If you mention the name William Ryan in most college basketball circles people will not know who you’re talking about. If you were to mention the name Bo Ryan then people will be on board with you. Wisconsin Badgers basketball doesn’t have the historic track record in The Big Ten Conference like The Michigan State Spartans or The Indiana Hoosiers, but since 2000 things have been different in Madison. The Badgers made The Final Four in 2000 under former head coach Dick Bennett and once he retired Ryan was the little known man who took his spot. Ryan was hired away from The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2001 and while he has never led The Badgers to a Final Four appearance, he has taken Wisconsin to The NCAA Tournament in each 11 seasons and this year could be the 12th consecutive year. Ryan’s 284 career victories with The Badgers are more than any head coach in the history of the program.
After today’s 65-62 overtime victory over the third-ranked Michigan Wolverines, The Badgers are now tied with Michigan for third place in The Big Ten. The Badgers didn’t come into this season with the hype that The Wolverines, Spartans, Hoosiers, or Ohio State Buckeyes had, but heading into March, Wisconsin is right there with them which is a credit to Ryan.
Ryan has never been able to bring top-tier talent to Madison as current Atlanta Hawks guard Devin Harris has been the only bonafide star at Wisconsin under Ryan which is fine with the 65-year old head coach. For Ryan’s Badgers it is team first as it is all about his system. The Badger uniforms do not have the player’s last name on the back of the jersey as their plain red and white uniforms give them the appearance of an old-school team from the 1960’s.
Currently Wisconsin only has three starters who average double-digits in points as they are led by senior forward/center Jared Bergrren who averages 11.8 points per game, but only The Iowa Hawkeyes and The Fighting Illini of Illinois have reached the 70-point mark against The Badgers in Big Ten play this season as Wisconsin has always been a tough defensive team under Ryan. The Badgers might be 175th in scoring this season at 67.5 per game, but it is all good when you’re only allowing 56.2 points per game as they are. For the last three seasons The Badgers have been in the top 10 in the nation for points allowed.
After today’s victory which was highlighted by junior guard Ben Brust’s half-court three-pointer to send the game into overtime, Wisconsin cannot rest on their laurels as they have two games coming up against ranked opponents. The Badgers will travel to Minneapolis on Valentine’s Day to take on the 18th-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers whom Wisconsin defeated 45-44 on January 26th in Madison. Next Sunday The Badgers travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on the tenth-ranked Buckeyes in their only contest this season. Of course there is The Big Ten Tournament next month which The Badgers have won twice under Ryan. Wisconsin is currently 3-2 against the top six teams in The Big Ten this season and they will look to pad their NCAA Tournament resume down the stretch.
Would we expect anything less from a team that was coached by Bo Ryan? I don’t think so. The Badgers don’t have a ton of praise heaped on them. They just go out and get the job done and once again they are expecting to be dancing into March.
Source: Teamrankings.com
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