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Wisconsin Basketball: Expectations are sky-high for 2020-21 Badgers

By Christian Borman

Mar 7, 2020; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Nate Reuvers (35) and forward Micah Potter (11) celebrate during a timeout in the second half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 7, 2020; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Nate Reuvers (35) and forward Micah Potter (11) celebrate during a timeout in the second half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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MADISON, WISCONSIN – MARCH 01: Wisconsin Badgers fans throw confetti during the game between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Wisconsin Badgers at the Kohl Center on March 01, 2020 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MADISON, WISCONSIN – MARCH 01: Wisconsin Badgers fans throw confetti during the game between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Wisconsin Badgers at the Kohl Center on March 01, 2020 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Season preview

This is an exciting time for Wisconsin basketball and its fans. The Badgers are widely viewed as a top team in the country and will surely be in the top-10 when preseason polls come out.

In Dick Vitale’s preseason top-40 teams, he ranks the Badgers at number 5.

From Vitale:

"The Big Ten is loaded, and I am leaning toward a Badgers team loaded with experience. Wisconsin came on strong to tie for the Big Ten regular-season title. The Badgers have a reliable scorer up front in Nate Reuvers at 13 PPG. This team will have a lot of balance, and Brad Davison has been a clutch performer. Coach Greg Gard can rely on D’Mitrik Trice, Aleem Ford and Micah Potter. All five potential starters averaged at least 8.5 PPG. Gard also has recruited talent to provide depth."

The Badgers have a nice balance of veterans and younger players and they are going to need it. The Big Ten is absolutely loaded this season. Illinois and Iowa are also both considered top-10 teams in the country. And like always, Michigan St. will also be in the mix this year as well.

The schedule isn’t out yet, so we can’t predict an overall record, but the Big Ten is a conference where a lot of the top teams beat each other up all season. Wisconsin, Michigan St., and Maryland tied for first in the conference and all went 14-6 with Illinois right behind at 13-7. I would expect nothing different this season. It will be an absolute battle.

Wisconsin basketball is also predicted to end up pretty high in the NCAA tournament seedings. NCAA.com’s Andy Katz ranked Wisconsin number six in his top ten teams in the 2021 tournament in his latest tournament predictions from September 30.

He has them as a 2-seed and taking on NDSU in the South bracket.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi also has the Badgers as a 2-seed in the South bracket, taking on Stephen F. Austin, in his Bracketology predictions as of October 7.

There is a lot of reason to be excited about this Wisconsin basketball squad in 2020-2021. Hopefully, the pandemic will be under control by then, so the Badgers will be able to play their entire regular season out and we can enjoy watching them play in March again since we all missed it last year.

This is the final year of the Trice, Davison and Reuvers era before the next wave of talent comes to Madison. Let’s enjoy it while we can.

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