STF State Project: #2 Wisconsin

Everything in Wisconsin comes down to the Badgers and Golden Eagles (nee Warriors). Both have won NCAA titles, with Wiscy doing it in 1941, and Marquette in 1977. Both were excellent last season in tough conferences. Ordinarily, a hyphenate will slip into the rankings here or there, as we are a friend to the mid-major, but in this state, they couldn't even crack the nickname category.

This could be because the Wisconsin hyphenates are -Green Bay and -Milwaukee, who were unrelentingly average last season. It's going to be tough for either to step out of Butler's shadow any time soon, as both are denizens of the Horizon League. But each school has given us a coach that made the favorites list in another state: Tony Bennett played for his dad at Green Bay, and is now head man at Washington State. Bruce Pearl took Milwaukee to the Sweet 16 before moving on up to Tennessee.

Let's visit Wisconsin, eh? And bring me back some cheese curds.

2008 Breakdown

State winning percentage: .648
Number of teams: 4
NCAA Tournament teams: Wisconsin, Marquette
Conference champions: Wisconsin
Most wins: Wisconsin (31)
Least wins: Wisconsin-Milwaukee (14)
Teams with winning records: Marquette, Wisconsin
Teams with single digit wins: None

Historical breakdown

Most Memorable Team: Al McGuire's 1977 National Championship Marquette team. Back then, they were still called the Warriors, and the name was accurate. Butch Lee was tourney MOP, and the blue and gold were doing it for Al, who had announced his retirement in mid-season. Al's team beat Cincy, K-State, Wake Forest, Charlotte, and UNC to win it all, and Big Al went out on top.

Top Player All-Time: Dwayne Wade, Marquette. Wade led the Eagles to a Conference USA championship in 2003, with averages of 21 ppg, 6 rpg, 4 apg and 2 steals per game. He even managed over a block per game. Against Kentucky in the 2003 NCAA tournament, he put up a triple-double of 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. He was academically ineligible in his freshman season, and skipped his senior season to go pro, so all of this awesomeness happened in just two seasons.

Favorite Coach: Bo Ryan. He looks like he'd put a cigar out on your arm to win a championship, and he did the soulja boy on camera. And he sure as hell can coach. Wisconsin puts the clamps on everybody they face (except for Stephen Curry). And he does it all with a lineup that looks like the cast of a German U-Boat movie. (OK, I will now officially retire that joke).

Top Player 2008: Marquette's Jerel McNeal was able to stand out in a state that is almost compulsively low-key. Still, it was a nice all-around game instead of flashy scoring that made him our choice. 15 ppg, 5 rpg, 3.5 apg, and 2.2 steals per game. And guess what, Big East opponents... He's BAAAAACK!

Best On-Campus Venue: The Kohl Center wins this one by default, because it's the only on-campus arena employed by any of the four teams in the cheese state. Which is not to say it isn't awesome. It looks nice from the outside, and the sea of Grateful Red inside is pretty intimidating.

Best NCAA Venue: Also the Kohl Center. Hosted the Midwest Regional in 2002, where Roy Williams' Kansas team beat an Illini team coached by... current Jayhawk head man Bill Self. Nice of them to get all acquainted, as they would see one another again.

Most Prestigious Program (ESPN Style): #45 Wisconsin Badgers.

Best Nickname: Wisconsin Badgers. We even like the old-school drawing of Bucky in the vertically-striped red and white sweater. In fact, we love it.

STF’s Favorite Program: This is a very tough call. We enjoy the Badgers and the Golden Eagles both. We're going to give Marquette a slight edge, however. While Wisconsin has football to help occupy students in late fall, it's all Eagles in Milwaukee. We also love the uniforms they've been breaking out, and their ability to step up from C-USA to the brutal Big East and still compete for titles. Good luck, Buzz.

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