By: Marques Eversoll
The 2014-15 University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team feels like a team of destiny. They’ve won 36 games, knocked off a previously unbeaten and seemingly immortal Kentucky team in the Final Four, and put themselves in a position to play for a National Championship for the first time since 1941.
Even if the Badgers lose to the Duke Blue Devils tonight—which has already happened once this season—this year is far from a failure. Worst-case scenario: Wisconsin finishes 36-4 as the national runner-up. Over the past two seasons, they’d be 66-12, losing last year in the Final Four and this year in the Title game. That’s as bad as it could possibly get, and it’s not bad. Not bad at all.
But the Badgers have bigger goals, and the question is: If not now, when?
This is undoubtedly the best team in Wisconsin basketball history. It’s a cast of characters that has captured national interest with their carefree attitudes and unrivaled humor—both intentional and unintentional—and they just so happen to be really good at basketball. As loaded as this year’s Kentucky Wildcats were with NBA talent, there was no sustained period of time during Saturday night’s game where they looked like Kentucky was a better basketball team than the Badgers.
As much as people love the “David vs. Goliath” narrative in sports, Wisconsin’s defeat of Kentucky was so far from that. The Badgers and Wildcats were damn near evenly matched; Kentucky finished 38-1, Wisconsin is 36-3. Not exactly Prairie View A&M knocking off John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins.
The immediate future for Wisconsin basketball is cloudy. We know for sure that the Badgers will lose the National Player of the Year in Frank Kaminsky. He’s a senior, who will be playing in the NBA a year from now. Based on Sam Dekker’s standout run in March, it’s hard to imagine his draft stock being any better than it is right now. He’s probably gone, too. And even if sophomore Nigel Hayes sticks around, next year’s Badgers will be a very different team and probably not a National Championship contender.
The good news? They’re 40 minutes from their second National Title in school history, and their first in 74 years. Wisconsin has the best player in the country (Kaminsky), perhaps the best player in the NCAA Tournament to date (Dekker), and undoubtedly one of the best coaches in the country (Bo Ryan).
Simply setting the scene for tonight’s game really puts into perspective Wisconsin basketball really is—the Wisconsin freaking Badgers are playing for the National Championship against Duke. Duke against Wisconsin for all the marbles.
In the big picture of college basketball, Duke is supposed to be here. Wisconsin is not. In the big picture of the 2014-15 college basketball season, Duke is supposed to be here. And so is Wisconsin.
Marques Eversoll is on-air on SportsLine every weekday afternoon from 4:00-6:00 PM on The Fan, and he hosts the Saturday Morning Showcase every weekend 8:00-10:00 AM. Follow him on Twitter @MarquesEversoll.
