Strength in Continuity: Wisconsin Men's Basketball Set to Bounce Back
Some thoughts on the Badgers before the season opener + a few predictions.
Last season marked the second time during the Greg Gard era that the Wisconsin Badgers basketball program missed the NCAA Tournament.
This subpar finish left fans in various emotional states of anguish. Some understood the reasons for the Badgers setback, while others feared it signaled the beginning of the end for the program.
As Gard enters a pivotal phase in his tenure as head coach of the Badgers, opinions on the team's overall direction still vary. There's a vocal minority clamoring for Gard to be fired -- while others, myself included, still very much believe in his leadership and team-building mantra.
Either way, how the Wisconsin basketball team performs in 2023-24 will go a long way in determining the temperature of coach Gard's seat.
Wisconsin Has Enough Talent to Contend in the Big Ten
Although Wisconsin basketball played each game last season with a razor-thin margin for error, roster continuity plus a few off-season additions have given Greg Gard and the Badgers considerably more depth.
UW returns an impressive 92% of its scoring, the highest percentage among all major conference teams nationwide. The Badgers also return 88.8% of its rebounds and 96.3% of assists. Those numbers speak to the locker room culture that exists and could give Wisconsin a leg up against programs that suffered from considerable turnover via the transfer portal.