Randall, and the matchup only sharpens the concern. The Trojans bring a strong passing offense but a softer pass defense, which puts Wisconsin in a familiar spot: needing to clean up the secondary while also finding enough offense to keep pace. The line has USC favored by 2.5 points, a reflection of how much this game may hinge on which team can solve the passing game first. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Volleyball Just Earned A Crucial Edge For The Stretch Run
With the final month of the regular season approaching, Wisconsin volleyball has put itself in a position that should matter come NCAA tournament time. The Badgers are No. 6 in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll, but the selection committee has them even higher, slotting them No. 4 among the top 16 teams and projecting them as a No. 1 seed.
That early advantage looks tied to the kind of schedule Wisconsin has embraced and the wins it has piled up along the way, including victories over Louisville, Florida, Oregon and Purdue. At 13-5 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten, the Badgers still have work to do, but theyve already built a rsum that gives them a strong foothold for the stretch run. [Read more 🡒]