Making their second straight Final Four appearance, Bo Ryan’s veteran-laden Wisconsin Badgers will take on the one-and-done kings, Kentucky, also for the second straight time. The Wildcats won last year’s bout 74-73.
A year more mature, and a year more hungry, this Wisconsin team looks poised to avenge last year’s lost and become the only team this year to knock-off UK.
There exists a storyline that this Wisconsin team is made up of completely overlooked high school prospects that coach Ryan brought to Madison and molded into a juggernaut. That, however, is not completely true.
Bronson Koenig and Sam Dekker were both consensus top 100 recruits, with Dekker being a Rivals.com five-star.
Still, Ryan has indeed put together a team that is much more than the sum of its parts. This group is cohesive, and compliments each others’ strengths and weaknesses.
That team building is mixed with tremendous experience on this weekend’s stage, and the easily apparent comfort that each player has with himself and what he brings to the table. When watching any interview or press conference with one of the Wisconsin stars, there is no anxiety, no pressure. None of them feel like they bear some great responsibility to carry out one of Ryan’s game plans or bear the burden of this season on their shoulders alone.
They stand together, laughing and joking, completely at ease with their strengths and weaknesses.
Wisconsin is the total collegiate package of what a program and team can, and should, be. That is why they will bring the national title back to Madison.
