2010-11 Wisconsin College Basketball Predictions

The Wisconsin Badgers surpassed expectations last season, going 24-9 overall and finishing just one win out of a share for the Big Ten regular-season title at 13-5. Wisconsin however struggled to perform in postseason play. After being eliminated in the opening round of the conference tournament, the fourth-seeded Badgers were bounced from the NCAA Tournament in the second round by Cornell. It was the third time in the last four years that the Badgers were taken out by a lower-seeded team in the NCAA Tournament.

Wisconsin lost senior guards Jason Bohannon and Trevon Hughes from last season, but once again believe they have a real good chance to win the conference title this season. Head coach Bo Ryan hasn’t allowed Wisconsin to finish worse than fourth in the Big Ten in nine seasons, but with the Big Ten full with talent this season, whether or not the Badgers make a run will turn on the improvement of some of its young players.

Frontcourt: Wisconsin returns seven players with experience down low, and the most talented of the bunch is senior Jon Leuer, who averaged nearly 16 points and six rebounds a game last year. Leuer most likely would have earned first-team All-Big Ten honors last year if he hadn’t lost seven games with a broken left wrist. Leuer is a tough guy to defend with his power to score in the paint and hit the outside jumper, and could be set for a standout season in 2010.

Seniors Keaton Nankivil and Tim Jarmusz will also be back in the starting lineup, but both need to improve from last season. Jarmusz went from hitting 42% from 3-point range to just under 30% last year, and will need to find his hot hand if he wants to keep starting. Junior Rob Wilson and sophomores Jared Berggren, Mike Bruesewitz, and Ryan Evans give the Badgers great depth down low.

Backcourt: How well this team fills in for Bonannon and Hughes will go a long way in determining how good this team is this season. Junior Jordan Taylor is the most experienced guard on the roster, and will be counted on to have a big season this year. Taylor averaged 10 points with just over three rebounds and dimes a game, but will probably be required to post closer to 16 a game this year.

Senior walk-on Wquinton Smith also started in the backcourt in the Badgers first win over Prairie View A&M, but freshman Josh Gasser scored 21 points in 26 minutes, and could end up stealing the starting job from Wquinton. Also seeing time will be freshman Ben Brust, who like Gasser, can play either guard spot.

Prediction – 5th Big Ten: While it’s difficult to ever go against Ryan and the Badgers, I just think the Big Ten is too loaded with talent for Wisconsin to come away with a conference title. Wisconsin should still be making the NCAA Tournament, but I have a tough time seeing this team stringing some wins together while there unless they get a lot of unforeseen production from their returning players.

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