As basketball season continues to approach, the hype only continues to build for Wisconsin Badger fans. Seemingly every year, at least as of late, fans have been able to count on Badger basketball to provide stability following a roller-coaster football season.
This year is projected to be no different, as a reloaded roster and a new, more well-rounded approach could make for a very unique year in Madison compared with what we have seen. That said, Wisconsin still hasn’t earned the ultimate respect from Vegas.
Locked in on the hardwood pic.twitter.com/kYVqpDhNNP
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) October 22, 2026
Odd's not in favor of the Wisconsin Badgers
Odds are subjected to change.
Per DraftKings, the Badgers currently sit at the 46th-best odds to win the national championship, with the line sitting at a crisp +15000. Wisconsin is right in the mix with teams such as TCU, Marquette, Creighton, Villanova, and Arizona State, which does seem a bit disrespectful, at least as of now.
On top of that, other Big Ten teams such as Iowa, Ohio State, Maryland, Indiana, and Nebraska all sit well ahead of the Badgers odds-wise, despite being in a very similar spot.
Much like Wisconsin, the Hawkeyes just lost their two biggest offensive engines from a year ago, with Bennett Stirtz and Tavion Banks both moving on to better things. Ohio State has returning talent, but it, too, lost an All-Big Ten guard in Bruce Thornton, making a change in the totem pole necessary — something that hasn’t been sorted through yet.
Maryland, Indiana, and Nebraska are all in a sort of limbo as well, bringing in a lot of new talent, most of which is unproven. That said, there is no reason to think that Wisconsin cannot compete with any of those teams on any given night.
Nonetheless, the yearly cycle of the Badgers not getting preseason love continues: an everlasting cycle of Wisconsin being underranked in the preseason, only to do what it always does and march its way to the tournament.
This year, guys like Owen Foxwell, Nolan Winter, Austin Rapp, and Eian Elmer are all looking to take the leap into stardom. The extent to which they emerge will ultimately determine the Badgers’ long-term fate, but for now, Wisconsin can once again enter the year with a chip on its shoulder and something to prove.
Greg Gard has already shown that he can get the most out of even the most talent-depleted Badger rosters, so now having a group that can give him a different leader on any given night could make for a new and reinvented Wisconsin system.
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