Wisconsin basketball: news roundup 7/21/20

We still aren’t sure on what a college football season will look like this year, or if it will even happen, and there is the same amount of confusion about college basketball. Fun! Regardless, it is important to stay up to date on what is happening with Wisconsin Badgers and the rest of the country.

New rankings

• There was big news out of Spokane, Wash. on Monday as sophomore big man Filip Petrusev announced he was returning to Serbia to play for Mega Bemax after testing the NBA Draft waters this offseason but electing to return to Gonzaga. The Zags were/are considered a preseason top-five team, with some outlets even having them at No. 1, but some of that may have changed with Petrusev’s decision.

CBS Sports didn’t change their rankings, leaving the Zags at No. 1 and the Badgers at No. 9.
Jon Rothstein bounced Gonzaga down to No. 6 which moved Wisconsin up to No. 5.
Jeff Goodman has the Zags staying at No. 3 and Wisconsin at No. 5.

So, it looks like the departure of Petrusev, while big news, hasn’t really change their rosy outlook too much for this coming season. Still pretty crazy to see Wisconsin challenging for a preseason top-five spot though.

Return to practice?

• Greg Gard and the Badgers are taking a cautious approach, it would appear, to returning to the court. As reported by ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, the NCAA allowed coaches to be on the court with players on Monday, but the Badgers are waiting until early August to take advantage of the on-court coaching.

Big wins for the Badgers

• There was some discussion in the comments over the weekend about Wisconsin’s record versus Michigan State during the Bo Ryan/Greg Gard era and how things have tilted pretty heavily Sparty’s way recently.

Despite that, Wisconsin has had great success against ranked opponents over the past decade, notching 47 wins which is sixth best in the country over that time period. Michigan State and Michigan are also in the top-10