NCAA Basketball: Ranking of 20 best college teams from last 20 years
By Joey Loose
16. 2015 Wisconsin
Due to the success the Badgers have had in recent memory, it’s hard to really put into perspective how important Bo Ryan was to this program. Wisconsin had made fewer NCAA Tournaments before Ryan’s arrival than he led them to in fourteen full seasons, leading them to the Tourney every single year. The culmination of all of that buildup and success seemed to be this 2015 team that made it all the way to the national championship game.
National player of the year Frank Kaminsky (18.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg) was a major force for the Badgers, but by no means did the talent stop there. Sam Dekker (13.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg) and Nigel Hayes (12.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg) combined to form one of the nation’s top frontcourts. Guards like Bronson Koenig, Josh Gasser, and Traevon Jackson were vital, while backup forward Duje Dukan had a brief stint in the NBA after this team’s successful year.
This Badgers team earned legendary status by being the team to knock out undefeated Kentucky in the Final Four. They may have fallen to Duke (for the second time that season) in the national title game two days later, but this roster remains one of the best the Big Ten has seen this century. Having an impact player like Kaminsky was one thing, but this whole roster could play ball, leaving behind quite the legacy and earning their place in history.