Wisconsin Badgers
2020-2021 Overall Rank: #9
Conference Rank: #3 Big Ten
Wisconsin finished the 2019-2020 campaign tied atop the Big Ten standings alongside Michigan State and Maryland. That was the first Big Ten regular season title for the Badgers since Coach Greg Gard took over the program during the 2015-2016 season. The Badgers always seem to have experienced teams and that will be on full display this year. Coach Gard returns five seniors who averaged at least 8.7 points per game last year. In what should again be a very tough Big Ten, Wisconsin’s experience could make all of the difference.
2019-20 Record: 21-10, 14-6
Coach: Greg Gard
Coach Record: 101-57 at Wisconsin, 101-57 overall
Key Departed Players:
Kobe King, Guard, 10.0 ppg
Brevin Pritzl, Guard, 8.0 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Nate Reuvers, Senior, Forward, 13.1 ppg
Micah Potter, Senior, Forward, 10.3 ppg
Brad Davison, Senior, Guard, 10.0 ppg
D’Mitrik Trice, Senior, Guard, 9.6 ppg
Aleem Ford, Senior, Forward, 8.7 ppg
Tyler Wahl, Sophomore, Forward, 2.6 ppg
Trevor Anderson, Senior, Guard, 1.8 ppg
Key New Players:
Lorne Bowman II, Freshman, Guard
Ben Carlson, Freshman, Forward
Steven Crowl, Freshman, Forward
Jonathan Davis, Freshman, Guard
Jordan Davis, Freshman, Guard
Carter Gilmore, Freshman, Forward
Projection:
Nate Reuvers was the team’s most prolific scorer a season ago, averaging 13.1 points per game. The big 6-11 forward can stretch the defense on offense and is one of the Big Ten’s best shot blockers on the other end of the floor. Reuvers definitely makes opposing big men uncomfortable when he hangs out on the perimeter, but Micah Potter is amazingly consistent shooting the basketball. The 6-10 forward missed the first semester after transferring in from Ohio State and only played 17.5 minutes per game, but he was still second on the team with 10.1 points per game and pulled down a team high 6.2 rebounds. Perhaps more impressively, he connected on 45.1 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. Aleem Ford stepped into a starting role last season and the 6-8 forward proved to be a capable scorer attacking the basket and shooting from long range. Obviously Wisconsin is going to get big men who can shoot the ball, but this is a very dangerous group. D’Miktrik Trice will once again lead the backcourt after averaging 9.8 points and 4.2 assists, while committing a mere 1.7 turnovers per game. Brad Davison will again join Trice in the starting backcourt. The Badgers will give those five quite a few minutes, but they should get some depth from sophomore Tyler Wahl and their incoming freshmen, most notably Lorne Bowman and Ben Carlson. As long as Coach Gard can find enough quality depth, this is a Wisconsin team that should again find themselves right towards the top of the Big Ten and pushing for a Final Four berth.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 67.2 (284th in nation, 13th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 62.2 (13, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 42.5 (242, 10)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.0 (70, 7)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 8.7 (46, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.2 (76, 2)
Free-Throw Percentage: 76.4 (20, 1)
Rebound Margin: -0.6 (210, 12)
Assists Per Game: 12.0 (256, 14)
Turnovers Per Game: 10.0 (5, 1)
Madness 2020 Men’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#114 Lorne Bowman
#116 Ben Carlson
