No. 24 Wisconsin (27-10, 13-7 Big Ten)
Wisconsin believes it can improve upon last season’s results despite losing Associated Press All-America second-team selection John Tonje, who scored 19.6 points per game in his lone season with the Badgers before going to the NBA’s Utah Jazz. The Badgers return two of their top four scorers in 6-foot-4 guard John Blackwell – a preseason all-Big Ten selection – and 7-footer Nolan Winter. They also added five transfers and four freshmen.
Players to watch
Blackwell had 15.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season and was particularly productive in the postseason. He scored 19 points in Wisconsin’s NCAA Tournament first-round victory over Montana and had 21 in its second-round loss to BYU.
Winter collected a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game last season and also averaged 9.4 points. He made 71.5% of his field-goal attempts from two-point range.
San Diego State transfer Nick Boyd, who started 37 games on Florida Atlantic’s 2023 Final Four team, figures to take over as point guard. He led SDSU in points (13.4) and assists (3.9) last season.
Departures and arrivals
Tonje leaves after scoring 19.6 points per game and having three games with at least 30 points against top-10 opponents last season. Other departing starters from last season include Steven Crowl (9.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and Max Klesmit (9.2 ppg). Transfers Austin Rapp and Andrew Rohde also could move right into the starting lineup. Rapp had 13.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for Portland last season as the West Coast Conference freshman of the year. Rohde had 9.3 points per game for Virginia last season and ranked seventh in the Atlantic Coast Conference with 4.3 assists per game. Aleksas Beliauskas, a 6-10 freshman forward from Lithuania, should boost the frontcourt.
Top games
Wisconsin faces No. 8 BYU at Salt Lake City on Nov. 21 in a rematch of the Badgers’ 91-89 NCAA Tournament loss. Top 25 matchups on the Big Ten schedule include two games with No. 1 Purdue (Jan. 3 at home and March 7 on the road), home games with No. 12 UCLA on Jan. 6 and No. 13 Michigan State on Feb. 13 plus trips to No. 7 Michigan on Jan. 10 and No. 17 Illinois on Feb. 10.
Facts and figures
Wisconsin has played in 25 of the last 27 NCAA Tournaments but hasn’t advanced to a Sweet 16 since 2017. … This is the first time since 2020-21 that Wisconsin has been in the preseason AP Top 25. … Wisconsin set a school record by making 366 3-point baskets last season. The Badgers had an adjusted offensive efficiency rating of 122.9, their second-highest mark since KenPom began tracking that statistic in 1999.
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The Associated Press
