ESPN predicts another impressive season for Wisconsin men's basketball

Greg Gard and the University of Wisconsin men's basketball program seemingly came out of nowhere in 2024-25, striking gold by landing All-American John Tonje out of the transfer portal while rising stars John Blackwell and Nolan Winter took leaps in their sophomore season.

Wisconsin won't be off the radar ahead of 2025-26 despite a massive departing senior class. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi posted his way-too-early field of 68 for the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Tuesday, and he had the Badgers squarely in the Big Dance as one of the No. 6 seeds.

Just five Big Ten teams earned a higher ranking than Wisconsin. Purdue was projected as a No. 1 seed and Michigan a No. 2 seed. Michigan State, UCLA and Illinois were No. 4 seeds.

Ohio State joined the Badgers as a No. 6 seed, meaning Wisconsin is, at worst, in the top-third of the conference.

Lunardi placed Wisconsin in the East Region's Oklahoma City pod. The Badgers would hypothetically face Memphis, an automatically qualifier from the American Athletic Conference. They would then take on the winner of the No. 3 vs No. 14 matchup between Iowa State and Furman.

There's no shortage of firepower in the region, with top overall seed Florida holding down the No. 1 spot and Big Ten foes Illinois and Michigan lurking.

Regardless, it's a bullish prediction based on how preseason rankings and bracketology have overlooked Wisconsin in years past.

Lunardi's initial 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket had the Badgers as a first-four team. A 2024-25 preseason media poll conducted by The Columbus Dispatch and The Indianapolis Star had Wisconsin tied for the 12th best team in the Big Ten.

Obviously, the Badgers shattered those expectations, snaring a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and tying for fourth in the conference. Wisconsin has now rightfully garnered offseason hype and will enter the 2025-26 campaign with higher expectations. That's likely due to their impressive transfer haul, along with a roster loaded with shooters and playmakers that could also boast an improved defense.

The program was a winner in the early weeks of the offseason, landing transfer pledges from reigning West Coast Conference freshman of the year Austin Rapp (Portland), San Diego State standout Nick Boyd and versatile Virginia guard Andrew Rohde to complement the core of Blackwell and Winter.

The Badgers will return Jack Janicki and Riccardo Greppi off the bench, and they later added transfer Braeden Carrington (Minnesota). There's also an incoming freshman class of Zach Kinziger, Will Garlock, Hayden Jones and Aleksas Bieliauskas.

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