Latest Bracketology . ..

[Wassymac]

Not a problem I'm guessing we'll just have to agree to disagree. Always good to have a nice college ball debate. I won't defend the performance in the tournament although he did take them to the elite 8 which is a whopping one game less than Bennett's miracle run.

I just disagree with that statement that coaches are judged only by March. I'd imagine those cheese heads that hadn't sniffed a conference title in over 50 years would agree with that. The success will come (more likely now in March vs in the Big Ten since Purdue will win it the next few years) in the tournament. I'd argue that they definitely haven't been terrible outside of last year without Butch.

I also think his record at Platteville is relevant only because it's translated into success at the D 1 level. Without that I don't think there's enough data to make a call on him yet but because of it there's enough for me to put in the top tier of college coaches. He's proven he wins where ever he goes. Wisconsin was just an awful program for half a century and I'll grant that Bennett started the turn around but the most conference games he ever won was 11. They never even sniffed a conference title. Ryan (and I really don't see how anyone could argue) has taken them to another level and it's not even close.

I agree that Bennett was a great great coach and an absolute class act but just didn't get the players to put it all together. Ryan has been able to up the talent level at a place where there usually is none and bring his great defense along with it.

[LT Profits]

The current Bracketology does have Gtown a 2 and Wisky a 3. The seedings in the initial post that had it the other way around were from before this weekend's action.

Ah OK...I was going by the original post without seeing the revised seedings after the weekend

Sorry.

[BuddyBear]

Well, I am from Wisconsin too and I'd be very surprised if they did make a deep run but not completely out of the question. A couple things to consider. 1) They got annihilated by Duke, lost to Marquette (at home where they never lose), lost to Purdue twice (the Big Ten #2 team) and they also played Ohio State only once and did not go to East Lansing (a sure loss). They got very fortunate to beat Indiana and Texas. They played the weakest Big Ten conference schedule and are in a conference that is considered by most experts to be the weakest. Considering their losses are against high quality competition and they pulled a few rabbits out of the hat in other matches, it's possible they could make a deep run but for me I don't see it personally.






Bo Ryan in my opinion is one of the more over-rated coaches in the country. Unfortunately the common wisdom is that he is an elite coach, but reality is different than perception! Despite the fact that he has had unprecendented success in the regular season (159-53; 84-30), (1) Bo Ryan only has a 7-6 mark in NCAA play and 2) has never beat a higher seed in the NCAA tournament. The one year he reached the regional semifinals he managed to get victories off three double-digit seeds (Northern Iowa; Bucknell; NC State). So if Bo Ryan is such a great coach, why is it in 6 years he has never beat a seed higher than his????

(3) his NCAA failures are even more pronounced when you consider that on two occassions he has lost basically what amount to home games. A few years ago they were placed in Milwaukee and lost (L.(3)Pittsubugh). Last year, they lost to (7)UNLV in Chicago. Keep in mind they lost in a building they were quite familar with from Big Ten Tournament play. There were maybe 10 UNLV fans and the rest UW fans.

(4) Also, remember Ryan has recruited and had NBA level talent on his teams with Devin Harris and Alondo Tucker. He even had some very good players such as Mike Wilkinson and Kam Taylor and still managed to do very little in the NCAA tournament. So if Bo Ryan had the greatest year basketball year in Badger history and in 2006-07 and has had NBA talent on his team and done nothing, what makes you think he can possibly do anything in the tournament when he has no NBA talent on his team?????

(5) Also keep in mind. that Bo Ryan inhereted a team that had just been to the Final Four in 2000, so we aren't talking about taking over a program in mediocrity. Instead, all Ryan has done is maintain the level of success that Dick Bennet helped built and done nothing more than that.


Look, Bo Ryan is a good coach...maybe a B/B- range but he is certainly not elite by any standard IMO. He's no Izzo, Kryzewski, or even Howland. He's a good coach and defends the home court well but tournament time is not "his time" to say the least. He has underachieved big time. Sure he's an A+ coach if you listen to the broadcasters but keep in mind most broadcasters think Ed Dechellis is a really good coach too.



Their seed will depend on how they fare in the BTT. If they win it, they'll get a 2 seed most likely. If they don't, I think a 3 seed is appropriate. In any event, UW will be a trendy pick to be upset in the 2nd RD.

I do agree though, their style of play can give teams serious fits. It all depends on Brian Butch. If he plays well, they can reach the regional semifinals at least and who knows. However, if they were to match up against any of the top teams they would be big underdogs. I can even see them being an underdog to a team like Washington State or Vanderbilt.

We'll see how Bucky does, but realistically there is nothing in Bo Ryan's track to suggest that he and Wisconsin will go deep in the tournament.

Bump for Bo Ryan being an elite coach.....

[Wassymac]

Had a funny feeling this thread would be back. That's the worst prepared Bo Ryan team I've ever seen take the court. Ryan gets all the credit for an absolutely embarassment of a performance.