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MADISON – Wisconsin men’s basketball is approaching the 2026-27 season with relatively low outside expectations.
The annual Big Ten unofficial preseason media poll conducted by the Columbus Dispatch picked the Badgers to finish 11th in the 18-team conference.
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That is down from the same poll’s seventh-place prediction for the 2025-26 Badgers – expectations that Greg Gard’s group surpassed with a fifth-place finish in the standings.
Wisconsin forward Nolan Winter earned a spot on the media panel’s all-Big Ten second team. Winter is coming off a junior season with 13.1 points per game, 8.5 rebounds per game and 12 double-doubles.
The lower 2026-27 expectations are not entirely a surprise after UW lost Nick Boyd to graduation and John Blackwell to the transfer portal. The 14 players officially on the roster – or 15 if counting Braeden Carrington amid his lawsuit limbo – include eight newcomers.
The Dispatch has organized the poll for the last 10 years while the Big Ten does not organize its own preseason poll for men’s basketball. This year’s poll included 28 reporters who cover teams across the Big Ten footprint, including the Journal Sentinel’s John Steppe.
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Wisconsin vs High Point in March Madness 2026, first round highlights
PORTLAND, OREGON – MARCH 19: Wisconsin Badgers Spirit Squad perform before the game against the High Point Panthers in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2026 in Portland, Oregon.
(Soobum Im, Getty Images)
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Wisconsin vs High Point in March Madness 2026, first round highlights
PORTLAND, OREGON – MARCH 19: Wisconsin Badgers Spirit Squad perform before the game against the High Point Panthers in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2026 in Portland, Oregon.
(Soobum Im, Getty Images)
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Wisconsin vs High Point in March Madness 2026, first round highlights
PORTLAND, OREGON – MARCH 19: Wisconsin Badgers Spirit Squad perform before…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/where-wisconsin-basketball-ranks-2026-150113279.html
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Publish date : 2026-10-05 15:01:00
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