What a damn season it has been. With one final regular season contest awaiting, the 2019-20 Wisconsin men’s basketball team is a win a way from a share of the Big Ten title. Just read that sentence back again and understand how crazy those words look together. Crazy, sure, but also true!
Yes, that team that barley mustered 100 points between two contest against Richmond and New Mexico in Brooklyn, has rallied to win seven games in a row to end the season and have a shot at the Big Ten title this weekend. If you would have told me that on November 25th after their loss to New Mexico I would have laughed in your face, but here they are.
It’s apparent that the team’s confidence has hit a high point, as has confidence from the fans. Months ago fans would be happy to be in the conversation for March, and now expectations are teetering towards being a second weekend team in a lot of fans eyes. Due to that jump in expectations, fan confidence has also risen to 82%, up from 67% just two weeks ago, which to me seems still a little low.
With all that has happened to this team over the course of the season, I don’t know how much more you can expect from them but I digress. Either way, this team is peaking at the right time and can silence the remaining few doubters this weekend if they can win at Indiana and clinch at least a share of the conference title.
In addition to the fan confidence rating fans across the nation we’re asked to vote for their Coach of the Year candidate. The leader of that poll was Anthony Grant who has done a phenomenal job of taking the Dayton Flyers to a 28-2 record and possible number one seed in the NCAA tournament. After that came Scott Drew of Baylor who was the likely winner until some struggles recently. Then came Brian Dutcher of San Diego State, and Leonard Hamilton of Florida State.
SOMEHOW, Greg Gard didn’t seem to crack the top ten list. It appears we need more Badger fans to get out and sign up for Fanpulse!