The college basketball season is a long, volatile and glorious experience of mayhem. The regular season is a four-and-a-half month journey of pesky non-conference tests and behemoth blue-blood battles, ultimately giving way to a postseason that’s so boggling and unpredictable, it is referred to as madness.
From the regular season’s modest beginnings in mid-November to its thunderous end in early April, the weekly top-25 rankings wildly shift to the point where the preseason rankings look almost unrecognizable in February.
But during the flow of a season, a select few teams with the golden characteristics of regular season consistency stand out. And by March, it’s clear who the top eight teams are. Even as the glory of regular season standings are wiped away by a plethora of March upsets, they still provide an outline for the season’s contenders and pretenders.
As the calendar flips from January to February, the college basketball gods tend to expose the frauds from the legitimate. If anything is clear from this Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team, it’s that this season fits the latter category.
As leaders of the Big Ten, owners of a 16-5 record (8-2 Big Ten) and the sixth-ranked team in this week's AP Poll, these Badgers have proven themselves as viable championship contenders. With a home matchup against the No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers, Wisconsin has the opportunity to show the nation they belong in college basketball’s top ranks.
A win over Purdue would raise Wisconsin’s chances of attaining a coveted No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and firmly place them in the national title conversation.
As Wisconsin slugged through a rather miserable campaign last season, Purdue paid a visit to Madison in early March and issued the Badgers a final gut punch, ending their NCAA Tournament hopes. But this season, with the two teams neck-and-neck in the Big Ten, the matchup looks wholly different.
This season, Wisconsin boasts powerful contributions from new transfers and freshmen as well as from more experienced returns from last year's squad.
AJ Storr, a sophomore transfer from St. John’s, has been the most noticeable difference maker, averaging 16.5 points and 3.5 rebounds a game entering this week. Storr has used his magnificent athleticism and undeniable talent to make Wisconsin’s playstyle more exciting than in years past. If there is a player who is easiest to point to when it comes to Wisconsin’s success this season, it’s Storr.
Along with Storr, freshman guard John Blackwell has provided an uber-important spark off the bench, averaging 8.2 points per game and winning three Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards. With a 50% 3-point percentage and reliable defensive ability, Blackwell has been a huge boost from this freshman class.
Meanwhile, a variety of veterans have blossomed this season, including Max Klesmit, Steven Crowl and Chucky Hepburn.
Klesmit’s improvements this season have been visible. In his second season at Wisconsin, Klesmit has emerged as a leader, averaging 10 points per game. He has played especially well recently, and Wisconsin will look to ride his hot hand throughout the rest of the season.
The 7-foot Crowl continues to grow into one of the Big Ten’s best big men. A steady force in the paint, Crowl has averaged 11.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 48.3% from three. He’s an offensive threat on every possession, and his defensive skills set the tone on the other end of the floor.
And while Hepburn’s scoring is down from last season, he has embraced the point guard role to become a more polished version of himself and a true leader.
Against Purdue, Wisconsin will face its biggest challenge of the season. In the most important game at the Kohl Center since the Badger-Boilermaker meeting in March 2022, Wisconsin has a mammoth opportunity to dethrone the Big Ten’s paramount team.
They certainly have the ability to do it. With an offense averaging 76 points per game, Wisconsin’s offense is perhaps the most lethal the Greg Gard era has seen. Combine that with a stingy and unforgiving defense, and Wisconsin is a team no one is itching to play.
With an excellent mixture of experienced players and fresh new faces, Wisconsin has churned out an unexpectedly exciting season. But on Sunday, Wisconsin can rise from the unexpected party guest label they’ve created. A win would cement their place atop this season’s college hoops. That momentum can take them anywhere.
