Preseason basketball poll released – Badgers rank #14

The USA Today/ESPN college basketball preseason poll was released yesterday, and much of what was expected has indeed come to pass. North Carolina is an overwhelming favorite atop the poll with 30 of 31 first-place votes, UNC, Ohio State, Kentucky, and Connecticut are the highest-rated teams in their respective conferences, and Big Ten newcomer Nebraska received exactly zero points.

Wisconsin just sneaks into the top-15, landing at #14 behind Kansas and ahead of Xavier. The placement fits right in line with the Badgers’ #15 ranking at the end of last season, when Wisconsin lost to Butler in the Sweet 16. It also makes Wisconsin the second-highest rated team in the Big Ten — 18th ranked Michigan is the only other school from the conference to appear on the preseason poll (Michigan State and Purdue also received votes).

This is the highest Wisconsin has been ranked in the preseason since opening at nine before the 2006-07 season. The Badgers went 27-4 in the regular season that year and earned a two seed in the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately all records of what happened in the tournament that year have been lost, so we can only assume the Badgers marched to at least the Final Four with little resistance.

The Badgers are basically famous at this point for their consistency in outperforming preseason rankings. Projected for a lower-half conference finish last season, the Badgers finished third and beat both teams ahead of them in the Kohl Center. It seems a significant number of voters have grown wise to the Badgers’ game and given them a bit more credit to start this season.

Surely those voters are also wise to Wisconsin’s top player: Jordan Taylor. After busting out from Jon Leuer’s shadow (and casting one of his own for much of the season), Taylor is front-and-center in the national spotlight to kick off this season. CBSSports.com has him on its Preseason All-American First Team and at the top of its national point guard rankings. He was selected for the Wooden Award’s Preseason Top 50. He’s even featured in a commercial for a popular insurance company. Don’t worry, we’re pretty sure it’s him.

Considering where the Badgers finished last season, top-15 doesn’t seem outrageous, but I get the feeling the prevailing wisdom around the country is that Wisconsin will be better this year than last. I’m not sure I buy that. Look, by the end of last season it was pretty easy to make the case that Jordan Taylor was Wisconsin’s best player, but Jon Leuer and fellow graduate Keaton Nankivil were vital parts of the squad. Leuer was the top scorer and best rebounder, and he and Nankivil’s outside shooting ability was vital to the offense. Role players struggled a decent amount, from Rob Wilson’s poor decision-making to Ryan Evans’ poor offensive production, and those guys are going to be featured this season. In Leuer, Nankivil, and designated swing-passer Tim Jarmusz, Wisconsin graduated three players with offensive ratings above 115. Bo Ryan’s system and coaching is sure to maximize the talent of his players, but a team just can’t lose three important players with that kind of efficiency without experiencing some sort of drop-off.

Still, I have a hard time arguing with the results of the past few years, in which Wisconsin has strung together 20-plus-win seasons and NCAA Tournament appearances as methodically as it runs down a shot clock. The Badgers are going to be hard as hell to beat at home, which is something the poll voters likely take into account. They’re going to make even the toughest conference opponents sweat. And then they’re going to lose in the second round of the tournament. Prove me wrong, fellas!