Nolan Winter went down in terrible agony in the blowout win over Maryland. Hope seemed lost for the Badgers and the postseason push, and then three things happened to spring that hope back to life. First, the initial news came out that he was "day-to-day," which was far better news than anyone suspected. Second, Wisconsin went and beat No. 15 Purdue without him, giving hope to the fact that maybe they can make some noise in March if he's on the sidelines.
The third major news was head coach Greg Gard's update today that "Winter will definitely be ready by the NCAA Tournament." That's huge news and finally definite news. Oh, but wait, there's more.
#Badgers head coach Greg Gard says Nolan Winter will "definitely be ready by the NCAA Tournament."
— Kedrick Stumbris (@KedrickStumbris) March 9, 2026
Jack Janicki is "a possibility" in the NCAAT. pic.twitter.com/QA0cLt31WD
Greg Gard says Winter is back for sure by the NCAA Tournament and Jack Janicki might be too
Related: AP Top 25 finally ranks Wisconsin and gives huge metric boost for March Madness
Not only does Gard give the amazing recovery news for Nolan Winter. He also thinks there's a chance, maybe even a good chance, that Jack Janicki can join the team for the NCAA Tournament. Janicki's recovery timeline may line up perfectly with the first weekend of March Madness.
If the Badgers can walk into the NCAA Tournament at full strength and have their best post player back, as well as one of their better defensive weapons off the bench, that would go a long way for the run that Wisconsin dreams of making this year.
The follow-up question is whether or not Winter or Janicki will be back for the Big Ten Tournament that starts later this week. The answer for Janicki is an easy "nope." But Winter is still day-to-day. There seems to be less of an urgency for Winter to be back for it as compared to the NCAA Tournament.
Gard said, "He's trying to be ready for this week and definitely will be ready by the NCAA Tournament. We're not rushing him back or doing anything crazy. knowing he'll be ready to rock next weekend for sure."
Maybe it's due to the fact that Wisconsin doesn't need the Big Ten Tournament to get into the field or really improve UW's seeding. Even winning it may not increase the seeding by much, if at all, so there may be some thought among the coaching staff to have Winter wait until the official March Madness.