The rebuilt and reloaded Badgers basketball team is flying under the radar, again. It's a yearly tradition for Greg Gard and Wisconsin to lose star players, bring in underrated transfers, and then surprise the Big Ten. This year is no different, and maybe with the loss of both John Blackwell and Nick Boyd, they are being overlooked even more so.
Then again, maybe not, because the Vegas odds for Wisconsin to win the National Championship next season are neither too high nor too low. Right now, they are tied for 33rd to bring home the title. That's about where you would expect them to be, and yet they are among other interesting teams.
For example, Nebraska is holding the same exact odds as well as Marquette. Iowa, Maryland, and Ohio State are all also sitting at +10000. Not a very high probability, but among other teams that you would expect to be in this range.
Wisconsin Badgers have a +10000 to win the National Championship in basketball according to FanDuel
Odds are subject to change.
Related: Thinner NBA Draft pool opens up room for former Badger Nick Boyd
The best odds go to the Florida Gators at +600 right now, according to FanDuel. Florida is followed by Duke, Michigan, UCONN, Illinois, and Louisville. All of those teams have loaded rosters and high expectations.
Gard and Wisconsin do not. Sure, among Badger fans, there are high hopes that this team can be the team that breaks through that first weekend of the tournament after failing the last two seasons to do so. But nationally, there's not a lot of hype around Wisconsin.
It's mainly due to the Badgers missing the star power (or at least the known star power). Wisconsin has Nolan Winter returning, who is arguably the best Badger player for 2026. Then there's highly-anticipated Eian Elmer, who recently withdrew from the NBA Draft. He could be a star, but he's not a household name yet. Owen Foxwell will turn some heads, but he's coming from the NBL, and thus, he isn't a known performer (yet).
The Badgers may not be the favorites, but they are still flying under the radar and will look to surprise the Big Ten once again.
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