Purdue Boilermakers guard Gicarri Harris (24) defends Wisconsin Badgers guard John Blackwell (25) Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, during the NCAA men’s basketball game at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. Wisconsin Badgers won 94-84. Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Survey of college basketball coaches highlights tough path ahead for Wisconsin Badgers

Originally posted on Wisconsin Badgers on SI
By Lorin Cox | Last updated Sep 25, 2025 1:25 PM ET

The Wisconsin Badgers' path to a Big Ten Championship and a deep NCAA Tournament run is never easy, but the road ahead for the 2025-26 season looks especially daunting.

That reality was highlighted in CBS Sports' annual survey of nearly 100 college basketball coaches.

Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander asked them who they thought would be the best team this upcoming season. The Badgers didn't make the cut, but four of the teams on their schedule did.

The @CBSSports Candid Coaches series is back. @GaryParrishCBS and I surveyed ~100 coaches on a litany of CBB topics. Today's debut Q doubles as the preseason MBB coaches poll.

Who's the best team in 2025-26? Ten schools got multiple votes. The results: https://t.co/g8e4H6UGB2
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) September 23, 2025

It's not too surprising that Purdue received the most votes at 32 percent. Wisconsin hosts the Boilermakers on January 3 before traveling to West Lafayette for the final game of their regular season March 7.

Purdue's Braden Smith also received the most votes in the poll for who is going to be the best player in the sport this season.

That will be a major test before the start of the Big Ten tournament.

The Florida Gators tied for fifth in the survey. The Badgers could face Florida as part of the Rady Children's Invitational in late November, depending on the results of the four-team tournament.

The only other Big Ten team to receive multiple votes was Michigan. Wisconsin will face them in Ann Arbor on January 10.

Also making the cut was BYU, who the Badgers face November 21 in a supposedly "neutral site" non-conference matchup at the Utah Jazz's Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

Who's going to be college hoops' best player this season? We polled ~100 coaches about it. Seven players earned at least five votes, but the winner set a Candid Coaches record for highest % of votes‼️

The haters are going to be a shambles. https://t.co/LR8MMtsRzw
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) September 25, 2025