2013-2014 Big Ten Basketball Preview: #4 Wisconsin Badgers

Last Season: Traveon Jackson broke my heart in the last regular season game of the year when he hit a walk-off bomb to beat Penn State at the end of the season. I should grow to expect this stuff against Wisconsin but it hurts no less. Last years team was thought to be in for some difficulties when starting PG Josh Gasser went down for the season, but as Bo Ryan's teams tend to do, they played smart basketball all the way to a second round NCAA tournament appearance. Jared Berggeren (Wisconsin's obligatory white big guy who can make 3's) was 2nd on the team in scoring and lead the B1G in blocks for his senior season. Mike Bruesewitz also suited up for the last time in a Wisconsin uniform after what felt like a 8 year career. I'm not sure if I should be sad to see the fro go, or happy I no longer have to watch him play basketball.

Departures: Jared Berggeren, Ryan Evans, Mike Bruesewitz!

Returning Players: Sam Dekker, Frank Kaminsky, Traveon Jackson, Josh Gasser, Ben Brust, Duje Dukan, Evan Anderson, Zack Bohannon

Newcomers: Bronson Koenig, Nigel Hayes, Vitto Brown, Riley Dearring, Jordan Hill, Aaron Moesch

What to Expect: The same thing you expect year in and year out. Wisconsin may have the best winning percentage of any team when they score less than 60 points. They will wind down the shot clock on almost every possession (inevitably hitting a 3), playing solid defense, and not turning the ball over. With Josh Gasser back this year, he will likely slide to the 2 or 3 spot to allow Traveon Jackson to play the PG spot. Ben Brust will start in the backcourt, and be another deadly 3 point shooter. The frontcourt lost 3 players from last year, and the only returning player to receive major minutes last year is Frank Kaminsky (yes, he's a center who can hit 3's). Sam Dekker, a supremely talented do-it-all forward, will likely play at the 4, which is a little undersized compared to Wisconsin's usual lineups. The teams bench is pretty short, but some players to watch are Zack Bohannon, Evan Anderson, Duje Dukan. If this team is at all like Wisconsin teams of the past, one or more of these guys will step up and become serviceable. Bronson Koenig is Wisconsin's biggest incoming recruit.

Sam Dekker

Storyline to Watch: The frontcourt. It is very thin and has essentially no prior experience outside of Kaminsky. Seeing that this is Wisconsin, it seems to be almost a guarantee that some big guy that they recruited from somewhere in the middle of the country will start knocking down 3's and playing great defense. The fact is, they need someone to step up, as this position is not a position of strength for Wisconsin for the first time in a while

Final Prediction: 22-8 (11-7)
Wisconsin will be Wisconsin. Bo Ryan's teams have been too consistent to expect anything less.