Wisconsin basketball again severely underrated in Big Ten preseason media poll

Another year, another example of the Big Ten and national college basketball media not believing in Greg Gard and the Wisconsin Badgers.

This now feels like an annual occurrence. Wisconsin experiences a rough season or loses a few key players and everybody expects it to suddenly finish 12th in the Big Ten and miss the NCAA Tournament.

Related: Big Ten basketball teams ranked by returning production entering 2024-25 season

That is where Wisconsin is ranked by the Big Ten media entering the season: tied for 12th. The ranking was released on Wednesday in advance of the conference media days in Chicago, Illinois.

The context makes some sense. Stars from the program’s 2023-24 team that went 22-14 are now gone, headlined by PG Chucky Hepburn transferring to Louisville, SG A.J. Storr transferring to Kansas and F Tyler Wahl running out of eligibility.

Those losses accounted for combined per-game totals of 36.6 points, 4.1 assists and 12.6 rebounds. Anybody who watched or followed the Badgers can recognize the impact of their respective departures.

But history also matters. Wisconsin finished fifth in the Big Ten in 2023-24, 11th in 2022-23, tied for first in 2021-22, 6th in 2020-21, 1st in 2019-20 and 4th in 2018-19. The program rarely falls near the bottom of the conference, minus a forgettable 2022-23 season.

Greg Gard and his staff also responded to those roster losses offseason. Wisconsin landed transfers John Tonje (Missouri), Camren Hunter (Central Arkansas) and Xavier Amos (Northern Illinois), pairing them with a freshman class headlined by top point guard Daniel Freitag.

The team may need some time to gel given all of the new faces. But if Freitag and John Blackwell reach their potentials, and the transfers prove to be valuable contributors, Wisconsin has a chance to surprise. Returning starters Steven Crowl and Max Klesmit should help to bridge that gap.

This may be a natural reaction to Wisconsin football struggling with lofty expectations. But the upcoming 2024-25 basketball season has all of the makings of a classic ‘how did everybody underestimate the Badgers again?’ type of season

For more on what exactly to expect, here is our recent look at the Badgers updated starting lineup and rotation after signing Italian center Riccardo Greppi.

The Badgers begin their season at home on Nov. 4 against Holy Cross.

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Story originally appeared on Badgers Wire