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Wisconsin Basketball: Are the Badgers the Team to Beat in the Big Ten in 2016?

By Jim Oxley

Mar 20, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Zak Showalter (3), guard Bronson Koenig (24), forward Vitto Brown (30), and forward Nigel Hayes (10) walk on the court during the second half of the second round against the Xavier Musketeers in the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Scottrade Center. Wisconsin won 66-63. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 20, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Zak Showalter (3), guard Bronson Koenig (24), forward Vitto Brown (30), and forward Nigel Hayes (10) walk on the court during the second half of the second round against the Xavier Musketeers in the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Scottrade Center. Wisconsin won 66-63. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Does Nigel Hayes’ return mean the Wisconsin basketball team is at the top of the Big Ten conference?

The Wisconsin basketball team got good news this week that forward Nigel Hayes is returning to the Badgers for his senior season. Does his return mean the Badgers are the team to beat in the Big Ten?

Related Story: Hayes Made the Right Decision to Return

It certainly makes the Badgers one of just a few teams that should be looked at as the cream of the crop in the Big Ten conference.

It’s hard to imagine the Badgers don’t put up a fight to win the conference this season.

Wisconsin will be stacked in 2016-17, as the team returns all nine of its leading scorers and all five starters.

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In addition to Hayes, the remainder of the team’s star players – forward/center Ethan Happ and point guard Bronson Koenig – are back. Starters Zak Showalter and Vitto Brown return, too.

Add to that depth in the form of young players from one of the youngest teams in the country last year, and the Badgers look pretty good on paper.

They aren’t going to be the runaway favorites in the Big Ten, however, as plenty of talent returns across the conference.

Michigan State figures to be again at or near the top of the conference despite losing the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year Denzel Valentine and a key player in Deyonta Davis.

The Spartans have one of the top recruiting classes in the country, which includes a couple of five-star prospects, and return a lot of talent from a team that was uncharacteristically bumped from the NCAA Tournament in the first round in 2016.

Indiana, the defending champs, should return just as strong in 2016-17, too.

While the Hoosiers will lose Yogi Ferrell (finally, right?) to graduation and Troy Williams to the NBA Draft, returning Thomas Bryant was a huge keep for coach Tom Crean.

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The Hoosiers also have one of the best recruiting classes in the conference, and should present a challenge in 2016.

Michigan also presents an interesting case in 2016. The Wolverines saw their best two players – Spike Albrecht and Caris LeVert – miss most of the season with injuries. Michigan still performed well on the season, and had plenty of young players step up during those injuries.

They’ll be better this season with that experience under their belts.

Maryland, too, retained some talent by keeping Melo Trimble around, but lost both Diamond Stone and Robert Carter, Jr. Purdue loses AJ Hammons, but returns pretty much everyone else including Vince Edwards and Caleb Swanigan.

Peter Jok is back at Iowa, and even Northwestern returns a lot of talent.

The Badgers, though, return every single person of importance from a season ago, and add a couple of new faces into the mix.

Wisconsin may not be ranked higher than Indiana or Michigan State when preseason polls are released, but they are every bit as dangerous of a team and should be in the running for a conference title during the 2016-17 season.

Next: Badgers 2015-16 Tourney Run Came a Year Early

The Badgers will have a target on their backs in 2016, but have the talent to live up to the challenge.

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