Wisconsin basketball has opened the 2018-19 campaign on a hot streak. What have been some of the biggest observations to this point?
Wisconsin basketball is off to an extremely strong start this season. Despite missing the NCAA Tournament a year ago during an all-around disappointing campaign, it certainly seems as though the team is back on track this year. Thanks to every major contributor returning from last season, the Badgers are extremely experienced and finally healthy, something they almost never were last season.
Even though this season is obviously still very young, it seems abundantly clear that the Badgers belong in the top-25 discussion. Led by superstar big man Ethan Happ and sharpshooter D’Mitrik Trice, Wisconsin has a capable offense to go with a lockdown defense. To this point in the year, the Badgers boast a 6-1 record that includes wins over Xavier, Stanford, Oklahoma, and NC State. Their lone loss came at the hands of Virginia, who is ranked at No. 4 in the nation as of Nov. 26.
Now that the opening month of the season is nearly complete, let’s dive in and analyze some of the biggest takeaways for Wisconsin basketball so far. And considering how well the Badgers have started this season, most of these observations give a positive outlook for the rest of the season. As long as Wisconsin continues to play as it has to this point, it is hard to imagine a situation in which the team is not competing near the top of the Big ten this season.
(All statistics used in this piece are found via Sports-Reference and KenPom.)