CBS Sports analyst sees Wisconsin Badgers basketball as not a 'serious title threat' in 2025

CBS Sports' Issac Trotter sees the Wisconsin Badgers as an NCAA tournament team in 2025-26, but they fall into a category among Big Ten teams who aren't a "serious title threat" this season.
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Even after losing John Tonje, Steve Crowl, and Max Klesmit, among others from last year's team, Wisconsin basketball is set to have another solid team in 2025-26.

The Badgers bring back John Blackwell, who could compete for the Big Ten Player of the Year, and adding San Diego State transfer Nick Boyd helps, too.

Wisconsin finished fourth in the Big Ten Conference last season and easily made the NCAA Tournament. Greg Gard is bound and determined to get Wisconsin back to the big dance and make a statement when doing so.

According to CBS Sports' Isaac Trotter, Wisconsin should get back to the NCAA Tournament next season. Trotter ranked each Big Ten team into tiers, and he has the Badgers in Tier 3: 'NCAA Tournament Team'

He categorizes that third tier as teams with "good rosters and could flirt with top-25 status," but he says these teams also "aren't serious title threats."

Tier 3 - Wisconsin Badgers

Just a heads up: Wisconsin's offense is going to put teams in a blender again. Blackwell gives the Badgers a legitimate Big Ten Player of the Year contender, and he's surrounded by so much shooting. Boyd, Rapp, Rohde and Winter all shot over 35% from downtown last year on real volume.

Boyd and Blackwell are also pests defensively which will be necessary because the interior defense for Wisconsin could be an area of weakness. There's a lot riding on Winter leveling up on that end in Year 3. The Badgers don't have great depth, but this still appears to be a well-constructed team that should make the NCAA Tournament.

Isaac Trotter (CBS Sports)

His early Wisconsin depth chart is the following:

G: Nick Boyd
G: John Blackwell
G: Andrew Rohde
F: Austin Rapp
F: Nolan Winter

His bench contributors:

G Braeden Carrington
G Jack Janicki
F Riccardo Greppi
F Aleksas Bieliauskas

The only two 'title contenders' Trotter listed from the Big Ten Conference were both Purdue and Michigan.

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Trent Knoop
TRENT KNOOP

Trent has been writing about B10 athletics since 2020 and became a credentialed member of the media in 2021. He joined On SI in 2023 and became the Senior Writer for Michigan Wolverines On SI for the 2024 football season. Trent is also the managing editor for Maryland On SI. Trent is passionate about B10 sports and being able to inform and entertain sports fans.