Wisconsin basketball has become one of the premier programs in the Big Ten since Dick Bennett, but it was Bo Ryan who brought the Badgers to real prominence. Greg Gard has carried the torch since. Yet, trying to figure out who Wisconsin's basketball rivals are is much tougher than dialing in the football rivalries. Because Wisconsin spent decades as not a basketball school, the rivalries and heated matchups are still brewing but there's a few major candidates to consider.
The Obvious Rivalry
Minnesota Golden Gophers
The Golden Gophers are the obvious choice, as the fan bases already don't like each other. It's still a border battle and it's the program that Wisconsin has played the most. There are 216 games between the two. Wisconsin holds the advantage 112-104 and has won 11 straight, so it makes it feel a bit more underwhelming, it's still the best rivalry Wisconsin basketball has.
The 3 Next Candidates
Marquette Golden Eagles
The in-state energy is strong, and Marquette fans stoke this rivalry more than Badger fans do, but the fan bases do genuinely like to trash each other during hoops season. There's some little brother to big brother energy happening at times, but the matchups have been fairly close over the history. The Badgers hold a 72-60 series history lead.
Illinois Fighting Illini
Wisconsin's second-most-played foe is the Illini, and this has some serious rival energy attached to it. Especially as the two programs have both been fighting for similar spots in the Big Ten standings year after year. It's got a weird history though, and maybe that's why it hasn't quite felt like a full-on rivalry even if the two fanbases dislike each other. Wisconsin has won the last three matchups; Illinois won the nine games before it, and Wisconsin won the previous 15 before that. You have to go back to 2011 when it felt like the result was bouncing back and forth.
Iowa Hawkeyes
This potential rivalry gets a ton of credit for being the closest in wins and losses over time. The Badgers hold a slight advantage in the series, 92-86. The games are often pretty tight, and the two fanbases aren't friends. It's a good candidate for a hoops rivalry.
The Darkhorses
Kentucky Wildcats
Find a Wisconsin basketball fan and ask them to name the teams they hate the most, and it's basically a 100% certainty that Kentucky will come out of their mouth. That's a great recipe for a rivalry. The hard part is that it doesn't really go the other way. Kentucky fans embrace being the villains and stack up fan bases that hate them like little league trophies on their dresser. The two programs have only met six total times, but three of them have been memorable. The latest two in 2014 and 2015 will go down in history.
Ohio State Buckeyes
Finally, we have the Buckeyes, whom the Badgers have tipped off against 177 times in program history. There's no love lost between the programs, and Wisconsin fans may not circle Ohio State on the calendar, but they certainly do tune in and smile pretty broadly when Bucky comes out on top.
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