As we careen toward March Madness in the sacred hopes that Greg Gard’s Wisconsin Badgers can finally break through to the Sweet Sixteen after a lengthy absence, I want to examine this year’s squad, A-Z, to hit some of the highlights and try to make some sense out of things. (Parts II and III will drop over the next week.)
A is for Attitude: Mindset will be vital to any real success the Badgers find in the NCAA Tournament. Alternating vexing losses (Ohio State/Oregon) with impressive wins (Michigan
State/Iowa/Washington) recently isn’t a formula for tourney success, and the Badgers will simply need to play with more urgency in every game going forward.
B is for Blackwell and Boyd: Although it can fairly be argued that John Blackwell hasn’t been his best this season, he’s still vitally important to this team. A locked-in JB playing alongside All-Big Ten caliber point guard Nick Boyd is a nightmare backcourt to face in March. If Wisconsin wants to succeed, both of them must hit at or near their ceilings.
C is for Carrington: The Badgers’ most unlikely success story in some time, Braeden Carrington, a lightly regarded “depth” transfer from Tulsa/Minnesota has, at times, been simply outstanding for the Badgers. That includes Saturday against Washington, where he dropped 32 points on the Huskies by way of a school-record nine 3-pointers.
D is for Defense: I want to be very clear here that the Badgers’ defense doesn’t need to be great or, really, even good (it sits No. 53 in KenPom in efficiency). It needs to be competent. If the guys play solidly and limit the lapses that have been all too common this season, they’ll have a solid chance to do good things in March.
E is for Efficiency: As up and down as their defense has been, Wisconsin’s offensive efficiency (currently 19th in KenPom), most games, has been outstanding. This needs to continue at a high clip going forward and would be aided by a more effective and locked-in Blackwell.
F is for Finishing: The Badgers have had mixed success in closing out tight ones this season (they’re ranked No. 56 here), but with highly competitive games in the Tourney likely from the jump, they’ll need to be 100 percent locked in down the stretch in games.
G is for Gard: Real talk, Greg Gard simply hasn’t been great in March. That’s a fact. Now nine years removed from his last Sweet Sixteen, Gard is 7-7 in the NCAA Tournament in his career and will need to be at his best to break through this year with a talented but flawed squad. The good news is that his ’25-26 team can beat nearly anyone on a given night. The bad news is that it will be challenging for this team to string together two or three top-level games in a row.
H is for Hot Shooting: It’s not shocking that the Badgers do better in games where they shoot well, but the ball going down means so much more to this version of Wisconsin than the one we’ve grown used to. It’s difficult, if not impossible, for them to beat good teams if the 3-ball isn’t dropping. No, it doesn’t need to be at a 40%+ clip every game (they sit at 35.5 percent for the season), but hitting that number will greatly increase their chances of winning games in March.
