The Wisconsin Badgers have perpetually been a good basketball program, and the handoff from Bo Ryan to Greg Gard has gone swimmingly. It's not just that Gard ranks right behind Ryan in the win percentage for Wisconsin basketball, with Ryan at .737 and Gard at .644. The only other Wisconsin men's basketball head coach between the two is Walter Meanwell (.712).
The Badgers have also been fantastic at taking down AP Top 25 teams. In fact, since the 2010-2011 season, they rank eighth in the nation at wins over AP Top 25 teams. The only teams ahead of them are either blue bloods or debatable blue bloods: Kansas, Michigan State, Duke, Kentucky, Baylor, North Carolina, and Villanova.
Most Wins against AP Top 25 Teams (since 10-11)
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1. Kansas- 109
2. Michigan St- 83
3. Duke- 79
4. Kentucky- 76
5. Baylor- 70
6. North Carolina- 69
7. Villanova- 67
8. Wisconsin- 66
9. Iowa State- 64
10. Michigan- 63 pic.twitter.com/E6VfhplHuf
Wisconsin ranks 8th since 2010 at wins over AP Top 25 teams
This is impressive, and Gard has been at the helm for the majority of those years. He took over the head coaching position in 2015. Bo Ryan had 20 regular season AP Top 25 wins in the years between 2011-2015. Therefore, the majority are still credited to Gard.
Now, Gard's knock has always been the NCAA Tournament. Bo Ryan had a great end to his career with a Final Four and a National Championship appearance in the final two seasons. Gard has yet to advance past the Sweet 16. There have been times when even a high seeding has led to a round-of-32 exit. It's been hard for the Badgers to make a deep tournament run since Ryan.
This is frustrating for Badger fans, and yet Gard continues to excel in seasons that are projected to be not great. The NCAA Tournament deep run continues to be elusive for the Badgers under Gard, but if he keeps finding ways to win against AP top-25 teams, it's only a matter of time for them to put together a run.