Wisconsin Basketball: 2024-25 season preview for the Badgers
Season outlook and expectations
With a new-look roster headlined by a trio of transfers expecting to slot into the rotation immediately supplemented by key returnees, the key for the 2024-25 Wisconsin Badgers season is how Greg Gard and staff can mesh together the new faces with its experience.
Surprisingly enough, Wisconsin returns over 50% of its minutes -- a decent number compared to many other teams in the Big Ten. However, it’s the pieces that they lost -- Hepburn, Storr, Wahl, Essegian -- that leave a dent in this group’s ceiling in 2024-25.
From looking at the 2024-25 Badgers’ group from a purely roster perspective, Wisconsin should expect to take a bit of a step back in 2024-25. The trio of transfers -- Cam Hunter, Xavier Amos and John Tonje -- are all quality additions, but questions arise if they can step up at the Big Ten level and stay healthy. Despite this, expect all three to have an integral role in this year’s group.
Returners Max Klesmit, Steven Crowl and John Blackwell expect to be the focal points of this year’s group. Expect a higher usage rate from all three on the offensive end of the floor.
Defensively, Wisconsin will look to clean up its woes from last year, especially from the primer as the Badgers were among the worst perimeter-defending teams in the country and didn’t put up much of a fight on drives to the basket. If Wisconsin can find ways to pluck those holes, perhaps its preseason expectations should be higher.
Nonetheless, expecting the Badgers to stay competitive in the grueling new-look Big Ten is a reasonable expectation. Expecting Wisconsin to stay in the NCAA Tournament conversation is a reasonable expectation. But expecting an NCAA Tournament berth from this year’s group? You can sell me on that but it may take some convincing to do.
Next. Preseason top 25 power rankings for 2024-25. Preseason top 25 power rankings for 2024-25. dark
The Badgers won't have the firepower from last season, but if its portal pieces hit and mesh with the returners, continuity may even be the biggest strength on this year’s roster.
But only time will tell.